Plastics Materials

Plastics are part of everyday life and contribute immensely to the benefit of humanity. When failures occur, they are due in part either to inferior properties (resulting from poor design or badly controlled processing), or to an incomplete understanding of the properties and applications of plastics materials. Since publication of the first edition, the plastics industry has increas ingly adopted advanced business procedures and automation (such as closed loop control and robotics), to combat the effects of recession, and has moved increasingly towards methods based on sound scientific and technological principles. Plastics have increasingly been used in appli cations once dominated by the use of metals and ceramics. For instance, in the automotive industry, the modern car now contains a much higher proportion of polymers, including commodity plastics and more spec ialized materials. In addition, compact discs are being made from new injection-moulding grades of polycarbonate, which meet the requirements of a demanding process. This second edition has been thoroughly revised and extended to include new materials, technologies and design concepts. Chapters on thermoplastics reflect the development of polymer blends and alloys, whilst the chapters devoted to thermosets have been reorganized to accommodate the renaissance in the applications of phenolics and to cover the growing importance of polyurethanes. The related two component process technologies are now included; having undergone major developments in the last decade, they have become important shaping processes.

1 Introduction.- 1.1 Background.- 1.2 Structure and properties of plastics.- 1.2.1 Mechanical properties.- 1.2.2 Thermal properties.- 1.2.3 Electrical properties.- 1.2.4 Optical properties.- 1.2.5 Melt properties.- 1.2.6 Chemical properties.- 1.3 Additives.- 1.4 Processing of plastics.- 1.4.1 Thermoplastics processing.- 1.4.2 Foams.- 1.4.3 Shaping of cross-linking plastics.- 1.5 Practical methods of processing.- 1.5.1 Thermoplastics processing.- 1.5.2 Processing methods for cross-linking plastics.- 1.6 Interactions between shaping process and plastics materials.- Further reading.- 2 Fundamentals of design.- 2.1 Engineering design.- 2.1.1 Fracture mechanics applied to plastics.- 2.2 Design limitations imposed by processing method.- 2.3 Product design.- 2.3.1 Thermoplastics.- 2.3.2 Thermosetting plastics.- 2.3.3 Foams and reinforced plastics.- 2.3.4 Tolerance and dimensional control of products.- 2.4 Importance of economics of processing in design.- Further reading.- 3 Styrene plastics.- 3.1 Polystyrene.- 3.2 High impact polystyrene.- 3.3 Styrene copolymers.- 3.4 ABS plastics.- 3.5 Polystyrene-poly(phenylene oxide) blends.- 4 Other amorphous thermoplastics.- 4.1 Poly(methyl methacrylate).- 4.2 Cellulose plastics.- 4.2.1 Regenerated cellulose.- 4.2.2 Cellulose esters.- 4.2.3 Cellulose ethers.- 4.3 Polycarbonates.- 5 Propylene plastics.- 5.1 Homopolymer and impact-modified grades.- 5.2 Filled polypropylene.- 5.3 Foamed polypropylene.- 5.4 Miscellaneous applications of propylene polymers.- 6 Other polyolefin plastics.- 6.1 Polyethylene.- 6.1.1 High-density polyethylene.- 6.1.2 Low-density polyethylene.- 6.1.3 Linear low-density polyethylene.- 6.1.4 Very low-density polyethylene.- 6.1.5 Blends of ethylene polymers.- 6.2 Ethylene copolymers.- 6.3 Polybut-1-ene.- 6.4 Poly-4-methylpent-1-ene.- 7 Other crystalline thermoplastics.- 7.1 Polyamides.- 7.1.1 General-purpose polyamides.- 7.1.2 Modified polyamides.- 7.1.3 Aromatic polyamides and polyimides.- 7.2 Thermoplastic polyesters.- 7.2.1 Homo-polyesters.- 7.2.2 Blends of polyesters.- 7.3 Polyacetals.- 8 Vinyl chloride plastics.- 8.1 Unplasticized poly(vinyl chloride).- 8.2 Plasticized poly(vinyl chloride).- 8.3 Vinyl chloride copolymers.- 8.4 Blends of poly(vinyl chloride).- 8.5 Vinylidene chloride polymers and copolymers.- 9 Speciality thermoplastics.- 9.1 Fluoroplastics.- 9.1.1 Poly(tetrafluoroethylene).- 9.1.2 Poly(vinylidene fluoride).- 9.1.3 Other fluoropolymers.- 9.2 Polysulphones.- 9.3 Poly(phenylene sulphide).- 10 Cross-linked plastics.- 10.1 Introduction.- 10.2 Phenol-formaldehyde plastics.- 10.2.1 Novolak PF resins.- 10.2.2 Resol PF resins.- 10.3 Urea-formaldehyde plastics.- 10.4 Melamine-formaldehyde plastics.- 10.5 Unsaturated polyester resins.- 10.5.1 Structure and properties.- 10.5.2 Glass fibre-reinforced polyesters.- 10.6 Epoxide resins.- 11 Polyurethane plastics.- 11.1 Introduction.- 11.2 Molecular structure-property relationships.- 11.2.1 Typical reactions.- 11.2.2 Monomeric components.- 11.3 Properties and applications of polyurethanes.- 11.3.1 Flexible polyurethane foams.- 11.3.2 Rigid polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams.- 11.3.3 Reaction injection moulded polyurethane products.- 11.3.4 Elastomeric and resinous thermosetting polyurethanes.- 11.3.5 Thermoplastic polyurethanes.- 11.3.6 Polyurethanes as surface coatings, adhesives and sealants.- Further reading.