Introduction to Polymer Physics

Modern polymer materials are designed by applying principles of correlation between chemical structure, physical macrostructure and technological properties. Fundamentals of polymer physics are explained in this book without excessive use of calculations. Four main sections treat relaxation of polymers, melting and crystallization, the mechanism of deformation in thermoplastics, elastomers and multiphase systems, and thermodynamics of mixing and swelling of polymers and polymer networks. The book presents the theoretical models of polymer physics in a comprehensive style and relates their applicability to real polymer systems in terms of the available experimental observations. Front Matter....Pages I-IX Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Object and Aims of Polymer Physics....Pages 3-4 Mechanical Relaxation in Polymers....Pages 5-16 Simple Phenomenological Models [4, 8]....Pages 17-25 Molecular Models of Relaxation Behavior....Pages 25-34 Glass Transition [14–47]....Pages 35-55 Flow and Rubber Elasticity in Polymer Melts [4,45, 46, 48–57]....Pages 56-75 Front Matter....Pages 77-77 Crystallization Behavior [58–75]....Pages 79-90 Melting Behavior [76–84]....Pages 91-95 Front Matter....Pages 97-97 Mechanism of Deformation of Thermoplastics and Multi-component Systems [85–97]....Pages 99-106 Rubber Elasticity of Covalently Crosslinked Elastomers [98–129]....Pages 107-137 Tear Formation and Propagation in Elastomers [130–144]....Pages 138-146 Deformation Behavior of Thermoplastic Elastomers [145–157]....Pages 147-155 Front Matter....Pages 157-157 Compatibility of Polymers [158–190]....Pages 159-172 Network Swelling [98, 188, 189]....Pages 173-176 Environmental Stress Cracking of Polymeric Materials [190]....Pages 177-177 Back Matter....Pages 179-180 The Mechanics of Linear Deformation of Polymers Crystallization and Melting of Polymers Non-linear Deformation Behavior of Polymers Mixing and Swelling of Polymers.-