Degradation reactions grouped under the heading chemical attack include oxidation hydrolysis, halogenation and other reactions. They also include some purely physical interactions between materials and fluids, dominated by the absorption of fluid into the material or vice versa. One particular mechanism described in some detail is acid induced stress corrosion cracking, which is the most frequent cause of premature failure of GRP products, and where the principle degradation reaction is between the fluid and the glass fibres. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Rapra Polymer Library database gives useful references for further reading.

The combined effects of oxidising media and heat result in degradation by thermo-oxidation. The principles and cases described in this review emphasise long term degradation in service. Two additional phenomena that influence thermo-oxidation are also described: catalysis by certain metal ions, and the influence of stress. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Polymer Library gives useful references for further reading.

A very important factor in obtaining optimised physical properties from a semi-crystalline polymer is the size of the crystalline structures present in the material, and this crucially depends on the initiation process of crystallisation of the polymer from the melt - nucleation. This review provides information on the development of materials and methods for influencing the nucleation of polymer crystallisation in commercial processing by means of addition of low levels of adjuvants specifically selected for this purpose.

Annotation Injection moulding is one of the most commonly used processing technologies for plastics materials. Proper machine set up, part and mould design, and material selection can lead to high quality production. This review outlines common factors to check when preparing to injection mould components, so that costly mistakes can be avoided. This review examines the different types of surface defects that can be identified in plastics parts and looks at ways of solving these problems. Useful flow charts to illustrate possible ways forward are included. Case studies and a large b257 of figures make this a very useful report.

Annotation A wide variety of plastics are used in food-contact applications and it is important that such plastics do not affect the food with which they come into contact. The objective of food packaging legislation is to protect the consumer by controlling the contamination of food by chemicals transferred from the packaging. Food packaging regulations are constantly under revision, and differ significantly between Europe and the USA. This report provides a clearly written summary of the current legislation surrounding the use of plastics in contact with food. It discusses the plastics used in food packaging, their characteristics and applications. This review is accompanied by around 400 abstracts from papers and books in the Rapra Polymer Library database.

This review discusses the types of engineering adhesives in use, properties, advantages and disadvantages, and applications. It is very clearly written, well referenced and provides an excellent overview of a rapidly developing field. The author is an expert with many years of experience in adhesive research and development. The review is accompanied by around 400 abstracts from papers and books in the Polymer Library, to facilitate further reading on this subject.

Polyolefin Foams are a relatively recent development compared to the other types of foam. Topics covered in this review include: processing and the properties required for successful foam production, the molecular structures necessary, the mechanical and thermal properties and how these can be used to best advantage, markets and applications. The review is accompanied by around 400 abstracts from the Polymer Library database.

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) have the elastic behaviour of rubber and the processability of thermoplastics. The Freedonia Group has forecast that demand will expand by 6.4% per year to around 2.15 million tons in 2006. There is potential for these new, exciting materials to expand into the much larger thermoset rubber markets. This review includes comparisons between the two material types. There are three major types of TPE: block copolymers, rubber/plastic blends and dynamically vulcanised rubber/plastic alloys known as thermoplastic vulcanisates. The chemistry of these materials and how.

This report outlines the key issues regarding emissions from plastics. The report covers emissions from plastics during processing, treatment, storage and end-use. It summarises the published research on a wide variety of materials and settings. New methods of analysis and testing have been developed or adapted to examine these emissions. This report discusses the main techniques used. Data from analysis work on air quality and emissions from plastics is also included in this report. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Rapra Polymer Library database gives useful references for further reading.

This report focuses on in-line cure monitoring as a key way of optimising production. The bulk of this review is devoted to coverage of the range of techniques used for cure monitoring. Consideration is also given to other topics relevant to the implementation of cure monitoring processes. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Rapra Polymer Library database gives useful references for further reading.