RubberCon 2023: less that four weeks to go
17 Apr 2023
Clock ticking for event being held 9–11 May at the University of Edinburgh
London - The clock is now ticking for people planning to attend RubberCon 2023, with bookings for the Edinburgh conference set to close on 5 May.
The IOM3 organising committee has accepted 80 presentations and 64 poster papers for the event, being staged 9–11 May at the University of Edinburgh.
The full programme for both event days, 10-11 May, is now available via the RubberCon 2023 webpage (see also below*).
"RubberCon’s return to the UK in 2023 is very welcome. It is the first global rubber conference to be in the UK since the hugely successful International Rubber conference in 2019, said Prof James Busfield, RubberCon 2023 chair,
"There are huge challenges in the rubber industry related to improving our environmental credentials, reducing our dependence on unsustainable materials and reducing the pollution we generate."
On top of this, noted Busfield, elastomers need to work in new applications related to electrification of transportation, the expansion of the hydrogen economy, energy harvesting and energy storage.
Some applications, such as materials used in geothermal drilling or seals in the nuclear industry are also creating a demand for elastomers materials that can work in increasingly hostile environments, he added.
"All of which means that we have a wonderful opportunity to showcase the very best innovations that are being made both in academia and by industry to address all these needs," concluded Busfield.
*The RubberCon 2023 programme focuses on the use of elastomers and elastomeric materials for a wide range of products and applications, these include:
Elastomer product innovations including the following sectors: agriculture; medical; sport, leisure, and consumer products; energy generation including nuclear; latex products; electric vehicles; NVH challenges; extreme temperature, pressure or environment applications and other novel emerging applications.
Material developments including: polymers with a focus on novel or speciality elastomers, elastomers for extreme conditions, thermoplastic elastomers, functionalised elastomers, self-healing elastomers and elastomer foams and gels; fillers and additives including nanoscale or functionalised fillers; novel and innovative materials.
Material processing including: smart manufacturing (industry 4.0); process innovation; additive manufacture; cure chemistry and kinetics; rubber mixing.
Sustainability including: bio-derived materials; materials recycling; reduced carbon emissions during manufacture and in service.
Characterisation and testing of materials and products including: thermal and viscoelastic behaviour; failure mechanisms including ageing, fatigue and chemical degradation; lifetime prediction.
Modelling including: constitutive modelling of the materials and product design; tribology, friction and wear; process modelling and optimisation; systems design.
Smart materials including: strain or environment sensing; actuation; electro active polymers; soft robotics; intelligent traceability in product development.
