Polymer Engineering (PLYE)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Nature of polymer blends and compounds and their applications. Preparation and technology using batch and continuous mixers. Mixing Mechanisms. (Formerly 9841:525)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Molding methods to manufacture polymeric products. Machinery, materials, molds, equipment, computer-aided design. (Formerly 9841:527)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Introduction to engineering properties and polymer processing. Analyzing mechanical polymer tests in glassy, rubbery, and fluid states. Product design, rheology, rheometry, and polymer processing concepts. (Formerly 9841:550)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Laboratory experiments on the rheological characterization of polymer melts, fabrication of engineering products, structural investigation of polymeric parts. (Formerly 9841:551)

This course covers intermolecular Interactions, (de)wetting, adsorption, adhesion and friction, colloidal stability, nucleation, and assembly process. (Formerly 9841:600)

Presentations of recent research on topics in polymer engineering by internal and external speakers. (Formerly 9841:601)

Quantitative analysis methods central to Polymer Engineering, with applications including materials flow, deformation, and characterization. (Formerly 9841:610)

Characterization of orientation, morphology, superstructure in polymers using x-ray, light scattering, birefringence, dichroism. Crystallography, unit cell determination. (Formerly 9841:611)

Experimental methods of determination of rheological properties of polymer melts, solutions, elastomers. Structure-flow behavior relationships, viscoelastic fluid theory, application to extrusion, fiber, film processing molding. Structure development in processing. (Formerly 9841:621)

Prerequisite: PLYE 621. Mathematical modeling and engineering design analysis of polymer processing operations including extruder screws, injection molds, dies, fibers, film formation. (Formerly 9841:622)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Basic studies on non-isothermal phenomena in polymer engineering emphasizing crystallization, vitrification, frozen-in orientation and residual stresses, applications, including fiber spinning and film extrusion. (Formerly 9841:623)

Transitions as a function of polymer structure, optical characteristics, mechanical including ultimate properties, viscoelastic behavior of elastomers and plastics, large strain behavior E emphasis on experimental methods. (Formerly 9841:631)

Physico-chemical properties of amorphous and crystalline polymers. Glass transitions, crystallization, molecular orientation and morphology of important commercial polymers, fabricated products and composite materials. (Formerly 9841:641)

Basic concepts of polymer engineering taught in lecture-laboratory format intended for orientation of new graduate students. (Formerly 9841:650)

Prerequisite: PLYE 622. Rheological characterization of polymer melts, rubber and plastic extrusion, extrudate swell, injection and compression molding, crystallization behavior, x-ray diffraction, film blowing, impact and tensile testing. (Formerly 9841:651)

Polymerization kinetics, classical reactor design, comparison of polymerization in batch and continuous stirred tank reactors, flow patterns around agitators, tubular reactors, reactor stability. (Formerly 9841:661)

This course will focus on providing guidance to beginning graduate students on general concepts that are typically encountered in research including: 1. Scientific method; 2. Ethics in research; 3. Scientific paper writing; 4 Scientific presentations. (Formerly 9841:666)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. This course focuses on the fundamental aspects of nanotechnology in general and basic knowledge of polymer/carbon nanoscience and nanotechnology in particular. (Formerly 9841:675)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. This course is an introduction to coating science. The synthesis of polymeric binders and pigments used in commodity coatings will be the focus of the first part of the course. The second part of the course will focus on coatings formulation and end-use applications for commodity coatings. (Formerly 9841:680)

(May be repeated) Supervised original research in specific area of polymer engineering. (Formerly 9841:699)

Applications of rheo-optical methods as means of determining stress fields in polymeric glasses and fluids during deformation, rheo-optical properties of polymers in glassy, rubbery and fluid states. Theory of dynamic birefringence and its application to mechanical relaxations of amorphous and semi-crystalline polymers, and recent experimental results. (Formerly 9841:712)

Prerequisites: PLYE 611 and PLYE 623 or equivalent (with permission of instructor). This course will focus on the advanced structural and functional property characterization techniques including optical, electrical, magnetic and others. A particular focus will be the influence of the history of polymer processing on these properties. (Formerly 9841:715)

Prerequisite: PLYE 621. Molecular theory for concentrated solutions and melts of flexible homopolymers, molecular rheology of miscible polymer blends, block copolymers, and liquid crystalline polymers. (Formerly 9841:720)

Prerequisite: PLYE 622 or equivalent. Particle-particle interactions, mixing devices and design, theoretical hydrodynamics of suspensions of rigid particles, experimental studies of rheological behavior, phenomenological theories representing suspension behavior, dispersion of droplets to form an emulsion, phase morphology development and rheological properties of blends. (Formerly 9841:721)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Modeling of processing operations including extrusion molding, fiber and film processing, computer-aided design. (Formerly 9841:722)

Interpretation of rheological properties and critical study and analysis of processing operations including behavior in internal mixers, screw extruders, die systems and vulcanization molding. (Formerly 9841:723)

Principles of operation and flow in single and twin screw extruders, screw design, characteristics of internal mixers, analysis and simulation of flow. (Formerly 9841:724)

Prerequisite: PLYE 621 or PLYE 622. Rheological behavior of thermosets, vulcanization of rubbers, time-temperature-transition relationships in thermosets, reaction injection molding, compression/transfer molding, pultrusion. (Formerly 9841:725)

Prerequisite: PLYE 621 or equivalent. Second level course in non-linear constitutive equation for viscoelastic, viscoplastic, viscoelastic-plastic polymeric materials. Utility and applicability to polymer processing problems. (Formerly 9841:727)

Prerequisites: PLYE 621, PLYE 622, PLYE 623, and PLYE 631. Basics of generally accepted numerical methods. Numerical problems in polymer solid mechanics and technological applications. Numerical problems in polymer fluid mechanics and polymer processing. Commercial softwares. (Formerly 9841:728)

Prerequisite: PLYE 631. The design of rubber mounts, bearings and sandwich components with demonstration of finite element methods. Classical plates and shells theories with applications to composite structures. (Formerly 9841:731)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Structure of low molecular weight and polymeric liquid crystals, characterization, physical properties including optical properties, phase transitions, structure-property relationships, processing of polymeric species. (Formerly 9841:745)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Colloidal dispersions, phase stability, aggregation structures, thermodynamics, kinetics of phase transitions in polymer colloids. Emulsion and solution polymerization, organic/inorganic hybrid materials, coating technology. Rheology of colloidal polymers. (Formerly 9841:747)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Elucidating thermodynamics of polymer blends, block copolymers, crystalline/liquid crystalline polymers, and kinetics of phase transitions. Structure development and modeling of reactive polymer blends. (Formerly 9841:749)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. This course provides fundamental knowledge in physical, thermal and rheological properties required for injection and compression molding including theoretical and experimental aspects of various molding processes. (Formerly 9841:761)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Develops understanding on synthesis, characterization, processing and properties of polymer nanocomposite materials involving nanoscale fillers in conjunction with thermosetting, thermoplastic, and elastomeric polymer matrices. (Formerly 9841:770)

Prerequisite: PLYE 641 or equivalent. The polymeric binders used in radiation-curable coatings for electronic packaging and waterborne coatings will be stressed. The chemistry of dyes and the coatings science of pigments will be presented. The chemistry of polymer degradation will also be covered. (Formerly 9841:773)

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Introduces molecular simulation methods (Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics)and their application to polymer-related materials at the molecular and coarse-grain levels. (Formerly 9841:777)

Prerequisites: PLYE 611 and PLYE 641. This course focuses on the recent development of functional polymers for applications as advanced materials and smart devices, which requires the attendant to possess some prior knowledge of polymer science and polymer engineering from such 600 level course(s) as mentioned above. (Formerly 9841:778)

(May be repeated) Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Advanced special topics intended for Ph.D. students in polymer engineering. (Formerly 9841:797)

(May be repeated) Prerequisites: Completion of qualifying examination, approval of Student Advisory Committee. Preliminary investigation of Ph.D. dissertation subject. (Formerly 9841:898)

(May be repeated) Prerequisite: Completion of candidacy examination of Student Advisory Committee. Original research by a Ph.D. candidate. (Formerly 9841:899)