Applications & Processing of Polymers

Flashcards covering essential vocabulary and concepts from the lecture on Advanced Materials Engineering focusing on polymers.

Natural Polymers

Originally used polymers such as wood, rubber, cotton, wool, leather, and silk.

Polymer

A substance composed of many repeating units called mers.

Molecular Weight (Mw)

Mass of a mole of polymer chains, sensitive to higher molecular weights.

Degree of Polymerization (n)

Number of repeat units per chain in a polymer.

Thermoplastics

Polymers that can be heated and reshaped multiple times.

Thermosets

Polymers that undergo a curing process and cannot be remelted.

Spherulite

A spherical aggregate of crystalline and amorphous regions in a polymer.

Crystallinity

The measure of the degree to which a polymer forms a crystalline structure.

Stress-Strain Behavior

Describes how a material deforms under stress, expressed as the relationship between stress and strain.

Creep

The tendency of a polymer to deform permanently under constant stress over time.

Viscoelasticity

A property of materials that exhibit both viscous and elastic characteristics when deformed.

Polyethylene (PE)

A versatile polymer used in packaging, known for its toughness and resistance to chemicals.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

A rigid polymer with good molding ability, used in pipes and electrical insulation.

Polystyrene (PS)

An inexpensive polymer used in food containers, known for its low impact strength.

Diffusion in Polymeric Materials

The process of small molecules moving between polymer chains, affecting material properties.

Melt Temperature (Tm)

The temperature at which a polymer transitions from a solid to a liquid state.

Glass Transition Temperature (Tg)

The temperature at which a polymer transitions from a brittle state to a rubbery state.

Crosslinking

The formation of chemical bonds between polymer chains, increasing strength and rigidity.

Amorphous Region

Areas within a polymer that are disordered and do not have crystalline structure.

Vulcanization

A chemical process that crosslinks rubber, enhancing its elasticity and strength.