An Introduction to Glass Transition opens with a comparison of entropy function of temperature dependence with configurational entropy, which was published by various authors and found almost the same temperature dependence with overlap. From the dependence of the logarithm of configurational entropy vs. the logarithm of temperature, the authors suggest that it is possible to successfully predict the relations between the values of m for different glass formers.Following this, microscopic local dynamics were analyzed by way of atomistic molecular dynamics simulations through the conformational transition behavior across a wide range of temperatures. The glass transition temperature may be predicted through the intersection of separate temperature dependences. Such local dynamics were found to become gradually heterogeneous when the temperature went down close to the glassy state.The closing chapter provides a brief summary of the studies relevant to glass transitions in well-defined lipids systems such as anhydrous and/or water mixed systems. Then, some current problems and future problems are described.

Pressure is one of the essential thermodynamic variables that, due to some former experimental difficulties, was long known as the “forgotten variable.” But this has changed over the last decade. This book includes the most essential first experiments from the 1960's and reviews the progress made in understanding glass formation with the application of pressure in the last ten years. The systems include amorphous polymers and glass-forming liquids, polypeptides and polymer blends. The thermodynamics of these systems, the relation of the structural relaxation to the chemical specificity, and their present and future potential applications are discussed in detail. The book provides (a) an overview of systems exhibiting glassy behavior in relation to their molecular structure and provides readers with the current state of knowledge on the liquid-to-glass transformation, (b) emphasizes the relation between thermodynamic state and dynamic response and (c) shows that the information on the pressure effects on dynamics can be employed in the design of materials for particular applications. It is meant to serve as an advanced introductory book for scientists and graduate students working or planning to work with dynamics. Several scientific papers dealing with the effects of pressure on dynamics have appeared in leading journals in the fields of physics in the last ten years. The book provides researchers and students new to the field with an overview of the knowledge that has been gained in a coherent and comprehensive way.

Metallic Glass-Based Nanocomposites: Molecular Dynamics Study of Properties provides readers with an overview of the most commonly used tools for MD simulation of metallic glass composites and provides all the basic steps necessary for simulating any material on Materials Studio. After reading this book, readers will be able to model their own problems on this tool for predicting the properties of metallic glass composites. This book provides an introduction to metallic glasses with definitions and classifications, provides detailed explanations of various types of composites, reinforcements and matrices, and explores the basic mechanisms of reinforcement-MG interaction during mechanical loading. It explains various models for calculating the thermal conductivity of metallic glass composites and provides examples of molecular dynamics simulations. Aimed at students and researchers, this book caters to the needs of those working in the field of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of metallic glass composites.

The development of advanced materials has become extremely important in the last decade, being widely used in academic and industrial research. This book examines the potential of advanced materials as well as nanotechnology to improve fiber science from fibril to fabric mode, to create better materials and products for a variety of aspects. The book presents research advances in materials behavior using fractal analysis, mathematical modeling and simulation, and other methods. Examined are electrical, mechanical, optical, and magnetic properties; size; morphology; and chemical behavior of such materials as aerogels, polymer films, nanocomposite materials, natural composites, catalysis, and more with a view to their application in the medical, engineering, and textile fields. With chapters written by eminent scientists, the book offers valuable information for academics, researchers, and engineering professionals. Contributions range from new methods to novel applications of existing methods to help readers gain understanding of the material and/or structural behavior of new and advanced systems.

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

Partial Contents: The Glassy State: A Summary of Experimental and Theoretical Methodology; Theory: Polymer Glasses; A Multiparameter Approach for Structural Recovery of Glasses and Its Implication for Their Physical Properties; Enthalpy Recovery in Pressure-Vitrified and Mechanically Stressed Polymeric Glasses; Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy of Amorphous Polymers; High-Resolution Solid-State NMR of Glasses; Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Glass Transition; The Glass Transition: Comparison of Computer Simulation and Laboratory Studies; Comparison and Analysis of Relaxation Processes at the Glass Transition Temperature; Changes in Photoelectronic Behavior of Glasses during Structural Relaxation; Laser Light Scattering Studies of Bulk Polymers in the Glass Transition Regime; A New Free-Volume Theory of the Glass Transition; Theory of Glass Quenched from the Melt; Relaxation in Metallic Glasses; Spectroscopy of Glasses; and Glass Transition in the Hard-Sphere Model and Kauzmann's Paradox.