With the aerospace and defence industries poised for growth in virtually every segment; the commercial, general aviation, military and space sectors are a ‘must watch’ area for businesses seeking new business and technology opportunities. Accompanying this growth, polymers will play an increasing role, with, for example, a near doubling of the aerocomposites market being predicted by 2016. Polymers in Defence and Aerospace Applications took an in depth look at how polymers are increasingly being used to meet the developing demands of this industry in areas such as weight minimisation, increased strength and enhanced affordability. Both defence and aerospace are industries where the performance requirements of polymer-based materials are continually being pushed to the limits of what is possible in order to help achieve these goals, and where there is a constant demand for new and improved materials for a wide range of existing and new applications. This conference covered all of the important polymer related areas specific to the defence and aerospace industries, from state-of-the-art R&D to characterisation, fabrication, technology development and many new and emerging applications. Polymers in Defence & Aerospace Applications featured presentations from key defence and aerospace industry experts, as well as from polymer manufacturers and those developing new polymer based materials, technologies and applications.

This book discusses polymeric and composite materials for aerospace industries and discusses some general qualities of aviation materials, e.g., strength, density, malleability, ductility, elasticity, toughness, brittleness, fusibility, conductivity, and thermal expansion. Metals and alloys have so far been best able to utilize their qualities almost to the maximum. The latest advancements in polymers and composites have opened up a new area of conjecture about how to modify airplanes and shuttles to be more polymeric and less metallic. Polymeric materials have been the focus of exploration due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, low cost, and a greater degree of freedom in strengthening the needed qualities. Strength, density, malleability, ductility, elasticity, toughness, brittleness, fusibility, conductivity, and thermal expansion are some of the general qualities of aviation materials that are taken into account. Aerospace Polymeric Materials discusses a wide range of methods with an outline of polymeric and composite materials for aerospace applications. Among the range of topics discussed are aerogel properties; polymeric welding; polymeric reinforcement, their properties, and manufacturing; conducting polymer composites; electroactive polymeric composites; and polymer nanocomposite dielectrics. In addition, a summary of self-healing materials is also presented, including their significance, manufacturing methods, properties, and applications. Audience This is a useful guide for engineers, materials scientists, researchers, and postgraduate students from industry, academia, and laboratories that are linked to polymeric composites.

The field of polymer nanocomposites has become essential for engineering and military industries over the last few decades as it applies to computing, sensors, biomedical microelectronics, hard coating, and many other domains. Due to their outstanding mechanical and thermal features, polymer nanocomposite materials have recently been developed and now have a wide range of applications. Polymer Nanocomposites for Advanced Engineering and Military Applications provides emerging research on recent advances in the fabrication methods, properties, and applications of various nano-fillers including surface-modification methods and chemical functionalization. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as barrier properties, biomedical microelectronics, and matrix processing, this book is ideally designed for engineers, industrialists, chemists, government officials, military professionals, practitioners, academicians, researchers, and students.