This book discusses polymers from a mechanical engineering perspective, treating stresses and deformations in polymeric structural components.

Applied Mechanics of Polymers: Properties, Processing, and Behavior provides readers with an overview of the properties, mechanical behaviors and modeling techniques for accurately predicting the behaviors of polymeric materials. The book starts with an introduction to polymers, covering their history, chemistry, physics, and various types and applications. In addition, it covers the general properties of polymers and the common processing and manufacturing processes involved with them. Subsequent chapters delve into specific mechanical behaviors of polymers such as linear elasticity, hyperelasticity, creep, viscoelasticity, failure, and fracture. The book concludes with chapters discussing electroactive polymers, hydrogels, and the mechanical characterization of polymers. This is a useful reference text that will benefit graduate students, postdocs, researchers, and engineers in the mechanics of materials, polymer science, mechanical engineering and material science. Additional resources related to the book can be found at polymersmechanics.com. - Provides examples of real-world applications that demonstrate the use of models in designing polymer-based components - Includes access to a companion site from where readers can download FEA and MATLAB code, FEA simulation files, videos and other supplemental material - Features end-of-chapter summaries with design and analysis guidelines, practice problem sets based on real-life situations, and both analytical and computational examples to bridge academic and industrial applications

Very few polymer mechanics problems are solved with only pen and paper today, and virtually all academic research and industrial work relies heavily on finite element simulations and specialized computer software. Introducing and demonstrating the utility of computational tools and simulations, Mechanics of Solid Polymers provides a modern view of how solid polymers behave, how they can be experimentally characterized, and how to predict their behavior in different load environments. Reflecting the significant progress made in the understanding of polymer behaviour over the last two decades, this book will discuss recent developments and compare them to classical theories. The book shows how best to make use of commercially available finite element software to solve polymer mechanics problems, introducing readers to the current state of the art in predicting failure using a combination of experiment and computational techniques. Case studies and example Matlab code are also included. As industry and academia are increasingly reliant on advanced computational mechanics software to implement sophisticated constitutive models – and authoritative information is hard to find in one place - this book provides engineers with what they need to know to make best use of the technology available. - Helps professionals deploy the latest experimental polymer testing methods to assess suitability for applications - Discusses material models for different polymer types - Shows how to best make use of available finite element software to model polymer behaviour, and includes case studies and example code to help engineers and researchers apply it to their work

This book provides a unified mechanics and materials perspective on polymers: both the mathematics of viscoelasticity theory as well as the physical mechanisms behind polymer deformation processes. Introductory material on fundamental mechanics is included to provide a continuous baseline for readers from all disciplines. Introductory material on the chemical and molecular basis of polymers is also included, which is essential to the understanding of the thermomechanical response. This self-contained text covers the viscoelastic characterization of polymers including constitutive modeling, experimental methods, thermal response, and stress and failure analysis. Example problems are provided within the text as well as at the end of each chapter. New to this edition: · One new chapter on the use of nano-material inclusions for structural polymer applications and applications such as fiber-reinforced polymers and adhesively bonded structures · Brings up-to-date polymer production and sales data and equipment and procedures for evaluating polymer characterization and classification · The work serves as a comprehensive reference for advanced seniors seeking graduate level courses, first and second year graduate students, and practicing engineers

A physical, mechanism-based presentation of the plasticity and fracture of polymers, covering industrial scale applications through to nanoscale biofluidic devices.

Polymer physics is one of the key courses not only in polymer science but also in material science. In his textbook Strobl presents the elements of polymer physics to the necessary extent in a very didactical way. His main focus is on the concepts and major phenomena of polymer physics, not just on mere physical methods. He has written the book in a personal style evaluating the concepts he is dealing with. Every student in polymer and materials science will be happy to have it on his shelf.

How do engineering materials deform when bearing mechanical loads? To answer this crucial question, the book bridges the gap between continuum mechanics and materials science. The different kinds of material deformation are explained in detail. The book also discusses the physical processes occurring during the deformation of all classes of engineering materials and shows how these materials can be strengthened to meet the design requirements. It provides the knowledge needed in selecting the appropriate engineering material for a certain design problem. This book is both a valuable textbook and a useful reference for graduate students and practising engineers.