Polymer process engineering 1997 PDF

Polymer processing is an exciting, fast moving area of industry, which has also attracted a strong, lively academic presence worldwide. The growth in the use of plastics, driven by considerations of property, styling, mass production capabilities and cost, ensures that the processing sector will continue to develop, in the quest to ensure enhanced quality and efficiency. The scope of this volume is to address the issues: where is polymer processing going? and what are the key trends in technology at the end of the 20th century in this vital international industry? Each of the papers in the book was presented at the Polymer Process Engineering International Conference, July 1997. In total they cover engineering excellence in polymer processing, with leading edge developments in polymer processing technology, in-process measurements and process flow modelling, and control

Key developments in the major generic processing areas include important variants on the standard injection moulding and extrusion processes in terms of machine and material control, and novel processing techniques. These are complemented by presentation of trends in process monitoring and control, where developments in at-process or in-process sensing are opening up new possibilities for quality control in extrusion and injection moulding processes - these include the move of spectroscopic techniques nearer to the process, philosophies of control approaches, and also strategies for dealing with large amounts of process data. The underlying process rheology and computer modelling of process flows is well represented, ranging from basic extensional and shear rheology studies - off line and in-process - related to processing, through to evaluations and applications of commercial flow modelling software. Throughout there is considerable interest in sensors and their application for enhanced monitoring of polymer, machinery and process, in process engineering and the application of first class engineering science to the manufacturing process.

I believe that this book provides a timely and most interesting spectrum of Polymer Process Engineering, and I am grateful to all the authors and colleagues who have made this volume possible.

The PPE conference, a biennial international conference, is organised by:

• The Polymer Processing and Engineering Committee of the Institute of Materials,
• The UK Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Polymer Science and Technology, and
• The University of Bradford.

Edited by: P.D. Coates