The use of polymer composites in various engineering applications has become state of the art. This multi-author volume provides a useful summary of updated knowledge on polymer composites in general, practically integrating experimental studies, theoretical analyses and computational modeling at different scales, i. e. , from nano- to macroscale. Detailed consideration is given to four major areas: structure and properties of polymer nanocomposites, characterization and modeling, processing and application of macrocomposites, and mechanical performance of macrocomposites. The idea to organize this volume arose from a very impressive workshop - The First International Workshop on Polymers and Composites at IVW Kaiserslautern: Invited Humboldt-Fellows and Distinguished Scientists, which was held on May 22-24,2003 at the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany. The contributing authors were invited to incorporate updated knowledge and developments into their individual chapters within a year after the workshop, which finally led to these excellent contributions. The success of this workshop was mainly sponsored by the German Alexander von Humboldt Foundation through a Sofia Kovalevskaja Award Program, financed by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research within the "Investment in the Future Program" of the German Government. In 2001, the Humboldt Foundation launched this new award program in order to offer outstanding young researchers throughout the world an opportunity to establish their own work-groups and to develop innovative research concepts virtually in Germany. One of the editors, Z.

30 years ago, polymer processing was considered to be a set of operations aiming at imparting a desired shape to the material, while its final properties were defined exclu sively by the molecular structure and architecture resulted from the respective synthetic approaches. These two fields of knowledge - polymer processing and polymer structure - grew closer as several scientific and technological works disclosed the microstructure and other morphological features developed by polymeric systems upon different process ing conditions. Even before the real understanding of the polymer structural details, engineers were able to make use of the effect of molecular orientation and to manufacture polymeric fi bres with enhanced properties in terms of stiffness and strength. However, it was during the 1970s that the scientific community started to relate microstructure development and the thermomechanical environment associated to different processing techniques. Ever since, very important works were done on semi crystalline, amorphous or blended polymers in order to identify and, recently, to predict the effect of the imposed shear fields and cool ing gradients on the final product properties. These efforts led to more accurate process ing methods and stimulated new engineering approaches, such as property enhancement through out-of-the-processing as well as on-line control. Modem processing technology has developed further towards the nano level, enabling impacts on the macromolecular structure."

This book details all current techniques for converting bulk polymers into nano-size materials. The authors highlight various physical and chemical approaches for preparation of nano-size polymers. They describe the properties of these materials and their extensive potential commercial applications.

This book details all current techniques for converting bulk polymers into nano-size materials. The authors highlight various physical and chemical approaches for preparation of nano-size polymers. They describe the properties of these materials and their extensive potential commercial applications.

The use of polymer composites in various engineering applications has become state of the art. This multi-author volume provides a useful summary of updated knowledge on polymer composites in general, practically integrating experimental studies, theoretical analyses and computational modeling at different scales, i. e. , from nano- to macroscale. Detailed consideration is given to four major areas: structure and properties of polymer nanocomposites, characterization and modeling, processing and application of macrocomposites, and mechanical performance of macrocomposites. The idea to organize this volume arose from a very impressive workshop - The First International Workshop on Polymers and Composites at IVW Kaiserslautern: Invited Humboldt-Fellows and Distinguished Scientists, which was held on May 22-24,2003 at the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany. The contributing authors were invited to incorporate updated knowledge and developments into their individual chapters within a year after the workshop, which finally led to these excellent contributions. The success of this workshop was mainly sponsored by the German Alexander von Humboldt Foundation through a Sofia Kovalevskaja Award Program, financed by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research within the "Investment in the Future Program" of the German Government. In 2001, the Humboldt Foundation launched this new award program in order to offer outstanding young researchers throughout the world an opportunity to establish their own work-groups and to develop innovative research concepts virtually in Germany. One of the editors, Z.

30 years ago, polymer processing was considered to be a set of operations aiming at imparting a desired shape to the material, while its final properties were defined exclu sively by the molecular structure and architecture resulted from the respective synthetic approaches. These two fields of knowledge - polymer processing and polymer structure - grew closer as several scientific and technological works disclosed the microstructure and other morphological features developed by polymeric systems upon different process ing conditions. Even before the real understanding of the polymer structural details, engineers were able to make use of the effect of molecular orientation and to manufacture polymeric fi bres with enhanced properties in terms of stiffness and strength. However, it was during the 1970s that the scientific community started to relate microstructure development and the thermomechanical environment associated to different processing techniques. Ever since, very important works were done on semi crystalline, amorphous or blended polymers in order to identify and, recently, to predict the effect of the imposed shear fields and cool ing gradients on the final product properties. These efforts led to more accurate process ing methods and stimulated new engineering approaches, such as property enhancement through out-of-the-processing as well as on-line control. Modem processing technology has developed further towards the nano level, enabling impacts on the macromolecular structure."