Polymer Processing Equipment for an Innovative Undergraduate Materials Curriculum

本项目将材料科学与工程（MSE）项目中的新材料合成与加工课程统一到实验室环境中。该课程基于材料研究学会、美国工程教育学会、美国国家科学基金会本科材料教育研讨会和冶金学会报告的材料科学教学内容和教学方法的创新。新课程为所有工程材料课程的学习提供了一个核心。这一核心的四个要素——微观结构、性能、加工和性能——构成了材料科学和工程研究的整体方法的适应性。强调材料的合成与加工是新课程的特色，而强化的初级实验课程是新课程的一个重要组成部分。材料加工的整体方法的适应是通过在实验室中包含聚合物加工设备来完成的，到目前为止，这些设备的能力有限。该实验室现在包括对加工诱导的聚合物性能取向效应的研究。在聚合物中可以实现的高度分子排列以及在塑造能力方面的相关限制是新课程核心的微观结构-加工相互作用的典型特征。实践实验课程贯穿材料课程，强调核心微观结构现象及其与成型和处理操作的相互作用。该项目在整个工程课程中提高了本科材料设计经验，并强化了将课程材料与工业实践相结合的教育目标。

This project employs the unifying approach of the new materials synthesis and processing curriculum in the Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Program to the laboratory setting. The curriculum is based on the innovations in the content and pedagogy of materials science instruction as reported by The Materials Research Society, the American Society of Engineering Education, the NSF Undergraduate Materials Education Workshop, and The Metallurgical Society. The new curriculum provides a core for the study of all classes of engineered materials. The four elements of this core - microstructure, properties, processing and performance - comprise the adaptation of the holistic approach to the study of materials science and engineering. Strong emphasis on materials synthesis and processing is a special feature of the new curriculum, a key component of which is the intensive junior-level laboratory course. The adaptation of the holistic approach to materials processing is completed by the inclusion of polymer processing equipment in the laboratory which, heretofore, had limited capabilities. This laboratory now includes the examination of processing induced orientation effects on polymer properties. The high degree of molecular alignment that can be achieved in polymers and the associated limitations in shaping capabilities are typical of the microstructure-processing interactions at the core of the new curriculum. The hands-on lab course cuts across the materials classes, stressing central microstructural phenomena and their interactions with shaping and treating operations. The project enhances undergraduate materials design experiences throughout the engineering curriculum and reinforces the educational goal of connecting course material with industrial practice.