This completely updated edition of Principles of Polymer Processing supplies the tools required to conduct the practical design of polymers with specific properties. With extensive rewrites and four new chapters, the text nevertheless follows the original edition's approach of presenting polymer processing operations in terms of elementary and shaping steps. It also covers new developments in the field, including blend and alloy microstructuring, twin screw-based processing equipment, reactive processing and compounding, foam extrusion, the role of chaotic flows in mixing, melting, devolatilization, computer simulation, and online monitoring. This book provides a coherent analysis of the underlying principles and mechanisms of polymer processing.

From the Preface: “Tremendous science and engineering progress has been made in polymer processing since the publication of the First Edition in 1979. Evolution in the field reflects the formidable contributions of both industrial and academic investigators, and the groundbreaking developments in rheology, polymer chemistry, polymer physics, life sciences and nanomaterials, in instrumentation and improved machinery...[P]olymer processing is rapidly evolving into a multidisciplinary field. The aim is not only to analyze the complex thermo-mechanical phenomena taking place in polymer processing equipment per se, but to quantitatively account for the consequences, on the fabricated polymer products. Thus, the focus of future polymer processing science will shift away from the machine, and more on the product, although the intimate material—machine interactions in the former are needed for the latter...”

Target Audience: All students, researchers, and practitioners of polymer processing.

Table of Contents:

History, Structural Formulation of the Field through Elementary Steps, and Future Perspectives

The Balance Equations and Newtonian Fluid Dynamics

Polymer Rheology and Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics

The Handling and Transportation of Polymer Particulate Solids

Melting

Pressurization and Pumping

Mixing

Devolatilization

Single Rotor Machines

Twin Screw and Twin Rotor Processing Equipment

Reactive Polymer Processing and Compounding

Die Forming

Molding

Stretch Shaping

Calendering

Appendices

Index