SPEAKER: ALBERTO LOPEZ-GIL

Rubbers or elastomers are polymers with outstanding properties, such as high elasticity, thermal resistance, and abrasion resistance, among others, which make them widely used in several applications such as tires, gloves, footwear, seals, hoses, belts, adhesives, to name a few. The combination of the properties inherently linked to elastomers with those typically found in foams, such as low density, thermal insulation, acoustic absorption, buoyancy, energy absorption and so on, turn elastomeric or rubber foams into a very attractive and versatile materials, which are nowadays used in several sectors and applications. However, their extremely low glass transition temperature, low modulus, the need for crosslinking and the inherent shrinkage phenomena, make it a foaming system challenging to control. 

In this webinar we review approaches in the field to optimize the expansion and cellular structure of rubber foams covering a wide range of densities, cell sizes and other key aspects of the cellular structure such as anisotropy ratio and cell size distribution. We pay special attention to different cross-linking methods, blowing agents and foaming technologies. We also provide some key examples on how to use the different densities and structures developed to modify the properties of several solid and foamed products in different applications.