Academic Programs
Polymeric Materials
The Polymeric Materials option provides the student with knowledge in both the fundamental sciences and the engineering aspects of polymeric materials. For instance, the fundamental concepts in polymer chemistry and physics are introduced along with their implication on polymeric adhesives and adhesion. Within this option, students will focus in one of three areas:- Materials Chemistry
- Materials Processing
- Mechanics
Regardless of their focus area, students will be introduced to statistics in research. The following is a sampling of courses that may be included in a plan of study for these emphasis areas:
Selected Courses
- CE 514 Advanced Mechanics of Materials. 3 credits.
Elastic stress-strain relations, shear center, unsymmetrical bending, curved beams, elastic stability, elastically supported beams, energy methods, thin-plates, shells.
- CE 531 Probability and Statistical Models in Engineering. 3 credits.
Engineering applications of probability and statistics; Monte Carlo simulation; model estimation and testing; probabilistic characterizations of loads and material properties; risk and reliability analyses.
- CE 532 Finite Elements. 3 credits.
Theory of finite elements; applications to general engineering systems considered as assemblages of discrete elements.
- CE 536 Nondestructive Testing of Structural Materials. 3 credits.
Principles of nondestructive testing applied to wood-based materials, steel, concrete, and masonry.
- CE 546 Engineered Wood Composites. 3 credits.
Theory and practice of wood composite materials, manufacture and development.
- CE 567 Advanced Characterization of Highway Materials. 3 credits.
Basic and advanced level of the fundamentals of material response to static and repeated loading; emphasis on the deformation and fatigue behavior of asphalt mixtures.
- ChE 485 Interfacial Phenomena. 3 credits.
Chemical and physical nature of the interface including the molecular basis for interfacial forces and resulting macroscopic phenomena.
- Chem 410 Advanced Synthesis and Characterization. 3 credits.
Synthesis and characterization of organic and inorganic compounds and solid-state materials; modern synthetic technology, characterization methods, and laboratory techniques.
- Chem 570 The Chemistry of Polymer and Biopolymer. 3 credits.
Fundamental understanding of polymer chemistry and macromolecules.
- ForP 536 Wood Composites. 3 credits.
Raw material, processes, properties, and markets for a number of wood composites made of particles and fibers.
- ForP 538 Wood Chemistry. 3 credits.
The chemistry of wood formation, wood structure and reactions of wood.
- MatS 505 Advanced Materials Science. 3 credits.
Broad baseline in materials science including relationships between structure and properties.
- MatS 571 Microscopic Analysis of Solid Surfaces. 3 credits.
Modern spectroscopic methods for microscopic analysis of solid surfaces; emphasizes electron, ion, laser, and x-ray techniques.
- ME 501 Continuum Mechanics. 3 credits.
Unified presentation of principles common to all branches of solid and fluid mechanics; viscous fluids, elasticity, viscoelasticity, and plasticity.
- ME 521 Fundamentals of Fluids I. 3 credits.
Governing equations of fluid mechanics accompanied by applications of Navier-Stokes equation to simple flow situations, boundary layer analysis.
- ME 530 Elasticity. 3 credits.
Theory of kinematics of solid deformable bodies; conservation laws applied to an elastic continuum; generalized linear stress-strain behavior with applications.
- ME 534 Mechanics of Composite Materials. 3 credits.
Analysis of micromechanical and macromechanical behavior of composite materials with emphasis on fiber-reinforced composite; prediction of properties; stiffness and strength theories; laminated beams and plates; dynamic behavior; environmental effects.
- MSE 402 Polymeric Materials. 3 credits.
Structural characterization, syntheses, and reactions of polymeric materials; relationships between structure and properties; viscoelasticity, deformation and physical behavior of polymers.
- MSE 404 Engineering Composites. 3 credits.
Basic concept in design and specifications of engineering composites.
- MSE 434 Fundamentals of Polymeric Materials. 3 credits.
Basic information on polymeric materials, both fundamentals and uses.
- MSE 543 Polymer Materials and Engineering. 3 credits.
Glassy, crystalline, and rubbery states of synthetic and natural polymers.
- MSE 544 Natural Fibers. 3 credits.
Introduction to the anatomical, chemical, and physical properties of natural fibers used in composites.
- MSE 547 Physical Chemistry of Interfaces. 3 credits.
Principles of interfacial bonding applies in the engineering of polymers, wood, and heterophase systems.
- MSE 548 Natural Fiber Polymer Composites. 3 credits.
Fundamentals of composite materials having polymers and wood as major components.
- STAT 507 Experimental Design. 3 credits.
Methods of constructing and analyzing designs for experimental investigations; analysis of designs with unequal subclass numbers; concepts of blocking randomization and replication; confounding in factorial experiments; incomplete block designs; response surface methodology.
- STAT 512 Analysis of Variance of Designed Experiments. 3 credits.
Principles of experimental design and analysis and interpretation of data.
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