MAE 4671 - Polymer Mechanics

Spring. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

Prerequisite: ENGRD 2020 and MAE 3270, or MSE 2610, or permission of instructor. Satisfies M.E. senior design requirement. Co-meets with MAE 4670/MAE 5670.

M. Silberstein.

This course will provide foundations of polymer mechanics building from the basics of mechanics of materials. The focus will be split between experimental methods/data interpretation and modeling approaches. Topics will include hyper-elasticity, viscoelasticity, glass transition temperature, and plasticity with applications to both synthetic and biological materials. There will also be a scientific literature reading component through which students will be able to pick their own focus areas in the latter part of the semester.

Outcome 1: The student will be able to classify polymers into different regimes of behavior and explain their microstructural origin.

Outcome 2: The student will be able to analyze and interpret data from key experimental methods for polymer thermo-mechanical properties.

Outcome 3: The student will be able to describe, computationally implement, and find parameters for models that describe key aspects of polymer and gel mechanical behavior.

Outcome 4: The student will be able to explain how the thermo-mechanical properties of natural and synthetic polymers are central to applications of interest to the student.