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.

This review outlines the nature, culture and trends in the building and construction industry. It describes the current building and construction market place and the applications and potential for the wide range of polymer materials available today. This review is accompanied by indexed summaries of papers from the Rapra Polymer Library database to allow the reader to search for information on specific topics.

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 report discusses the use of the use of polymers instead of and in conjunction with, traditional platforms such as indium phosphide and ferroelectric ceramic lithium niobate. Critical comparisons are made between use of polymers and alternative. This review report gives an overview of all the elements of optical transmission and switching systems that are used in telecommunications and is a fully interdisciplinary account of materials and device design issues. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Rapra Polymer Library database gives useful references for further reading.

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.