Advanced Polymer Melt Mixer for Development of Multifunctional Polymer Composites

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In many high-tech industries and sectors, multifunctional polymer composites have been introduced as futuristic materials and versatile substitutions for commonly used materials such as metals and ceramics. This is due to their superior properties such as lightweight, low cost, easy processability, improved design options, corrosion resistance, and tunable physical properties. The requested melt mixer allows the applicants (Drs. Arjmand, Milani, Golovin, and Bichler) and their highly qualified personnel (HQP) to develop polymer composites via melt mixing various polymers and multifunctional fillers. ******Overall, the applicants have currently 67 HQP in their groups. As the development of multifunctional polymer composites is an integral part of the applicants' research programs, most of HQP, more or less, will use the requested melt mixing setup. This large group of HQP highlights the importance of the requested setup for the UBC Okanagan Campus. Furthermore, due to multifunctionality of polymer composites, the requested equipment is expected to bring many opportunities for other collaborating faculty members across the campus, especially for colleagues at Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemistry, and Biology. Neither UBC Okanagan nor any of the colleges in the region possess a similar melt mixer device, while it is a fundamental piece of equipment in any established materials and manufacturing research facility across the country. Without the acquisition of this device, the current and future HQP of the applicants will be adversely affected. Currently, the applicants' students have to travel to other research institutes outside the Okanagan or ship their samples, to run melt mixing for developing polymer composites. This has been imposing a significant cost and research interruption, including delays in students' graduations and publications.******The requested melt mixer system will be located in an existing space in the Engineering Building (EME 2223) at the UBC Okanagan. The applicants will ensure that all students who will be working with the requested melt mixing system are trained in all aspects of melt mixing. The applicants will provide an equal opportunity for all HQP to obtain unbiased hands-on experience in working with the melt mixing setup. The applicants will also provide equal opportunities for the HQP to participate in national and international conferences to present their research outcomes generated by using the melt mixer. An interdisciplinary aspect of this training will be that the applicants are from different backgrounds. Thus, the students in each group will be exposed to various applications of the polymer composites. This, in turn, is expected to initiate joint projects/publications between the HQP between the applicants' groups as well as with their industrial partners, thereby expanding HQP's networking opportunities while bringing new opportunities for their future careers.**************************************