Polymer Processing and Engineering

Polymer processing is commonly defined as the “activity performed on polymeric materials to increase their usefulness”. It involves not only the shaping but also the synthesis, transformation, compounding, functionalization, and stabilization of materials. The combination of these operations determines the final properties and performance of any polymeric product: “Polymer, Processing and Performance all go hand in hand and cannot be decoupled”. Today the development of new materials with improved properties and easy processability is particularly urgent because it offers relief to the environment and increases the acceptance of plastic products. New materials and products cannot occur without improving existing machines, which can even lead to radically new manufacturing processes. The past decade has seen great progress in the design and control of polymer processing operations along with the development of innovative products and fabrication methods. Most of these successes are scattered throughout a wide scientific and technical literature. The purpose of this section is to coherently collect these studies and present them to a wide industrial and academic community.

Topics include, but are not limited to the following:

• New process development
• New materials, additives, and fillers
• Reactive extrusion and co-extrusion
• Mixing and blending
• Long-fiber composites
• Composites pultrusion and laminates
• Fiber spinning and electrospinning
• Film casting and film blowing
• Blow molding and Thermoforming
• Injection, compression, transfer, and rotational molding
• Additive manufacturing and 3D printing
• Bio-printing and bio-fabrication
• Foaming and barrier properties
• Coating and thin films
• Welding and sintering
• Surface treatments
• Process control
• Simulation and optimization of process
• Products testing and analysis
• Polymer rheology and mechanical properties
• Polymer design
• Modified polymer materials