PREFACE USE OF COMPUTERS in applied polymer science and technology has been growing at an exponential rate over the last several years. This has been brought about by the continued improvement in cost/performance in medium size and minicomputer systems. The microcomputer explosion over the last five years has significantly accelerated the use of computers in the laboratory by providing the average chemist hands-on moderate computer power at low cost. The microcomputer, more readily, has enabled the polymer scientist and technologist to perform complex calculation, to automate instrumentation for monitoring, data analysis and instrument control, and to develop complex mathematical models for physical and chemical processes. The topics in this book reflect the growth in the application of computer science and technology to the broad field of polymer science. The book is divided into three main sections. The first section deals with polymerization process modeling and control. The papers in this section cover a variety of polymerization processes, bulk polymerization, solution polymerization, emulsion polymerization, and condensation polymerization including homo- and co-polymerization. The second section covers the field of instrumentation automation for polymer characterization and modeling. The instruments covered in this section include viscometer, capillary rheometer, thermal analysis equipment, torsion pendulum, and dielectric polarization apparatus. The third section is more general in nature and covers various aspects of computer use for mathematical modeling. Some of the topics covered are degradation kinetics, solution properties, water/cosolvent evaporation, emulsification, heat capacity data bank, master plots for vibration damping, and the use of experimental design and analysis. This book has brought together representative uses of computer science and technology in the field of applied polymer science. It is hoped that this book will spur further activity in this area. The editor wishes to thank the authors for their effective oral and written communications and the reviewers for their critiques and constructive comments.
Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on January 20, 2018 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: September 24, 1982 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1982-0197.pr001
THE
THEODORE PROVDER
Glidden Coatings and Resins Strongsville, OH 44136 May 7, 1982 ix Provder; Computer Applications in Applied Polymer Science ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1982.
