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Student paper

Intelligent, Sustainable, Predictable – The future of rubber compounding!

Bachelor- or Master thesis

The aim of the work is to predict the mixing process in order to reduce raw material and energy consumption during the development of the mixture.

Topic of the work:

Rubber compound production is the first step in the production of elastomer components. Raw materials and mixing instructions are coordinated in such a way that the best possible end product properties are achieved.
Currently, mixing processes are largely developed iteratively based on empirical knowledge. In order to reduce the time-, energy- and material-intensive preliminary tests, a prediction of the mixing process is to be made possible. The aim here is to set up models for different material combinations based on the system technology used.

Stuwi-Kautschukmischungsherstellung© Continental
Rubber: Mixing and manufacturing

The work is related to this research project:

The research project is concerned with the development of an “app” that provides a recommendation for the best possible combination of raw materials and the corresponding mixing instructions for a given application.

Objective:

The aim of your work is to determine dependencies between raw materials, process parameters and the resulting mixing process. These will be used to develop models that can be used to predict the mixing process.

Your task:

Production of rubber compounds Production of rubber compounds
Analysis of mixing curves Analysis of mixing curves
Correlation of the mixing process with the raw materials and process parameters used Determination of mixing properties
Formulation of optimization strategies Creation of model functions based on the raw materials and process parameters used

Your profile:

  • Technical or scientific degree (mechanical engineering, materials science, industrial engineering specializing in materials and process engineering, environmental engineering, applied polymer science, etc.)
  • Enjoy a practical and industry-related degree course
  • Independent, reliable and conscientious way of working
  • Structured approach and processing of your results

If you are interested in writing your thesis at IKV and in this task, please apply.