Polymer processing research process simulation

The utilization of commercially available finite element packages in the simulation of routine operations in industrial polymer processing is well established. However, these packages cannot be usually used as general research tools. Thus flexible in-house -created programs are needed to carry out the analysis required in the investigation, design and development of novel equipment and operations. 

Chemical engineers are actively involved in developing improved polymer processing and devices relevant to biomedical engineering. Another important research area is the physical and biological treatment of hazardous wastes. Computational methods are now used extensively in modeling studies, and computer simulation is routinely employed in plant design. 

Process simulation is taking an increasing significance in research activity in polymer processing technology. The mold design can be optimally tailored to the process parameters that are to be expected, or the parametets can be optimized for an existing process [1,2]. 

BEMflow A boundary element fluid dynamics simulation program. The Madison Group Polymer Processing Research Corporation... 

Nowdays the atomistic simulation of diffusional processes in polymers is a domain of vivid research activity which already shows remarcable results and brings continously new achievements. The second section of this chapter is devoted to a concise presentation of this topic. 

One sign of progress is the extent to which sophisticated research on transport phenomena, particularly mass transfer, has penetrated several other fields, including those described in later papers of this volume. Examples include fundamental work on the mechanics of trickle beds [17] within reactor engineering studies of dispersion in laminar flows [18] in the context of separations important to biotechnology coupling between fluid flows and mass transfer in chemical vapor deposition processes for fabrication of semiconductor devices [19] and optical fiber preforms [20] and the simulation of flows in mixers, extruders, and other unit operations for processing polymers. 

Polymer Melts. Polymer melts are an extremely important field of study for molecular simulation researchers. Melts play an important role in the processing of polymers into products it is only in the melt phase that they can be suitably shaped. The processing of melts also involves a number of different types of flow geometries, often combining both shear and elongational flow. We briefly report on some studies of melts in equilibrium, under shear and elongational flow. 

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