Rubber
DuPont drops Kevlar lawsuit against Easton-Bell
March 28, 2013 1:45 pm | by RANDALL CHASE - AP Business Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsDuPont Co. has dropped a federal lawsuit accusing sports equipment maker Easton-Bell Sports of misusing the Kevlar trademark in packaging for bicycle tires and locks. But the fight may not be over. DuPont's filing Thursday dismissing the lawsuit comes two days after a federal judge in California refused to dismiss or transfer to Delaware a lawsuit filed by Easton-Bell.
Northwestern researchers create “rubber-band electronics”
July 3, 2012 3:32 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Northwestern University, working with a team of scientists from the United States and abroad, have recently developed a type of electronics that can bend and stretch to more than 200% their original size, four times greater than is possible with today’s technology. The key is a combination of a porous polymer and liquid metal.
Civil engineers find savings where the rubber meets the road
May 23, 2012 3:44 am | by Denise Brehm, Civil and Environmental Engineering | News | CommentsA new study by civil engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that using stiffer pavements on the nation's roads could reduce vehicle fuel consumption by as much as 3%—a savings that could add up to 273 million barrels of crude oil per year, or $15.6 billion at today's oil prices. This would result in an accompanying annual decrease in carbon dioxide emissions of 46.5 million metric tons.
Gumby-like flexible robot crawls in tight spaces
December 1, 2011 5:12 am | by Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsThe Harvard University laboratory of chemist George M. Whitesides, R&D Magazine ’s 2007 Scientist of the Year, has produced a new type of flexible robot that calls to mind the clay animation character Gumby. It can wiggle and squirm through tight spaces much like the squid and starfish that inspired researchers to design it.
Making materials to order
May 26, 2011 4:01 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsA team of researchers at MIT has found a way to make complex composite materials whose attributes can be fine-tuned to give various desirable combinations of properties such as stiffness, strength, resistance to impacts, and energy dissipation.
Russian dandelions could be new source for rubber
May 11, 2011 5:51 am | by R&D Editors | News | CommentsAs a raw material, petroleum is risky because its pricing is so volatile. By domesticating a Russian variety of dandelion and using the milky-white substance that seeps from its roots, researchers from Ford and Ohio State University believe they can create a new source of natural rubber for cupholders, floor mats, and interior trim in its cars.
Strong and Pliable, 50 Years On
January 31, 2009 7:00 pm | by Dawn Duncan, Lubrizol Advanced Materials | Articles | CommentsEven today, the flexibility of thermoplastic polyurethanes is testing manufacturers’ ability to find new applications and processing methods.
