Characterization Techniques for Advanced Polymer Composite Materials

Characterization Techniques for Advanced Polymer Composite Materials outlines methods for assessing the properties of advanced polymer composite materials, discussing sample preparation, microscopy and scattering techniques, data analysis and interpretation, microstructure identification, constitutive models, and more. It introduces the constituting laws of soft materials and demonstrates how to identify microstructure based on microscopy images. Techniques for measuring the thermal properties, electrical, and thermal characterization of these materials are covered including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, focused ion beam microscopy, as well as scattering techniques such as wide-angle X-ray, small-angle x-ray, and small-angle neutron. Each chapter starts with a brief explanation of the characterization technique followed by practical examples demonstrating methods of interpreting experimental results.

• Focuses on the experimental characterization of the microstructure, thermomechanical, and electrical properties of polymer composites and nanocomposites
• Discusses sample preparation for characterization, outlining various mixing methods and emphasizing the importance of uniform dispersion and homogeneity of fillers or reinforcements
• Provides methods for experimental data analysis and microstructure identification for heterogeneous materials and polymer-based composites
• Examines different constitutive models and their application to soft materials
• Analyzes the thermal, electrical, mechanical, and microstructural properties of polymer nanocomposites, shape memory polymers, and polymer composites

Dr. Majid Baniassadi is an Associate Professor at the University of Tehran's School of Mechanical Engineering. In 2011, he received his PhD in Materials Mechanics from the University of Strasbourg in France. Multiscale analysis and micromechanics of heterogeneous materials, numerical methods in engineering, and electron microscopy image processing for microstructure identification are among his research interests. Dr. Baniassadi also works with the ICube laboratory in Strasbourg on Engineering Science, Computer Science, and Imaging projects. He has served as an acting editor for the Journal of Energy Equipment and Systems since 2012. He has published over 120 scientific journal publications to date, and he is frequently called for peer evaluating submitted manuscripts as a reviewer for 6 international scientific journals. Since 2008, he has also been a member of the Iranian National Elites Foundation.

Dr. Mostafa Baghani has been an Associate Professor at the University of Tehran's School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering since 2012. In 2016, he became the director of the University of Tehran's Smart Materials and Structures Lab. In 2018, he was named the top young researcher at the University of Tehran, out of almost 300 professors under the age of 40. In the framework of continuum mechanics, his research focuses on smart material production, design, and constitutive modeling. He has also focused on computer modeling of proposed constitutive models, which are frequently developed using the nonlinear finite element method. He has over 170 journal papers to his credit and has served as a reviewer for over 30 international journals.

Prof. Yves Rémond is a Distinguished Professor (Exceptional Class) at Strasbourg University in France. He is working at Icube (Engineering Science, Computer Science, and Imaging Laboratory), which is affiliated with both the University of Strasbourg and the CNRS. He teaches in the fields of continuum mechanics, polymer mechanics, composite materials, and mechano-biology at the European Engineering School of Chemistry, Polymers, and Materials Science (ECPM). He graduated from the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan (now Paris-Saclay) with a degree in mechanics and obtained his PhD from the University Paris VI in 1984. (Pierre et Marie Curie). He has been the Scientific Deputy Director of INSIS, the Institute for Engineering and Systems Sciences, at the CNRS headquarters in Paris since 2012. He was also a member of the Academic Palms Order as an officer. In the fields of composite materials, polymers, and bioengineering, he advised over 30 PhD and Habilitation students and wrote about 150 scholarly papers.

Professor Vadim Silberschmidt is Chair of Mechanics of Materials, ICoVIS Director, and Head of the Mechanics of Advanced Materials Research Group, Loughborough University, United Kingdom. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier book series Mechanics of Advanced Materials. He is also Associate Editor and/or serves on the board of a number of renowned journals. He has co-authored six research monographs and more than 620 peer-reviewed scientific papers on mechanics and micromechanics of deformation, damage, and fracture in advanced materials under various conditions.