History
GUMFERENCE is a scientific conference focused on the advanced testing of soft polymeric materials. The origins of GUMFERENCE date back to 2011 when its first edition was held in Zlín, located in the southeast of the Czech Republic, where the polymer industry is concentrated within the Czech Republic.
The aim of the event was and is to develop cross-border cooperation in rubber science, especially between the industrial and academic sectors and research and development institutions. Six editions of this one-day conference have already been organized in the spirit of this idea. Initially, the conference had a regional character. However, the growing popularity of the conference ensured its development from a local to an international event. This culminated in the sixth edition, held in 2022 and organized for the first time by a consortium of international partners consisting of Tomas Bata University in Zlín (Czech Republic) and the Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V. (Germany). The event was organized online in a virtual manner, which facilitated access for participants from all over the world and arranged a program of distinguished scientists. 12 speakers from academia and industry originating from 9 different countries across Asia, Europe and North America were presenting their research work in February 2022.
The following very interesting scientific programme was presented last Gumference 2022:
| Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|
| Baobao Chang | Detecting the void formation and crystallization behavior in isotactic-polypropylene during stretching by synchrotron X-ray scattering |
| Nicolas Candau | Experimental characterization of strain-induced crystallization and elastocaloric effect in natural rubber-based composites |
| Giorgia Scetta | New insights from the fatigue testing of thermoplastic elastomers |
| Radek Stoček | Novel experimental method for characterization of adhesion kinetic during curing of rubber layers |
| Andrej Lang | Wear characterization of elastomeric materials using a alternative friction and wear tester |
| Jan Plagge | Investigation of the "original" reinforcement effect of graphitized carbon blacks |
| Ján Kruželák | Experimental investigation of electromagnetic radiation shielding effects of elastomeric composite materials |
| Mattia Ramini | Monitoring of shear heating effects during injection molding of rubber to improve the process control |
| Stéphane Lejeunes | Virtual testing methods of the dynamic behavior of CFRP damped with rubber |
| Lewis B. Tunnicliffe | New investigations on the rheology of particle reinforced rubbers |
| Eric Euchler | Rubber failure analysis - About the defect growth and crack propagation in vulcanizates |
| Will Mars | Real-time fatigue analysis of 6-channel load inputs for soft polymer products |
