CAREER EPISODE 1
A) Introduction:
[1.1]
The episode is developed to demonstrate my understanding of material engineering and its chemical reactions by carrying out an eight-semester project named “Comprehensive Studies on Termination of Hydroxyl Polybutadiene by Modifying EPDXY Resin”.
All the experimental activities were conducted in the National Aerospace Laboratories from February 2005 to May 2005. During this tenure, I was pursuing a Bachelor of Engineering degree at SJCE College of Engineering.
B) Background:
[1.2]
Research has shown that epoxy resins are superior to thermosets because of their well-balanced properties at an extremely low cost. Furthermore, it can ensure better mechanical strength at maximum temperature, greater resistance, good flame resistance, and lower smoke emissions with comparatively lower toxicity during incineration, making it the most preferable material in the aerospace industry.
But epoxy resin is not very tough and is brittle. For this purpose, many materials are introduced that can be blended with thermosets (especially epoxy resins) to improve toughness without significantly impairing thermal and mechanical properties. Such materials are liquid rubber,
[1.3]
Responsibilities:
- I was working on the following tasks to carry out experimental work.
- Involved in carrying out a background study on composite to understand toughness by resin modification.
- Performed a literature review by studying epoxy toughness with various elastomers.
- Selected the materials and explained their description.
- Conducted experimental work, including preparing prepolymer and laminate and its curing.
- Determined the composite material properties, including flexural, Tg (expand), and strength of HTPB by modifying Epoxy Laminates.
- Optimization of the concentration of HTPB by improving fracture toughness.
- Prepares a report on experimental work by discussing its results.
CAREER EPISODE 2
A) Introduction:
[2.1]
The aforesaid career episode is based on the project, which was an important part of my Master’s of Technology Degree in Polymer Science & Technology obtained from Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE). This research project is called “Experimental work on the Tread Based Green Compound for Radial Truck Tyres”.
In this project, I was responsible for investigating the properties of silica (a non-inorganic petroleum material) by varying its amount to prepare a truck radial tread compound for commercial purposes, as it would help reduce fuel consumption and improve tyre resistance. This project was done for JK Tyre and Industries Ltd from February 2009 to May 2011.
B) Background:
[2.2]
The carbon block has been widely used in the tyre industry as a reinforcing filler. Still, after the emergence of the green tyre concept, many industries have replaced carbon black with Silica due to its chemical and physical properties, which help reduce tyre rolling resistance.
[2.3]
Duties:
- During this tenure, I carried out the following required duties to achieve the milestone.
- Involved in the background history of silica to understand material properties and their chemistry.
- Understood the behaviour of inorganic material in the rubber compound.
- Analyzed the chemical processing of a polymer composite material.
- Used a material characterization technique to select the appropriate materials.
- Prepared silica tread material by using different proportions.
- Involved in the mixing of silica compounds using three processes, i.e. masterbatch, re-mill, and final batch.
- Involved in the induction meetings conducted in the industry and reported the progress to the regional plant manager.
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CAREER EPISODE 3
A) Introduction:
[3.1]
For this episode, I decided to explain a case study that was developed to assess the high viscosity of steel skim compounds, to illustrate my understanding of material properties and their compositions. The project was named “Cure Pro Insoluble sulfur (10% oil treated)Adoption in High Viscosity Steel Skim Compound of Truck Radial Tire” conducted from February 2019 to February 2021.
This project trial was done at an Indian tyre company for truck radial tyres during my internship tenure at Eastman Chemical. I completed this projectand it was a commercial success.
B) Background:
[3.2]
Insoluble sulfur is widely used in radial tyres for vulcanising the rubber. The commonly used insoluble grades are OT 20 (20 % oil-treated) and OT 33 (33 % oil-treated). In the current project, a new grade of insoluble sulfur, Cure Pro (10% oil-treated), was introduced to the tyre customer. This product offers the highest thermal stability and the best dispersion among the existing insoluble sulfur grades.
The customer was using OT 33 grade for truck radial compounds, so this project is a comparison of Cure Pro (10 % oil treated) against OT 33 (33 % oil treated) and ultimately replacing OT 33 with Cure Pro.
[3.3]
I was performing the following duties in the project, i.e:
- Arrange a meeting with the tyre customer and give a technical presentation on Cure Pro(10 % oil-treated) insoluble sulfur.
- Working with the R&D of Tire customers and collecting R&D samples for evaluation.
- Submit (Technical datasheet), specification, and MSDS to the tyre customer.
- Providing technical expertise in rubber compound missing and testing.
- Troubleshooting any issues arising from mixing and processing
- Planning and scheduling plant trials, testing, and processing.
- Made comparisons between insoluble sulfur ‘OT 33’ and ‘Cure pro and developed an experimental setup.
- Responsible for B96 mixing/processing and analyzed the results of tensile dispersion.
- Optimizing the B96 compound with cure Pro.
- Analyzed the tensile properties of the B96 Trail compound. Acquire free CDR samples at AustraliaCDRHelp.Com.
