Guest Post by Dr. Robert Humphreys Transport any daring, young skateboarder back in time to the days before thermoset polyurethanes (PUs) and watch their enthusiasm for the sport dissipate as their knee and ankle joints respond to cold steel rolling on concrete and asphalt. Indeed, whether the application is skateboards, roller skates, suitcases, or forklifts, thermoset PU’s ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dr. Robert Humphreys If your idea of a relaxing day is cruising on the lake in your boat, chances are you appreciate the properties of “fiberglass” construction. Fiberglass is light weight, strong, and easily formed into a wide range of shapes. Besides pleasure boats, applications include body panels for automobiles and trucks, bathtubs and shower stalls, ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dr. Robert Humphreys Thermoset polymers are part of every moment of our lives. Modern electronics, including computer chips, cell phones, tablets and laptops, servers, GPS devices, calculators, medical devices, and touch-pad controls, would be impossible without thermosets. Modern home and building construction depends on materials based on thermoset polymer ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dr. Robert Humphreys Thermoset polymer systems undergo a transformation, often referred to as “curing”, from a liquid or a soft solid in which the molecules can move around freely (i.e. the uncured material will flow) to a material in which molecules are interconnected to form a network throughout the material (the cured material will not flow, even under ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Blog by Dr. Robert Humphreys Bio-polyamides have been available commercially since the first half of the 20th Century, when Rilsan®11 was first introduced1. Image at left are Rilsan®HT connectors (source: Arkema).  Since then, other partly or fully bio-sourced polyamides have been commercialized for a range of applications. Properties, formulation and applications of ... [Click to Continue...]