Polymer scientia

                          There is nothing called universal rubber              Rubber is a polymer material which finds wide range of applications starting from the gaskets used in your cooking vessels to aero plane tires where you have demanding requirements. Though from an outsider point of view, all the rubber may look similar, but each rubber has its unique properties and should be used for specific applications only. There is nothing called universal rubber which can work for all applications.      Selection of rubber is a science                 The selection of rubber needs the knowledge about the structure and property of rubber, application conditions like temperature, pressure, environment and life cycle of the product and so on. So, selection of rubber is science where you need to deep un...

 In the previous post "Friction material basics: Part 1", we discussed on what is a friction material, its classification based on the composition and finally the current challenges and future scope. Please refer below for the link to "friction material basics: part 1" https://polymerscientia.blogspot.com/2022/06/friction-material-basics-part-1.html In this post "friction material basics: Part 2", we will discuss on the types of binders used in friction material formulation, what are all the advantages of each binder and finally about the current challenges and future scope.  Straight phenolic Novolak resin : Novolak powder resin is widely used in most of the friction material applications like Brake pads, Brake lining, railway brake blocks,clutch facings and other friction products. In the application where the wet mixing is the process, novolak powder resin is used in partially quantity along with the liquid resins. The main advantage of Novolak powder r...