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     CHE 543 Polymer Science and Technology
 

This course is intended to provide a broad overview of polymer science and engineering. The emphasis will be given on the synthesis and structure of polymeric materials, the crystalline and glassy states, solution and melt properties, phase behavior, mechanical and rheological properties. 3 credit hours

  
     

Prerequisite
  

A BS Degree in engineering or related field. Students uncertain if they meet the prerequisites should contact the instructor.

 
Course Objectives  
  • Understand and describe the manufacture (using both traditional and non-traditional synthesis schemes) of commercially important polymers using concepts from chemical kinetics and equilibrium thermodynamics;

  • Present a basic understanding of the structure of polymer chains in solution (including molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, chain conformation) and methods to characterize polymers in solution;
  • Describe polymer phase behavior using basic Flory-Huggins theory of polymer solutions/melts;
  • Understand the structure of polymers in the solid state and describe the effects of structural organization (i.e. crystallinity, liquid crystallinity, phase separation) on molecular and end use properties of polymers, and recognize the basic stress/strain and viscoelastic behavior of polymers based on a knowledge of structure and thermal properties (e.g., melting and glass transition) and apply the Boltzmann superposition principle and Williams-Landel-Ferry equation to predict viscoelastic behavior of polymeric melts.

 
Course Requirements  

HOMEWORK: Bi-weekly homework assignments

EXAMINATIONS: 2 Midterm tests and a Final Examnination

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: Internet browser software (IE, Netscape) and PowerPoint

PROJECTS: 10 Page (double spaced) written paper

 
Course Outline by Topical Areas  
  • The nature of polymer materials and polymer microstructure: including branching, networks, tacticity and copolymers;

  • Polymer synthesis: step-growth and chain polymerizations;

  • Kinetics of polymerization: the kinetics of step growth and free radical chain polymerizations; relationship to molecular weight;

  • Statistics of step-growth polymerization: the use of statistics in describing molecular weight distributions in step-growth polymerization;

  • Copolymerization: the kinetics of free radical copolymerization;

  • Structure: chain conformations, amorphous polymers, and the morphology of semi- crystalline polymers;

  • Crystallization, melting and the glass transition: an introduction to crystallization kinetics, melting and glass formation;

  • Polymer solutions: the Flory-Huggins theory and phase behavior;

  • Measurement of molecular weight: osmometry, light scattering, viscosity and size exclusion chromatography; mechanical and rheological properties: stress/strain behavior, visoelasticity, non- linear mechanical and rheological behavior, ultimate properties.

 
Textbooks  

Fundamentals of Polymer Science: An Introductory Text by Paul C. Painter, Steven Strauss, Michael M. Coleman. Woodhead Publishing, Ltd., April 1998. ISBN-13: 9781566765596.

Supplementary textbooks:
Young, R. J. and P. A. Lovell, Introduction to Polymers, Chapman & Hall, London, 1991, Third edition. ISBN: 978-0849339295

Flory, P. J., Principles of Polymer Chemistry, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1967.

 
Computer and Internet Requirements  

NCSU has recommended minimum specifications for computers that are generally used for courses. Those specifications can be found here: http://www.ncsu.edu/it/compspecs/

Engineering Online recommends that your computer meets or exceeds the following minimum specifications below. A computer with greater capability (processor speed, RAM, internet bandwidth, disk capacity) will be more likely to properly display the video content of Engineering Online courses.

Windows:

  • Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2003, or Windows Vista
  • Intel-compatible 1 GHz processor
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 60 GB hard drive with 1 GB free space available
  • Video display at 1024 x 768 or greater
  • Sound output and speakers
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or later, Firefox 2.0 or later, or Google Chrome 1.0
  • Windows Media Player 9.0 or later
  • Real One Player Basic (required for certain courses)
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
  • Broadband Internet connection (256 Kbps or more)

Mac OS X:

  • Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later
  • G4 processor
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 60 GB hard drive with 1 GB free space available
  • Video display at 1024 x 768 or greater
  • Sound output and speakers
  • Safari 2.0.4 (or later) or Firefox 2.0 (or later)
  • Silverlight  (viewers may be prompted to install this when first viewing a presentation)
  • Real One Player Basic (required for certain courses)
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
  • Broadband Internet connection (256 Kbps or more)
  • NOTE:  The Flip4Mac plug-in causes problems when viewing Mediasite presentations and should be disabled.

Linux:

  • Playback of Mediasite presentations on Linux is accomplished via the Moonlight Project, an open source implementation of Microsoft Silverlight. For more installation on the installation and configuration of Moonlight, please visit http://www.go-mono.com/moonlight/. The compatible operating systems and browsers are listed on this page.
  • Microsoft Media Pack for Moonlight
  • Adobe Reader for Unix
  • Broadband Internet connection (256 Kbps or more)

 
Instructor   Dr. Jan Genzer, Professor
Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Engineering Bldg I (COE I), Box 7905
NCSU Campus
Raleigh, NC 27695

Phone: (919) 515-2069
Fax: (919) 515-3465
Email: jan_genzer@ncsu.edu
Instructor Website: http://scf.che.ncsu.edu