We are carrying out a research program involving the modeling and experimental characterization of the injection molding process. The goal of the work is to be able to use fundamental polymer characteristics along with momentum, heat and mass transport during molding to predict short and long term physical properties of molded objects.
Current research is focused on studying filled semicrystalline polymers.
Polymer Blends Polymer blends are finding increasingly greater applications, but the interaction of blend components and why some blends are compatible and others are not is not always readily predicted. Recent work has centered on studies of copolymer systems, the use of block copolymers as surface active agents to modify the compatibility of homopolymer blends and the effect of thermal history on apparent compatibility. The transport of matter through polymer systems has important industrial applications as varied as the desorption of monomer from polymer, the production of barrier films and the separation of mixtures. We have for several years carried on an active research program involving the experimental investigation and modeling of mass transport of gas mixtures in several types of polymer structures. The mixing of high viscosity incompatible polymers is an important industrial process for which present theories are inadequate.