Handbook of Natural Polymers, Volume One: Sources, Synthesis, and Characterization is a comprehensive resource covering extraction and processing methods for polymers from natural sources, with an emphasis on the latest advances. Sections cover the current state-of-the-art, challenges and opportunities in natural polymers. Following sections cover extraction, synthesis and characterization methods organized by polymer type. Along with broad chapters discussing approaches to starch-based and polysaccharide-based polymers, dedicated chapters offer in-depth information on nanocellulose, chitin and chitosan, gluten, alginate, natural rubber, gelatin, pectin, lignin, keratin, gutta percha, shellac, silk, wood, casein, albumin, collagen, hemicellulose, polyhydroxyalkanoates, zein, soya protein, and gum. Final chapters explore other key themes, including filler interactions and properties in natural polymer-based composites, biocompatibility and cytotoxicity, and biodegradability, life cycle, and recycling. Throughout the book, information is supported by data, and guidance is offered regarding potential scale-up and industry factors.

Anthropometry, Apparel Sizing and Design, Second Edition, reviews techniques in anthropometry, sizing system developments, and their applications to clothing design. The book addresses the need for the improved characterization of population size, weights and the shapes of consumers. This new edition presents the very latest advances, and is expanded to include in-depth coverage of sizing and fit for specific groups and applications. Sections cover the development of sizing systems, classification and body types, the use of anthropometric data, body measurement devices and techniques, including 3D scanners for the full body and for particular body parts, 4D scanning technology and motion analysis. Additional sections cover testing and the evaluation of fit and anthropometric sizing systems for particular functions, thus reflecting the increasing need for apparel to meet specific needs, such as in swimwear, protective clothing, mobility, intimate apparel, footwear and compression garments. This book will be an essential reference source for apparel designers, manufacturers, retailers and merchandisers. Its detailed information and data will also be of great interest to researchers and postgraduate students across clothing technology, product design, fashion and textiles.

Nanostructured Immiscible Polymer Blends: Migration and Interface covers a wide range of nanoparticle types, emphasizing the mechanisms and parameters involved in the migration of nanofillers inside immiscible polymer blends. This book explores the influence of nanoparticle migration on the localization, and hence, morphology development, electrical conductivity, and met-rheological properties of blended composite materials. As the influence of solid particles, ranging in size from several hundred nanometers to a few microns in immiscible polymer blends has been extensively studied for use as compatibilizers, morphology stabilizers, and reinforcement agents, this book is a timely resource.

Science and Engineering of Short Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites, Second Edition, provides the latest information on the 'short fiber reinforced composites' (SFRP) that have found extensive applications in automobiles, business machines, durable consumer items, sporting goods and electrical industries due to their low cost, easy processing and superior mechanical properties over parent polymers. This updated edition presents new developments in this field of research and includes new chapters on electrical conductivity, structural monitoring, functional properties, self-healing, finite element method techniques, multi-scale SFRCs, and both modern computational and process engineering methods.

High-Performance Elastomeric Materials Reinforced by Nanocarbons: Multifunctional Properties and Industrial Applications provides detailed information on the latest techniques and state-of-the-art developments regarding elastomeric materials reinforced by nano-carbon. The book supports academic researchers and postgraduate students who are looking to further advance the research and study of high-performance, multifunctional materials. In addition, it enables those in industry to improve manufacture and end products by using these materials.

Superhydrophobic Polymer Coatings: Fundamentals, Design, Fabrication, and Applications offers a comprehensive overview of the preparation and applications of polymer coatings with superhydrophobicity, guiding the reader through advanced techniques and scientific principles. Sections present detailed information on the fundamental theories and methods behind the preparation of superhydrophobic polymer coatings and demonstrate the current and potential applications of these materials, covering a range of novel and marketable uses across industry, including coatings with properties such as foul resistance and self-cleaning, anti-icing and ice-release, corrosion inhibition, antibacterial, anti-reflection, slip and drag reduction, oil-water separation, and advanced medical applications. This book is a highly valuable resource for academic researchers, scientists and advanced students working on polymer coatings or polymer surface modifications, as well as professionals across polymer science, polymer chemistry, plastics engineering, and materials science. The detailed information in this book will also be of great interest to scientists, R&D professionals, product designers and engineers who are looking to develop products with superhydrophobic coatings.

Structure and Mechanics of Textile Fibre Assemblies, Second Edition, offers detailed information on all aspects of textile structure and mechanics. This new edition is updated to include the latest technology and techniques, as well as fiber assembly for major application areas. Chapters discuss the mechanics of materials and key mechanical concepts, such as stress, strain, bending and shear, but also examine structure and mechanics in-depth, including fabric type, covering yarns, woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, nonwovens, tufted fabrics, textile composites, laminated and coated textile fabrics, and braided structures. Finally, structure and mechanics are approached from the viewpoint of key applications areas. This book will be an essential source of information for scientists, technologists, engineers, designers, manufacturers and R&D managers in the textile industry, as well as academics and researchers in textiles and fiber science.

Fundamentals and Emerging Applications of Polyaniline presents in-depth coverage of synthetic routes, characterization tools, experimental procedures, and the preparation of PANI-based materials for advanced applications. Sections examine the various synthetic routes available for the polymerization of aniline, covering both conventional methods and new approaches, specific PANI-based materials, and their potential applications. Users will be able to understand how to use these methods in areas such as electromagnetic interference shielding, rechargeable batteries, light emitting diodes, super capacitors, anti-static packaging and coatings, photonics, biomedical applications, chemical and biochemical sensors. This is a highly valuable source of information for researchers, scientists and graduate students in polymer science, polymer composites, polymer chemistry, nanotechnology, physics and materials science.

Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs): Commercialization Prospects guides the reader through the various steps in the conceptualization, design, preparation and innovative applications of molecularly imprinted polymers while also demystifying the challenges relating to commercialization. Sections cover molecularly imprinted polymers, design, modeling, compositions and material selection. Other sections describe novel methods and discuss the challenges relating to the use of molecularly imprinted polymers in specific application areas. The final chapters of the book explore the current situation in terms of patents and commercialized materials based on MIPs, as well as prospects and possible opportunities. This is a valuable resource for all those with an interest in the development, application, and commercialization of molecularly imprinted polymers, including researchers and advanced students in polymer science, polymer chemistry, nanotechnology, materials science, chemical engineering, and biomedicine, as well as engineers, scientists and R&D professionals with an interest in MIPs for advanced applications.

Unsaturated Polyester Resins: Fundamentals, Design, Fabrication, and Applications explains the preparation, techniques and applications relating to the use of unsaturated polyester resin systems for blends, interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs), gels, composites and nanocomposites, enabling readers to understand and utilize the improved material properties that UPRs facilitate. Chapters cover unsaturated polyester resins and their interaction at the macro, micro and nano levels, in-depth studies on the properties and analysis of UPR based materials, and the applications of UPR based composites, blends, IPNs and gels across a range of advanced commercial and industrial fields. This is a highly detailed source of information on unsaturated polyester resins, supporting academics, researchers and postgraduate students working with UPRs, polyesters, polymeric or composite materials, polymer chemistry, polymer physics, and materials science, as well as scientists, R&D professionals and engineers in industry.

Auxetic Textiles provides a detailed introduction to the basic properties of auxetic materials and how they differ from conventional materials, particularly auxetic textiles, such as polymers, fibers, yarns, fabrics and textile composites. The book discusses the beneficial properties of auxetic structures in textiles and how to translate those benefits into actual materials development. Sections cover the deformation mechanism of textile structures to achieve auxetic behavior and the modelling and simulation of auxetic textile structures. Finally, the book provides expert insights into potential application areas. Cutting across textiles disciplines, from technical textiles and advanced composites, to fashion and design, the book is a valuable introduction to the field for newcomers, with potent insights into the potential of these materials.

Polylactic Acid: A Practical Guide for the Processing, Manufacturing, and Applications of PLA, Second Edition, provides a practical guide for engineers and scientists working in PLA and on the development of emerging new products. The current market situation for PLA and biodegradable polymers is described, along with applications across a range of market sectors. In addition, the mechanical, chemical, thermal, rheology and degradation properties are included. Updates include new chapters covering various processing methods, as well as recycling methods, and additives and processing aids. New applications cover a range of products (including 3D Printing), and an environmental assessment, including regulatory aspects. The book is not only a useful introduction to this topic, but also a practical, readily applicable reference book that will support decision-making in the plastics industry.

Materials for Biomedical Engineering: Absorbable Polymers provides a detailed and comprehensive review of recent progress in absorbable biopolymers and their impact on biomedical engineering. The book's main focus lies in their classification, processing, properties and performance, biocompatibility, and their applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery, bone repair and regenerative medicine. The most up-to-date methods used to obtain such polymers and how to improve their properties is discussed in detail. This book provides readers with a comprehensive and updated review of the latest research in the field of absorbable polymers for biomedical applications.

Creep and Fatigue in Polymer Matrix Composites, Second Edition, updates the latest research in modeling and predicting creep and fatigue in polymer matrix composites. The first part of the book reviews the modeling of viscoelastic and viscoplastic behavior as a way of predicting performance and service life. Final sections discuss techniques for modeling creep rupture and failure and how to test and predict long-term creep and fatigue in polymer matrix composites.

Silk: Processing, Properties and Applications, Second Edition, examines all aspects of silk technology, including its manufacture, processing, properties, structure-property relationships, dyeing, printing and finishing, and applications. This new edition is updated and expanded to include the very latest developments in silk production. Detailed chapters discuss silk reeling and silk fabric manufacture, the structural aspects of silk, its mechanical and thermal properties, and silk dyeing. Further chapters focus on the latest developments in terms of processing and applications, covering emerging topics, such as spider silks, non-mulberry silks, the printing and finishing of silk fabrics, and by-products of the silk industry. This book will be a highly valuable source of information for textile technologists, engineers and manufacturers, fiber scientists, researchers and academics in natural fibers or textile technology.

Modified Clay and Zeolite Nanocomposite Materials: Environmental and Pharmaceutical Applications retraces the most important knowledge gaps that the scientific community is facing, including a drawback of real-world applications. This valuable resource explores the novel applications of this group of nanomaterials that can be suitably surface-modified to obtain properties that can be applied in environmental and pharmaceutical fields. For example, modification with surfactants has given new motivation to the study of these materials by producing an inversion in the ion exchange behavior from cationic to anionic. This strategy has paved the way for new uses highlighted in this timely resource.

Smart Textiles for in situ Monitoring of Composites proposes a 'smart textile' approach to help solve the problem of real-time monitoring of the structural health of composites. The book combines textiles, composites and structural health monitoring knowledge to present an integrated approach to the deployment of smart textiles to monitor failure modes in composite materials. It introduces the theory of smart textiles for monitoring and measurement applications, describes established and developing techniques and approaches for using smart textiles for in-situ monitoring, and includes different fiber/matrix combinations and hybrid structures that are all presented using academic research and real-world case studies. As smart textiles are fitted with flexible adapted sensors and actuators that detect stress, deformation, temperature changes, light intensity, and other signals from the environment, this book is a timely resource on the topic.

Nanomaterials and Polymer Nanocomposites: Raw Materials to Applications brings together the most recent research in nanoparticles and polymer nanocomposites for a range of applications. The book's coverage is comprehensive, starting with synthesis techniques, then moving to characterization and applications of several different classes of nanomaterial and nanoparticle in nanocomposites. By presenting different nanomaterials, such as metal and metal oxides, clay and POSS, carbon nanotubes, cellulose and bio-based polymers in a structured manner, the book enables an efficient comparison of properties and capabilities for these advanced materials, making it relevant both for researchers in an academic environment and also industrial R&D. This book is particularly distinctive because it centers on the raw materials on which the nanocomposites are based, the biological properties of the range of materials discussed, and the environmental and economic considerations of different polymer systems.

Handbook of Surface Improvement and Modification contains information on several groups of additives and the modification processes which determine the surface properties of many materials. These additives can modify or improve scratch and mar resistance, improve gloss or flatten the surface, increase or decrease tack and inhibit staining. The mechanisms of damage, protection and property improvements are also discussed, making this an essential handbook for engineers, researchers and technicians interested in using additives to modify and improve the surface properties of materials. A companion book entitled Databook of Surface Modification Additives has also been published. It contains information and data on the additives commercially available to improve materials by the above-listed modifications. Both books do not repeat information. In this book, the focus is on the methods and mechanisms which are known to be responsible for the enhancement of material properties with the use of additives.

Databook of Surface Modification Additives contains data on 7 groups of additives, including anti-scratch and mar-preventing additives, gloss enhancement and surface matting additives, additives for formation of tack-free surface and tackifiers, and stain inhibiting additives. The information on each adhesion promoter is divided into five sections, including General Information, Physical Properties, Health and Safety, Ecological Properties and Use and Performance. This databook will be an extremely useful source of data for engineers, researchers and technicians interested in using additives to modify and improve the surface properties of materials.

Databook of Adhesion Promoters contains data on the most important adhesion promoter products in use today. The information on each adhesion promoter is divided into five sections: General Information, Physical Properties, Health and Safety, Ecological Properties, and Use and Performance. This databook is an extremely useful source of data for engineers, technicians and researchers involved in development, manufacture, legislation or the production of a variety of products. Adhesion promoters form a very important group of additives without which many industrial products cannot perform according to requirements. Silanes originally formed the most widely used group of adhesion promoters, but increasing numbers of new additives have been entering the market, increasing the options and possibilities. These additives are needed for a variety of products in which silanes do not function or are too expensive, or where better performance can be achieved with the new additive.

Handbook of Adhesion Promoters provides a comprehensive review of the current options and the latest knowledge on adhesion promoters. Essential aspects of adhesion promoters are discussed, including properties and potential applications of all adhesion promoters. The book outlines known mechanisms, principles of use and the application of different groups, and includes two chapters explaining requirements for preparing substrate surface. A full chapter is devoted to polymer modification, which can help improve adhesion. The last four chapters contain information on the evaluation and selection of adhesion promoters, which work with different polymers or products, improve filler-matrix performance or help prevent corrosion. This handbook is a useful source of information for engineers, technicians and researchers involved in development, manufacture, legislation or production of a variety of products. Adhesion promoters form a very important group of additives, without which many industrial products cannot perform according to requirements. Silanes originally formed the most widely used group of adhesion promoters, but increasing numbers of new additives have been entering the market, increasing options and possibilities. These additives are needed for a variety of products in which silanes do not function or are too expensive, or where better performance can be achieved with the new additive.

Handbook of Material Weathering, Sixth Edition, is an essential guide to the effects of weathering on polymers and industrial products, presenting theory, stress factors, methods of weathering and testing and the effects of additives and environmental stress cracking. The book provides graphical illustrations and numerical data to examine the weathering of major polymers and industrial products, including mechanisms of degradation, effect of thermal processes, and characteristic changes in properties. The book also discusses recycling, corrosion and weathering, and the weathering of stone. This sixth edition updates this seminal work with recent developments and the latest data. Polymers and industrial plastics products are widely used in environments where they are vulnerable to the effects of weathering. Weathering stress factors can lead to deterioration or even complete failure. Material durability is therefore vital, and products for outdoor usage or actinic exposure are designed so that the effects of artificial and natural weathering are minimized. This book is an important reference source for those involved in studying material durability, producing materials for outdoor use and actinic exposure, research chemists in the photochemistry field, chemists and material scientists designing new materials, users of manufactured products, those who control the quality of manufactured products and students who want to apply their knowledge to real materials.

The applications of biocomposite materials are increasing in aerospace, automobile, and household items due to their biodegradable, renewable, non-corrosion, and high strength to weight ratio properties. The processing and characterization of biofiber-reinforced biocomposite materials are vital for their strength and performance. This book discusses the properties, chemical treatment, and compatibility of biofibers with materials.