This book provides the background needed to understand not only the wide field of polymer processing, but also the emerging technologies associated with the plastics industry in the 21st century. It combines practical engineering concepts with modeling of realistic polymer processes. Divided into three sections, it provides the reader with a solid knowledge base in polymer materials, polymer processing, and modeling. "Understanding Polymer Processing" is intended for the person who is entering the plastics manufacturing industry and as a textbook for students taking an introductory course in polymer processing. It also serves as a guide to the practicing engineer when choosing a process, determining important parameters and factors during the early stages of process design, and when optimizing such a process. Practical examples illustrating basic concepts are presented throughout the book. New in the third edition are chapters on data-driven modeling and physics-driven modeling, as well as new sections on manufacturing and dimensional analysis. In addition to a number of other smaller improvements and corrections throughout the book, bonus code downloads are also provided. Contents: Part I: Polymeric Materials This section gives a general introduction to polymers, including mechanical behavior of polymers and melt rheology. Part II: Polymer Processing The major polymer processes are introduced in this section, including extrusion, mixing, injection molding, thermoforming, blow molding, film blowing, and many others. Part III: Modeling This last section delivers the tools to allow the engineer to solve back-of-the-envelope polymer processing models. It includes dimensional analysis and scaling, transport phenomena in polymer processing, and modeling polymer processes.

Polymer Processing Instabilities: Control and Understanding offers a practical understanding of the various flows that occur during the processing of polymer melts. The book pays particular attention to flow instabilities that affect the rate of production and the methods used to prevent and eliminate flow instabilities in order to increase product

Engineering of polymers is not an easy exercise: with evolving technology, it often involves complex concepts and processes. This book is intended to provide the theoretical essentials: understanding of processes, a basis for the use of design software, and much more. The necessary physical concepts such as continuum mechanics, rheological behavior and measurement methods, and thermal science with its application to heating-cooling problems and implications for flow behavior are analyzed in detail. This knowledge is then applied to key processing methods, including single-screw extrusion and extrusion die flow, twin-screw extrusion and its applications, injection molding, calendering, and processes involving stretching. With many exercises with solutions offered throughout the book to reinforce the concepts presented, and extensive illustrations, this is an essential guide for mastering the art of plastics processing. Practical and didactic, Polymer Processing: Principles and Modeling is intended for engineers and technicians of the profession, as well as for advanced students in Polymer Science and Plastics Engineering.

Fundamental concepts coupled with practical, step-by-step guidance With its emphasis on core principles, this text equips readers with the skills and knowledge to design the many processes needed to safely and successfully manufacture thermoplastic parts. The first half of the text sets forth the general theory and concepts underlying polymer processing, such as the viscoelastic response of polymeric fluids and diffusion and mass transfer. Next, the text explores specific practical aspects of polymer processing, including mixing, extrusion dies, and post-die processing. By addressing a broad range of design issues and methods, the authors demonstrate how to solve most common processing problems. This Second Edition of the highly acclaimed Polymer Processing has been thoroughly updated to reflect current polymer processing issues and practices. New areas of coverage include: Micro-injection molding to produce objects weighing a fraction of a gram, such as miniature gears and biomedical devices New chapter dedicated to the recycling of thermoplastics and the processing of renewable polymers Life-cycle assessment, a systematic method for determining whether recycling is appropriate and which form of recycling is optimal Rheology of polymers containing fibers Chapters feature problem sets, enabling readers to assess and reinforce their knowledge as they progress through the text. There are also special design problems throughout the text that reflect real-world polymer processing issues. A companion website features numerical subroutines as well as guidance for using MATLAB®, IMSL®, and Excel to solve the sample problems from the text. By providing both underlying theory and practical step-by-step guidance, Polymer Processing is recommended for students in chemical, mechanical, materials, and polymer engineering.

This book provides the background needed to understand not only the wide field of polymer processing, but also the emerging technologies associated with the plastics industry in the 21st Century. The book combines practical engineering concepts with modeling of realistic polymer processes. It is divided into three sections that provide the reader sufficient knowledge of polymer materials, polymer processing, and modeling. Understanding Polymer Processing is intended for the person who is entering the plastics manufacturing industry and as a textbook for students taking an introductory course in polymer processing. This three-part book also serves as a guide to the practicing engineer when choosing a process, determining important parameters and factors during the early stages of process design, and when optimizing such a process. Practical examples illustrating basic concepts are presented throughout the book. Contents: o Part I - Polymeric Materials This section gives a general introduction to polymers, including mechanical behavior of polymers and melt rheology o Part II Polymer Processing The major polymer processes are introduced in this section, including extrusion, mixing, injection molding, thermoforming, blow molding, film blowing, and many others. o Part III Modeling This last section delivers the tools to allow the engineer to solve back-of-the-envelop polymer processing models. It includes dimensional analysis and scaling, transport phenomena in polymer processing, and modeling polymer processes

Polymer science is fundamentally interdisciplinary, yet specialists in one aspect, such as chemistry or processing, frequently encounter difficulties in understanding the effects of other disciplines on their own. This book describes clearly how polymer chemistry and polymer processing interact to affect polymer properties. As such, specialists in both disciplines can gain a deeper understanding of how these subjects underpin each other. Coverage includes step-by-step introductions to polymer processing technologies; details of fluid flow and heat transfer behaviour; shaping methods and physical processes during cooking and curing, and analyses of moulding and extrusion processes.