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     CHE 596 Polymer Rheology and Processing
 

This introductory course is designed to offer a broad overview of rheological principles. Prior knowledge in the subject is not required and participants from any discipline are welcome. The course content will have three components: general principles, experimental methods, and applications. The last part will focus on specific systems (e.g. suspensions, foams, gels, coatings, etc.). Major experimental techniques will be discussed, and, participants having taken this course will be familiar with the peculiar flow characteristics of complex systems, be able to quantify Non-Newtonian fluids and be able to interpret /design rheological experiments. Unlike traditional engineering courses that focus on mathematical solutions, the emphasis will be on interpreting physical situations, analyzing/examining experimental results and designing/proposing methods and experiments to probe fundamental hypothesis. 3 credit hours

  
     

Prerequisite
  

B.S. degree in engineering or related area with background in differential equations.

 
Course Outline  

The topics covered in the course will include the following:

General Overview: flow phenomena in polymeric fluids, mathematical preliminaries
Material functions for Polymer Liquids
Generalized Newtonian Fluids
Linear Viscoelasticity
Rheometry
Gels and Chemorheology of Reacting Systems
Suspensions and Multiphase Systems
Polymer Melts and Solutions

 
Textbook  

Macosko, Christopher W. RHEOLOGY: Principles, Measurements and Applications, Wiley and Sons, 1994. Additional handouts will also be provided.


Optional Texts  

Bird, R. Byron, Robert C. Armstrong and Ole Hassager, Dynamics of Polymer Liquids, Vol. 1, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 1987.

Morrison, Faith A., Understanding Rheology , Oxford University Press, 2001

Larson, Ronald G., The Structure and Rheology of Complex Fluids, Oxford University Press, 1999.

 
Course Requirements  

HOMEWORK: Homework will be assigned approximately every other week. (10%)

EXAMINATIONS: There will be two examinations, a mid-term and a final. (70%)

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: None

PROJECTS: Students will be required to perform critical reviews of two recently published rheology articles. The format of the reviews will be discussed later in the course. (20%)

IMPORTANT NOTE: The course offered this summer was recorded during the 15-week semester at NC State University. The summer session, however, is 10 weeks in duration. Therefore, students will need to cover the course material at a considerably faster pace than during the regular semester. All course requirements must be completed during the 10-week summer session. This should be a consideration before registering for the course.

 
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:

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  • Microsoft Media Pack for Moonlight
  • Adobe Reader for Unix
  • Broadband Internet connection (256 Kbps or more)

 
Instructor  

Dr. Saad Khan , Professor and Director of Graduate Programs
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Engineering Bldg I (COE I) 2034, Box 7905
NCSU Campus
Raleigh, NC 27695

Phone: (919) 515-4519
Fax: (919) 515-3465
Email: khan@eos.ncsu.edu
Instructor Website: http://www.che.ncsu.edu/faculty_staff/sak.html