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The main objective of the project is the development of new rubber compounds for outsoles and specific adhesives with similar properties than the conventional materials currently used, in order to avoid the surface preparation of soling material prior to bonding, or at least to reduce as much as possible, and simplify the overall bonding process.

This means the study of modifications to be done at elastomeric materials and adhesives in order to pre-activate its reactive sites allowing bonding, to obtain good adhesion parameters, according to European standards (CEN TC309 and CEN TC193) without this modifications affecting the final physical and mechanical properties of the soles.

The individual industrial objectives and/or targets that can be reached through the development of this project are:

  • Simplified use of rubber in the footwear industry, avoiding surface treatments.
  • Cost reduction at shoe factories through the elimination of one production step (ranging between 10 and 80% depending on the avoided surface treatment).
  • Elimination of hazardous chemicals from shoe factories, improving the work safety conditions.
  • Increase of the added value of rubber, improving its compatibility with adhesives.
  • Increase of the added value of adhesives, improving its compatibility with rubbers compounds.
  • Decrease of the social costs in the companies due to the reduction of insurance costs, owing to the disappearance of the risks inherent in the storage and use of solvents and hazardous chemicals.

The project will have the following milestones that have to be met by the indicates dates if the overall objectives of the project are to be achieved within the foreseen time:

  • M1 (Month 9): Establishing a correlation between rubber physical-chemical properties and adhesion properties.
  • M2 (Month 18): Eliminating or reducing at maximum the surface treatment in rubber bonding at laboratory level.
  • M3 (Month 24): Industrial validation or the INTELLIGENT-MULTIFUNCTIONAL MATERIALS (rubber compounds and adhesives)
  • M4 (Month 12): Mid-term assessment.