Science And Technology Of Polyurethane Materials

Basic concepts and applications

What you'll learn

Understand the importance of the polyurethanes industry and the different fields where you can have a career.

You will understand which are the main markets and applications of polyurethanes

You will be able to use the properties of isocyanates and polyols to apply them to any industry

You will understand the most relevant chemical reactions of isocyanates and how they affect the microstructure of polyurethanes

How to use the structure-property relationships so as to predict polyurethane properties

Select and understand the additives suitable for each polyurethane industry

You will be able to correlate microstructure, materials employed and technology in flexible and rigid polyurethane foams

You will be able to correlate microstructure, materials employed and technology in elastomers, adhesives and coatings

Requirements

The course is focused to the main audience and the concepts can be acquired without any specific background. If you have a chemical background, you will be able to understand more about polyurethanes. If you have a technical background, this course is perfect for you so as to understand how the main concepts of the polyurethane industry.

Description

This course has the main purpose to serve as an introduction of the polyurethane industry. Due to the intrinsic versatility of polyurethane materials, a special focus is made into the different industries where polyurethane is used as well as its main properties and characteristics. The contents are tackled without the rigor of presenting the complex chemistry behind each polyurethane application, but focusing on the key technical and engineering concepts which are fundamental to achieve it.  The course starts with a presentation of the most relevant concepts of polyurethanes, that its, the materials employed to manufacture these polymers. We fcos on the properties of the polyols and the isocyanates as well as key additives employed in the industry. Then, the main chemical reactions taking place are presented focusing on the key concepts and avoiding specific chemical details.  The subsequent sections are mostly associated to polyurethane applications. The course covers covers the most relevant applications such as rigid polyurethane foams, flexible polyurethane foams, elastomers, adhesives, thermoplastic polyurethanes as well as other relevant applications.  Within each section, you'll be able to learn about the main materials used to attain a specific application, the technologies that are employed to manufacture polyurethane materials and the microstructure that it is required for each of these applications. 

Overview

Section 1: Introduction and content overview

Lecture 1 Personal introduction

Lecture 2 Content overview

Section 2: Main polyurethane markets and applications

Lecture 3 Markets and applications

Lecture 4 Market share, main industries

Section 3: Isocyanates and its main chemical reactions

Lecture 5 Isocyanates and polyurethanes

Lecture 6 Isocyanates: main classes

Lecture 7 Isocyanates: main properties

Lecture 8 Isocyanates: chemical reactions

Lecture 9 Chemical reactions : isocyanates + alcohols

Lecture 10 Chemical reactions: reaction rates

Lecture 11 Chemical reactions: urethane reversibility

Lecture 12 Chemical reactions: isocyanates + water

Lecture 13 Chemical reactions: isocyanates + amines

Lecture 14 Chemical reactions: isocyanates dimerization

Lecture 15 Chemical reactions: isocyanates trimerization

Section 4: Main types and properties of polyols

Lecture 16 Polyols: general classification

Lecture 17 Polyols: fundamental properties

Lecture 18 Polyols: hydroxyl value (OH#)

Lecture 19 Polyols: functionality

Lecture 20 Polyols: molecular weight

Section 5: Polyurethane Additives

Lecture 21 Surfactants

Lecture 22 Catalysts

Lecture 23 Blowing agents

Section 6: Structure-property relationships of polyurethanes

Lecture 24 Phase separation

Lecture 25 Isocyanate index effect

Section 7: Flexible and semi-flexible polyurethane foams

Lecture 26 General classification

Lecture 27 Materials and technologies

Lecture 28 Microstructure

Section 8: Rigid polyurethane foams

Lecture 29 General classification

Lecture 30 Materials : isocyanates and polyols

Lecture 31 Materials: formulations

Lecture 32 Technologies: continuous boardstock

Lecture 33 Technologies: spray polyurethane foam (SPF)

Lecture 34 Technologies: injection and moulded

Lecture 35 Microstructure

Section 9: Elastomers

Lecture 36 General classification

Lecture 37 Materials : isocyanates, prepolymers and polyols

Lecture 38 Technologies

Lecture 39 Microstructure

Section 10: Adhesives, coatings and waterborne polyurethanes

Lecture 40 Markets and main concepts

Lecture 41 Applications

Lecture 42 Coatings: polyols employed

Lecture 43 Coatings: main formulations

Lecture 44 Adhesives: types and applications

Lecture 45 Adhesives: wood

If you are a designer, technician, engineer or a scientist which is starting to work in the polyurethane industry, this course will help you to excel in your career. The concepts developed here are key for a broad understanding of the polyurethane industry, particularly from a technical point of view.