 |
Asphaltic Materials
This includes a broad-based investigation of materials founded on the basic
sciences of thermodynamics, diffusion, chemistry, reaction kinetics,
and rheology, all for complex multi-component systems.
The goal is to understand compositional, chemical, and physical properties and their relationships with complex mixtures of a widevariety of compounds such as asphaltic materials. Then this understanding is used to produce improved composite materials through the use of additives such as polymers or recycling agents and by modification of the balance between naturally occurring components.
Included in the laboratory are sophisticated instruments such as a pilot scale supercritical fractionation unit, state-of-the-art FTIR, and high-pressure size exclusion liquid chromatography.
Polymers
The materials group also study polymer properties, materials processing,
solution thermodynamics, and rheology. Specific topics include gas solubility
and diffusion in polymers with applications in multiphase polymer processing
and solvent devolatilization; controlled structure processing of new
generation polymer foams; numerical analysis of polymer shaping processes;
molecular simulations of polymer phase behavior; theoretical modeling
of polymer solutions; and general rheological studies for the characterization
of polymer material behavior.
