Thermoplastic and Thermoset Processing (EBT 336/4)

Polymer Processing: Principles and Design presents the background required to design processes for thermoplastics. Often engineers are hired by the polymer industry to develop and design processes for thermoplastics, to design polymer processing machinery, to develop processes for new polymers, and to optimize existing processes. However, at best, they receive only a little training in polymer science and no training in the design of polymer processes. This book emphasizes the fundamental concepts that allow the student and the practicing engineer to carry out practical design decisions. While most books leave the student with equations only, Polymer Processing: Principles and Design provides the numerical methods required to solve the equations using the personal computer and easy-to-use IMSL numerical subroutines, and ensures a solid foundation in the principles underlying the design of polymer processing techniques.

Rapra Technology is the leading independent international organisation with over 80 years of experience providing technology, information and consultancy on all aspects of rubbers and plastics. The company has extensive processing, analytical and testing laboratory facilities and expertise, and produces a range of engineering and data management software products, and computerised knowledge-based systems. Rapra also publishes books, technical journals, reports, technological and business surveys, conference proceedings and trade directories. These publishing activities are supported by an Information Centre which maintains and develops the world's most comprehensive database of commercial and technical information on rubbers and plastics. Book jacket.

Based on lecture notes from a five-week polymer processing laboratory course taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this text provides background on polymer processing for engineering students and practicing engineers.

This book is designed to introduce plastics to a wide range of readers who need to either gain, improve, or refresh their knowledge of plastic materials and manufacturing. It fully discusses both materials and manufacturing processes in a carefully-constructed and logical presentation. While providing a fundamental overview of a broad spectrum of topics, the author touches upon polymeric materials (molecular viewpoint); micro structures in polymers; mechanical properties (macro viewpoint); chemical and physical properties (macro viewpoint); thermoplastic materials (commodity plastics); thermoplastic materials (engineering plastics); thermoset materials; elastomeric (rubber) materials; designing with plastics; extrusion process; injection molding process; blow molding process; thermoforming process; rotational molding process; casting processes; foaming processes; compression and transfer molding processes; polymeric composite materials and processes; radiation processes; finishing and assembly; environmental aspects of plastics; and operations. For practicing engineering technologists and engineers as well as anyone interested in plastics.

Presents rheological data on a number of polymers, making use of the master curve approach to determine unified curves for each generic type of polymer. The text offers a step-by-step procedure for developing a speadsheet computer program to obtain accurate thermoplastic rheograms at any tempertature without using sophisticated rheometres. It includes possible correlations of melt flow index with various parameters involved in polymer manufacture, product fabrication and property evaluation.

Over much of the last three decades, the evolution of techniques for characterizing composite materials has struggled to keep up with the advances of composite materials themselves and their broadening areas of application. In recent years, however, much work has been done to consolidate test methods and better understand those being used. Finally, a consensus regarding the best available methods exists, and definitive recommendations can be made. Experimental Characterization of Advanced Composite Materials provides a concise, authoritative treatment of the best available methods for determining the mechanical properties, thermal expansion coefficients, and fracture and strength data for composite materials. With emphasis firmly on practical matters, it presents processing techniques, specimen preparation, analyses of test methods, test procedures, and data reduction schemes. Five chapters that cover specific aspects of lamina testing are followed by discussions that extend these principles to laminate responses. The treatment concludes by exploring composite durability issues with discussions on defects and fracture mechanics. With its concise format, detailed procedures, and expert assessments, this book is an outstanding resource for composites manufacturing and test engineers and lab technicians. It brings together all of the most appropriate and widely accepted test test methods developed to date.

An ideal introductory text, this book helps readers understand and improve current manufacturing processes as well as invent novel composite processing techniques. It includes qualitative questions and fill-in-the-blank exercises along with quantitative problems. The contents covers transport equations especially geared towards polymer flows, the basics of fluid mechanics and heat transfer principles, short fiber suspension and advanced thermoplastic manufacturing methods, reaction and crystallization kinetics and permeability of fabrics, conventional assumptions in polymer composite processing, and modeling tools such as dimensionless analysis and closed forms solutions.

Natural/Bio-fiber composites are emerging as a viable alternative to glass fiber composites, especially for automotive, building, and consumer product industries applications. Natural fibers are becoming one of the fastest growing additives for thermoplastics. Natural Fibers, Biopolymers, and Their Biocomposites presents comprehensive knowledge in the area of bio-fibers, biopolymers, and biocomposites in one text. Chapters provide a clear understanding of the present state and the growing utility of biocomposites. Contributors are foremost experts on biobased materials and together they provide the only book available that focuses on biobased materials.