last modified: 07/03/2006

Course code: CH4011MS

Course name: Polymer Science

This concerns a Course

In the program of  MSc MSE                                         and of 

EC (European Credits): 4 (1 EC concerns a work load of 28 hours)

Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Department of MSE

Lecturer 1: prof.dr. S.J. Picken

Tel.:  015 - 27 86946 / 81828

Lecturer 2:      

Lecturer 3:      

Catalog data:

polymer science, polymerisation, chain statistics, amorphous structures, crystalline structures, mechanical properties, modulus, strength, brittle-ductile behaviour, DMA, processing of polymers, polymer processing

Course year:

MSc 1st year

Course language:

English

 

In case of Dutch: Please contact the lecturer about an English alternative, whenever needed.

Semester:

 /  /

Hours per week:

4

Other hours:

     

Assessment:

Written exam

Assessment period:

2B / August

(see academic calendar)

 

Prerequisites (course codes):

     

Follow up (course codes):

     

Detailed description of topics:

Polymerisation - free radical and condensation polymerisation, Shultz-Flory distribution, Mol. weight averages.

Characterisation - solution properties, Flory-Huggins equation, chain statistics, endpoint distance, persistence length and chain stiffness, viscometry, intrinsic viscosity, osmotic pressure, GPC.

Structure - amorphous and crystalline structures, DSC, DMA, volume temperature diagram, Glass transition and melting point, lamellar thickness, crystallisation kinetics, relation to molecular structure.

Mechanical properties - modulus, strength, Time-temperature superposition, WLF equation, Maxwell, Kelvin-Voight and Burgers' model, Bolzmann superposition principle, brittle-ductile behaviour, DMA, secondary relaxations.

Introduction to processing - injection moulding operation window, extruder-diagram, thermal conduction.

Course material:

  • lecture notes, books: R.J. Young and P.A. Lovell, Introduction to polymers, Chapman & Hall, London, 2nd edition, 1991, A.K. van der Vegt, From polymers to plastics, DUP, 4th ed., 1999 (English version is available as PDF file only, not on sale, see Blackboard site of this course)

References from literature:

  •      

Remarks assessment, entry requirements, etc.:

     

Learning goals:

The student is able to use the basic elements of polymer science to explain the properties, mechanical behavior and processing of polymer materials.

 

More specifically, the student is able to:

1. Indicate the possibilities and limitations of various polymer synthesis techniques

2. Recognise some of the standard polymer chemical structures

3. Explain what impact synthesis and chemical structure has on polymer material properties & selection for

    application

4. Reproduce the characterisation of polymers via various methods and the relation with the underlying polymer

    chain statistics

5. Explain how crystalline and amorphous structures are formed, how this can be modified and controlled, and to

    relate this to the thermo-mechanical properties of polymers

6. Describe the complex mechanics of simple polymers and how this is based on polymer dynamics

7. Explain the specific nature of polymer processing and how this is related to viscosity, molecular mass, thermal

    conduction

Computer use:

     

Laboratory project(s):

     

Design content:

20% related to material selection