Thermoplastics under voltages are used in diverse applications ranging from insulating cables to organic capacitors. Electromechanical instabilities have been proposed as a mechanism that causes electrical breakdown of thermoplastics. However, existing experiments cannot provide direct observations of the instability process, and existing theories for the instabilities generally assume thermopl...

All plastics can be divided into two groups called thermoplastics and thermosets, and each group exhibits very different behaviors. Unlike thermosets, thermoplastics are empirically known by the viscoelastic behavior of the thermoplastic layers; the stress generated by building subsequent layers can be significantly relieved in a multilayer structure. In this study, we quantitatively investigat...

Generally, polymers can be classified according to their thermal and mechanical properties into thermoplastics, thermosets and elastomers. Thermoplastics are amorphous or semicrystalline polymers that soft or melt during heating and solidify during cooling. The heating/cooling/heating process can be repeated without perceptible changes in thermal and mechanical properties of thermoplastics. The...

We have developed a method for the three-dimensional (3D) printing of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastics based on fused-deposition modeling. The technique enables direct 3D fabrication without the use of molds and may become the standard next-generation composite fabrication methodology. A thermoplastic filament and continuous fibers were separately supplied to the 3D printer and the fi...

Thermoplastics are highly attractive substrate materials for microfluidic systems, with important benefits in the development of low cost disposable devices for a host of bioanalytical applications. While significant research activity has been directed towards the formation of microfluidic components in a wide range of thermoplastics, sealing of these components is required for the formation of...

We describe a simple and versatile method for bonding thermoplastics to elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) at room temperature. The bonding of various thermoplastics including polycarbonate (PC), cyclic olefin copolymer (COC), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and polystyrene (PS), to PDMS has been demonstrated at room temperature. An irreversible bonding was formed instantaneously when the t...

The objective of this work is to quantitatively study the burning characteristics of thermoplastics. A new experimental setup with a T-shape trough is designed. Based on this setup, the loop mechanism between the wall fire and pool fires induced by the melting and dripping of thermoplastic can be well simulated and studied. Additionally, the flowing characteristics of pool fires can also be qua...

Research on biodegradable biopolymers has been increasing rapidly during the past few decades due to the environmental concerns related to plastic pollution. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), the structurally versatile, biodegradable polyoxoesters produced by diverse group of microorganisms as intracellular storage granules have material properties similar to thermoplastics and identified as a prom...

Natural fibers have recently become attractive to automotive industry as an alternative reinforcement for glass fiber reinforced thermoplastics. The best way to increase the fuel efficiency without sacrificing safety is to employ fiber reinforced composite materials in the body of the cars so that weight reduction can be achieved. Designing the structures with the focus on improvement aspects i...