Design And Prediction Of Filler And Composite Properties

This book lays the theoretical foundations and emphasizes the close connection between theory and experiment to optimize models and real-life procedures for the various stages of polymer composite development. As such, it covers quantum-mechanical approaches to understand the chemical processes on an atomistic level, molecular mechanics simulations to predict the filler surface dynamics, finite element methods to investigate the macro-mechanical behavior, and thermodynamic models to assess the temperature stability. The whole is rounded off by a look at multiscale models that can simulate properties at various length and time scales in one go -- and with predictive accuracy.

Vikas Mittal is currently senior researcher at the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Previously, he was a polymer engineer at BASF Polymer Research in Ludwigshafen, Germany. He obtained his PhD in Polymer and Materials Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. Later, he worked as a materials scientist in the Active and Intelligent Coatings section of SunChemical in London, UK. His research interests include polymer nanocomposites, novel filler surface modifications and thermal stability enhancements. He has authored more than 30 scientific publications and book chapters and hold various patents.