Most of the shaping in the manufacture of polymeric objects is carried out in the melt state, as it is a substantial part of the physical property development. Melt processing involves an interplay between fluid mechanics and heat transfer in rheologically complex liquids, and taken as a whole it is a nice example of the importance of coupled transport processes. This book is on the underlying foundations of polymer melt processing, which can be derived from relatively straightforward ideas in fluid mechanics and heat transfer; the level is that of an advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate course, and the material can serve as the text for a course in polymer processing or for a second course in transport processes.

Established in 1960, Advances in Heterocyclic Chemistry is the definitive serial in the area-one of great importance to organic chemists, polymer chemists, and many biological scientists. Written by established authorities in the field, the comprehensive reviews combine descriptive chemistry and mechanistic insight and yield an understanding of how the chemistry drives the properties.

Volume 23 of Advances in Chemical Engineering covers the active field of process synthesis. There are currently three prevelant approaches to complex process synthesis strategies: heuristics-based selection, geometric representation, and optimization methods. This volume addresses a variety of these synthesis strategies for process subsystems, representing only a sample of the state-of-the-art of process synthesis research. The five papers in this volume address quite different process subsystems and application areas but still combine basic concepts related to a systematic approach. All five of the papers develop successful synthesis methods for their respective cutting-edge applications. As a group, the papers serve to highlight many unresolved issues in process synthesis and also provide guidelines for future research.
Key Features
* Considers current approaches to process synthesis problems
* Examines areas of possible future research
* Articles written by leading experts in the field

Volumes 21 and 22 of Advances in Chemical Engineering contain ten prototypical paradigms which integrate ideas and methodologies from artificial intelligence with those from operations research, estimation andcontrol theory, and statistics. Each paradigm has been constructed around an engineering problem, e.g. product design, process design, process operations monitoring, planning, scheduling, or control. Along with the engineering problem, each paradigm advances a specific methodological theme from AI, such as: modeling languages; automation in design; symbolic and quantitative reasoning; inductive and deductive reasoning; searching spaces of discrete solutions; non-monotonic reasoning; analogical learning;empirical learning through neural networks; reasoning in time; and logic in numerical computing. Together the ten paradigms of the two volumes indicate how computers can expand the scope, type, and amount of knowledge that can be articulated and used in solving a broad range of engineering problems.
Key Features
* Sets the foundations for the development of computer-aided tools for solving a number of distinct engineering problems
* Exposes the reader to a variety of AI techniques in automatic modeling, searching, reasoning, and learning
* The product of ten-years experience in integrating AI into process engineering
* Offers expanded and realistic formulations of real-world problems

Advances in Chemical Engineering, Volume 19 reflects the major impact of chemical engineering on medical practice, with chapters covering polymer systems for controlled release, receptor binding and signaling, and transport phenomena in tumors. Other key topics include oil refining, pollution prevention in engineering design, and atmospheric dynamics.