Polymer Science and Engineering-Physics

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

Contribution of the course to the program objectives

With respect to the program of the Master in Chemical and Materials Science Engineering, this course contributes to the development and the acquisition of the following learning outcomes:

LO 1.1.Identify and use concepts, laws, and reasoning related to a problem of limited complexity.

LO 1.2. Identify and use modelling and computational tools to solve this problem.

At the end of this course, students will be able to :

Determine the parameters required to model a macromolecular chain by a freely-jointed chain model, a wormlike model, or a model of rotational isomeric states; explain using statistical physics how these parameters vary with molar mass, temperature or chemical nature of the repeat unit;

Use statistical physics and a freely-jointed chain model to compute the retraction force resulting from increasing the distance between the chain ends of a polymer chain; explain the main characteristics of this force; derive the stress/strain curve of a rubber band, starting from equations describing the statistical behavior of its chain segments, and from the environmental constraints of the experiment;

Describe phenomenologically the glass transition of polymers and the relaxation phenomena associated with it, on the basis of the notion of free volume. Use this approach to explain how the glass transition is sensitive to the temperature and the rate of measurement;

Describe the morphology of a semicrystalline polymer at different scales, and draw a scheme of this morphology; state how this morphology controls the properties of the material; enumerate the parameters which control the melting temperature of a polymer; derive the equation relating this melting temperature and the lamellar thickness; list the main experimental facts that must be included in any theory of polymer crystallization, and present briefly some kinetic theories able to explain these facts;

Derive the principle of time/temperature equivalence for the elastic modulus of polymers, and describe its practical consequences for the use of such materials; quantify these effects by the Williams-Landel-Ferry equation;

Define and explain different concepts related to the molecular structure of polymers (topology, repeating units linking, configurational structures, average molecular weights and dispersity)