Materials Science of Polymers: Plastics, Rubber, Blends and Composites

Technical and technological development demands the creation of new materials that are stronger, more reliable, and more durable—materials with new properties. This book skillfully blends and integrates polymer science, plastic technology, and rubber technology to highlight new developments and trends in advanced polyblends. The fundamentals of polymerization, polymer characteristics, rheology and morphology, as well as composition, technology, testing and evaluation of various plastics, rubbers, fibers, adhesives, coatings, and composites are comprehensively presented in this informative volume. The book presents the developments of advanced polyblends and the respective tools to characterize and predict the material properties and behavior. It provides important original and theoretical experimental results that use non-routine methodologies often unfamiliar to many readers. Furthermore chapters on novel applications of more familiar experimental techniques and analyses of composite problems are included, which indicate the need for the new experimental approaches that are presented. This new book: • Provides an up-to-date and thorough exposition of the present state of the art of polyblends and composites • Familiarizes the reader with new aspects of the techniques used in the examination of polymers, emphasizing plastic technology and rubber technology • Describes the types of techniques now available to the polymer chemist and technician and discusses their capabilities, limitations, and applications • Provides a balance between materials science and the mechanics aspects, basic and applied research, and high-technology and high-volume (low-cost) composite development Entrepreneurs and professionals engaged in production of as well as research and development in polymers will find the information presented here valuable and informative.