Engineering Commons^™

Self-Nucleated Crystallization Of A Branched Polypropylene, Dhwaihi Alotaibi

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Long chain branched polypropylene (LCBPP) crystallizes rapidly and with high nucleation density. The origin of this fast crystallization process is not well understood. It has been attributed to its complicated molecular architecture. In this research, we explore isothermal crystallization of LCBPP, 5%LCBPP and linear polypropylene (LPP) through rheological, thermal, microscopy and optical measurements at different experimental temperatures. The time resolved mechanical spectroscopy technique was used to predict the liquid-to-solid transition (gel point) at different crystallization temperatures (supercooling rates) in order to understand the structure during the crystallization process.

The crystallization process of LCBPP was completed in time scale less …

Mechanical Characterization Of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane With Optical Methods, Xinyu Huang, Luis Alva, Jay Neutzler

Faculty Publications

Mechanical properties of polymer electrolyte membrane have important implications in the endurance of many electrochemical energy conversion devices [1]. Mechanical experiments are effective method to reveal discrete damage developed in the membrane by quantifying the change of mechanical strength and toughness. Regular strain measurement methods are overly intrusive to the thin and relatively fragile polymer electrolyte membrane; hence optical-based minimal invasive stress/strain measurement methods are studied.