Plastics Textbooks

The purpose of this subsection is to familiarize the reader with some of the basic characteristics and problems of composite laminate joints. The specific design of a joint is much too complex for an introductory textbook such as this. The published state-of-the-art of laminate joint design is summarized in the Structural Design Guide for Advanced Composite Applications [7-5] and Military Handbook 17A, Plastics for Aerospace Vehicles, Part 1, Reinforced Plastics [7-6]. Further developments can be found in the technical literature and revisions of the two preceding references. 

Design problems with the other conventional materials of construction are usually solved with the aid of textbooks or handbooks that refer the reader to data sheets where the characteristics of a specific material are listed. However, products designed with plastics involve some special considerations when using these textbooks or handbooks as reviewed in Chapter 2. 

The subject of transmitting motion and power by means of gears, their construction, and detail requirements are fully covered in textbooks, technical handbooks, and industrial literature of gear suppliers. The knowledge of gear fundamentals is a prerequisite for the understanding of where and how to insert the appropriate plastic behavioral information into the gear formulas so that the application results in favorable operation. 

In textbooks, plastic deformation is often described as a two-dimensional process. However, it is intrinsically three-dimensional, and cannot be adequately described in terms of two-dimensions. Hardness indentation is a case in point. For many years this process was described in terms of two-dimensional slip-line fields (Tabor, 1951). This approach, developed by Hill (1950) and others, indicated that the hardness number should be about three times the yield stress. Various shortcomings of this theory were discussed by Shaw (1973). He showed that the experimental flow pattern under a spherical indenter bears little resemblance to the prediction of slip-line theory. He attributes this discrepancy to the neglect of elastic strains in slip-line theory. However, the cause of the discrepancy has a different source as will be discussed here. Slip-lines arise from deformation-softening which is related to the principal mechanism of dislocation multiplication a three-dimensional process. The plastic zone determined by Shaw, and his colleagues is determined by strain-hardening. This is a good example of the confusion that results from inadequate understanding of the physics of a process such as plasticity. 

The author has struggled to develop an understanding of plastic deformation (and therefore hardness) for several decades. This has not been a straightforward task because the literature of the subject has been, and still is, confused in part (i.e., wrong). Only gradually has the author come to realize that textbooks are not necessarily correct in their interpretations of phenomena. Even experts sometimes accept misinterpretations of phenomena that, through repetition, have become gospel. 

There are also colloidal "sols in which dispersed and dispersion mediums are solids (Eg alloys, plastics, glass, some minerals, etc) Refs 1)J. Alexander, "Colloid Chemistry, Theoretical and Applied , 6 volumes, Van Nostrand, NY (1926-1946) 2)W.K.Lewis, L.Squires G.Broughton, "Industrial Chemistry of Colloidal and Amorphous Materials , Macmillan, NY (1943) 3)H.B.Weiser, "Colloid Chemistry , A Textbook, Wiley, NY (1949) 4)A.E. Alexander St P.John-... 

On the subject of stabilization and fire-proofing commercial polymers, only one textbook (I) and a few summary articles (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) exist besides specific publications. It is hoped that this book will show the importance of this area to the industry. The trend is to use plastics more and more outdoors and under severe environments. The achievements of the experts and authors of the following chapters are aimed for this target. 

This book is intended to be useful to anyone working with plastic foams (cellular plastics), and to a lesser extent, elastomeric foams. The emphasis is on practical, rather than theoretical aspects. The books should prove helpful to materials engineers, chemists, chemical engineers, sales personnel. It may also find use as a textbook or reference source in materials engineering courses. The book is a comprehensive technical treatment of plastic foams and covers information not available in any other single source. 

Tonometry may be achieved by simple homemade assem-bhes or by cormnerdaUy available equipment. Some commercially available tonometers use a thin-film technique. It consists of a glass or plastic cup fitted on a shaft and enclosed in a humidified chamber whose temperature is maintained at 37 C. A few milliliters of blood is placed in the cup, and gas flow is initiated to continuously flush the inside surface of the cup with the humidified gas. A controller unit causes the cup to rotate rapidly and periodically in short bursts, so that the blood in the cup is thrown in a thin layer over the inside walls. Another form of tonometry is the bubble technique. It uses a syringe that is specially constructed to allow gas to be introduced and humidified through the plunger. During tonometry, the syringe is laid in a thermostatically controlled aluminum heat block. Additional detail on tonometry and its applications can be found in a previous edition of this textbook. Reference conditions for tonometry have been recommended by a committee of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC). ... 

We shall not refer here to the application of suitable mathematical examples to this equilibrium process, as these are dealt with in detail in textbooks of physical chemistry. The ester, which is present in the upper phase of the heterogeneous system formed, is hydrophobic and readily dissolves plastics, fats, resins and other high molecular mass organic substances. The process in which it is formed is reversed when it is treated with sodium hydroxide. 

Basic science in the general field of macromolecules includes the principles of their synthesis the investigation of the size and structure of individual molecules in solution, and the relationship between structure and properties in the bulk phase. Approximately 450 scientists in 90 laboratories all over the world devote the major portion of their time to basic science in the subject field. The results of their work are published in about 150 technical journals which include literature on plastics. Reviewing the literature at present is difficult. The author suggests services which include a weekly news letter, monthly journal for papers, semiannual journal for review articles, and formula and data sheets in addition to regularly appearing monographs, textbooks, and handbooks. 

Plastic material manufacturers, machinery builders, specialty item distributors, and fabricators of plastics supply information concerning the use of their products as well as other information pertaining to fabrication of plastics. Some of the publications are extensive essays on various phases of plastics fabrication, while others are little more than descriptions of the products. Nevertheless, these sources of information are extremely important because of the lack of more formal presentations in standard textbooks and references. 

Sterilisation may give rise to adverse actions depending on the process and the particular grade of plastic, pack, etc. This means that if a pack is to be sterilised, either as a terminal operation or as part of an aseptic process, careful checking for possible changes is essential. Textbooks which make general statements should be treated with caution, as individual grades of plastic may react differently. 

Certain preservative systems can be lost from certain plastic packs by sorption and solubility in the plastic and, if they are also volatile, by evaporation from the external surface which is in contact with the atmosphere. Reports, particularly as references in textbooks, often suggested that phenol could not be used as a preservative in lowdensity packs. Subsequent work, many years later, established that the solubility of phenol in polyethylene was relatively low and that sufficient phenol for adequate preservative efficacy could be retained by a number of methods, i.e. coating LDPE internally or externally, or enclosing the pack in an additional barrier overwrap (e.g. paper/foil/PE or similar foil-bearing barriers). 

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