Polymer Degradation and Performance

The development of polymeric materials and their optimization for high performance applications requires a detailed understanding of their degradation sensitivities, and the various features affecting durability and reliability. This book provides an overview of the current trends in this research field. Individual topics present the latest concepts related to material lifetime prediction methodologies, new insight into complex degradation mechanisms, and how the knowledge of their performance limiting processes can be applied to the design of materials with improved features. Appropriate analytical characterization techniques that are fundamental to all areas of polymer degradation and optimization studies and the overlapping performance interests in a range of existing and developing applications are discussed. The audience will be material engineers and polymer chemists working in academia, large research institutes and industry dealing with polymer design and development, material testing and durability assessments.

Mathew Celina leads a small research group dealing with polymer materials performance optimization and lifetime prediction issues at Sandia National Laboratories. Jeffrey Wiggins is Assistant Professor of Polymer Science and Engineering at The University of Southern Mississippi. Norman Billingham is Professor Emeritus from the University of Sussex.

Books by same author Celina and Assink. Polymer Durability and Radiation Effects, ACS Symposium Series #978, 2007, pp.366, $150