Winter Technical Meeting – 2026

Agenda:

4:00 – Dinner Ticket / Membership Sales

4:30 – Technical Presentations

6:00 – Social Hour

7:00 – Dinner

Advanced Reservations:  $35 each     ***Without prior reservation:  $40 each (limited number available)

Email reservations to Denise Kotz at denisekotz@strategicrealm.consulting OR mail to Ohio Rubber Group, PO Box 553, Hudson, OH 44236.

Winter Technical Meeting Reservation Form

Need to Renew your Membership??  Complete the Membership Form and pay for both at same time!

Pay in Advance is the Preferred Method for payment.  Avoid lines at the meeting!  Click here to pay in advance for both dinner tickets and Membership.

Technical Presentations:

“Advanced Rheological Characterization of SBR with Recovered and Carbon Black Fillers Using Rubber Process Analyzer (RPA)”

Unal Yilmazoglu, Applications Engineering Manager, Alpha Technologies

With rising interest in sustainable fillers for rubber compounds, there is a growing need for detailed rheological characterization. Using RPA with Sub-Zero technology, this study provides a comparative rheological analysis of SBR compounds filled with recovered carbon and conventional carbon black at various filler loadings. Additionally, Fourier Transform (FT) rheology provides distinct viscoelastic fingerprints that differentiate recovered carbon from carbon black-filled formulations.

“Stiffness-Hysteresis Tradeoff in the Dynamic Mechanical Behavior of Rubber Compounds Reinforced with Precipitated Silica, Carbon Black, and Other Nanofillers”

Christopher G. Robertson, Principal Consultant, Polymer Technology Services LLC

A review of numerous data sets for temperature-dependent dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of various nanofiller-reinforced rubber compounds reveals that the peak height for loss tangent (tand) in the glass transition region is inversely related to the dynamic storage modulus in the rubbery state, the latter influenced strongly by the type and concentration of filler. The results that illustrate this stiffness-hysteresis tradeoff include recent DMA data for a model passenger tire tread compound, based on styrene-butadiene rubber reinforced with different loadings of precipitated silica and silane coupling agent. This general trend is also noted for published data for various rubber compounds filled with precipitated silica or carbon black and with data for various elastomer nanocomposites from scientific literature. Viscoelastic models show the same inverse relationship, independent of any material-related interpretation. This viscoelastic tradeoff will be discussed along with implications for the performance of tire treads and other rubber applications.

“Synthesis of Carboxyl Terminated Polymyrcene by Anionic Polymerization using CO2”

Trishna K Chengappa, PhD student and Scholarship Winner, The University of Akron

This work investigates the termination of anionically polymerized myrcene with carbon dioxide to produce carboxylic acid–terminated polymers, aiming to enable further functionalization and non-linear architectures like graft copolymers. Challenges such as maximizing carboxylation in bulk, managing side reactions with THF, and optimizing CO₂ addition are addressed through tailored reaction conditions and characterization methods.

***Please turn off cell phones during the presentations****