University of Massachusetts Lowell Course: Product Design for Elastomers (PLAS 5490)

Spring Semester 2025 (January 21 – May 8), 3 credit hours

Location: This is an asynchronous online course that is delivered in pre-recorded video lectures and supported by live online (Zoom) office hours with instructor Dr. Chris Robertson for one hour each week. The weekly lectures can be viewed remotely on your computer, tablet or mobile phone at convenient times from the comfort of your home or office.

Format: The online course takes place in weekly installments across the 15-week semester (3 credit hours). The course is delivered in pre-recorded video lectures with closed captioning and supported by live online office hours with the instructor (Zoom; one hour each week). Course activities include interactive discussion board participation, homework assignments, design project and final exam.

Course Description: This course covers the basics of thermoset and thermoplastic elastomer product design. Topics include mechanical behavior, large deformation structural analysis, design for manufacturability, performance limitations and end use applications for elastomers and assembly considerations.

The course includes a design project in which an elastomer product will be designed by addressing the following areas: (1) raw materials selection and compound formulation development (if thermoset elastomer); (2) product engineering including mold design; and (3) testing and analysis plan for material and product toward meeting specifications. The personalized design project will include aspects of all three areas, but each course participant will select one area on which to principally concentrate.

This is a continuing education online offering of Product Design for Elastomers (PLAS 5490) which is a graduate-level course in the Department of Plastics Engineering at UMass Lowell. This course can be combined with three additional courses to earn a graduate certificate from the department.

Course Objectives: This course is designed to teach you the fundamentals of design for elastomer components. By the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Select elastomer type based on application temperature range and oil resistance requirements and show general understanding of how to adjust properties (stiffness, damping, etc.) through compound formulation for thermoset materials
• Know the nonlinear mechanical response of elastomers and the basics of structural analysis in elastomer product design
• Use knowledge of failure behavior of elastomers to guide materials selection and product design geometry
• Understand design principles related to: fiber and steel cord reinforcements; component geometry and assembly considerations; polymer processing and component manufacturing (with emphasis on molding)
• Demonstrate the above by designing an elastomer product to meet service requirements

Topics Covered:

• Overview of elastomer applications/products and general requirements: automobile tires, mechanical rubber goods, seals, healthcare products, footwear, sporting goods
• Elastomer selection and main compound formulation effects (filler reinforcement; crosslink density)
• Mechanical behavior: small-, medium-, and large-strain regions; deformation modes; cyclic softening effects; modeling hyperelastic behavior
• Viscoelasticity and dynamic mechanical behavior, including impact on heat build-up and predicting long-term deformation
• Fracture mechanics and durability: ultimate strength, fatigue, crack growth and tear, abrasion
• Material changes due to environment: thermal oxidative aging, ozone cracking, exposure to liquids
• Fiber and steel cord reinforcements: type, orientation effects, rubber-cord bonding
• Component design and assembly considerations: rubber-metal bonding, shape factors, etc.
• Introduction to finite element analysis for modeling deformation (structural analysis), thermal effects and durability
• Polymer processing and component manufacturing, with focus on molding operations and mold design
• Developing a testing and analysis plan to measure or predict performance relative to desired product specifications/service requirements

Price: $1,620 Member / $1,800 Non-member

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

https://gps.uml.edu/partnerships/rubber-acs-uml.cfm

Instructor: Christopher G. Robertson, PhD; Adjunct Professor, UMass Lowell, Plastics Engineering Dept. and Principal R&D Consultant, Polymer Technology Services LLC

Dr. Chris Robertson joined the Department of Plastics Engineering at UMass Lowell in 2022 as part-time faculty to teach elastomer-related online courses. Chris is the founder and principal R&D consultant at Polymer Technology Services LLC which offers technical consulting and training for the tire and rubber industry (and the polymer technology field in general). Chris received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering (polymer materials focus) from Virginia Tech and was a postdoctoral research associate in polymer physics at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory before starting his industrial career. He has more than 20 years of research and product development experience in the tire, synthetic rubber, rubber additives and plastics industries. The companies that Chris worked for include Bridgestone Americas, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, ExxonMobil Chemical, Eastman Chemical and Endurica LLC. Chris is co-inventor of 34 patents and co-author of 68 publications in peer-reviewed journals with a citation h-index of 34. Since 2020, Chris is serving as the editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Rubber Chemistry and Technology and was an associate editor for 10 years prior.