Controlling the Microstructure of Materials Using Processing Flows

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ABSTRACT CTS-9421015 Julia Kornfield The structure of polymeric materials under the effect of hydrodynamical forces will be experimentally investigated, with application to designing and processing materials with engineered macroscopic properties. Two, model polymeric materials with intrinsically anisotropic structures have been selected as model materials, block copolymers and side-group liquid crystals. Molecular and microstructural flow-induced alignments will be measured as a function of macroscopic stress and strain during floe, at different length scales. A series of mechanical, optical and Nuclear magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques developed by the P.I. will be used to monitor the structural evolution of polymer melts during continuous and oscillatory shear motion. It is expected that the results of the research will guide the polymer selection and the corresponding processing steps require to achieved a desired microstructural alignment and macroscopic properties. The project combines fundamental experiments and new ideas for industrially relevant polymeric materials and devices. Innovative ideas are proposed concerning the use of flow induced microstructures in polymers, and use of stress to switch the structure and related properties of a polymer between two states. ***