Seminar “Polymer Nanocomposites/Multifunctional Materials under Extreme Environments”
On the 17th of June 2010, 15h in room EC1 01 at IPC - Institute for Polymers and Composites, a seminar will be held by Prof. Joseph Koo from The University of Texas at Austin, USA.
For organizational reasons, please pre-register by sending an email to fvh@dep.uminho.pt until 16th June 2010.
Polymer Nanocomposites/Multifunctional Materials under Extreme Environments
Joseph H. Koo, Sc.D.
The University of Texas at Austin
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Texas Materials Institute
Center for Nano and Molecular Science & Technology
Austin, TX 78712-0292
jkoo@mail.utexas.edu and www.me.utexas.edu/~koo
ABSTRACT
The introduction of inorganic nanomaterials as additives into polymers has resulted in polymer nanostructured materials exhibiting a multiplicity of high-performance characteristics beyond what traditional polymeric composites possess. These “multifunctional” features attributable to polymer nanocomposites consist of improved thermal and flame resistance, moisture and chemical resistance, decreased permeability, charge dissipation, thermal and electrical conductivity. Through control/alteration of the additive at the nanoscale level, one is able to maximize property enhancement of selected polymer systems to meet or exceed the requirements of current commercial, military, and aerospace applications. This seminar includes: an overview of different types of nanostructures and examples to examine the behavior of polymer nanocomposites/multifunctional materials when exposed to rocket propulsion and fire environments.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dr. Koo has over 30 years of industrial and academic experience in program and engineering management. Currently, he is Senior Research Scientist and Director of Solid Freeform Fabrication Consortium in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX. He is a SAMPE Fellow and Chairman of the SAMPE Nanotechnology Committee. Dr. Koo is an Associate Fellow of AIAA and Past-Chair of the AIAA Materials Technical Committee. He specializes in polymer nanostrcutured materials: processing, structures, and properties relationships for applications such as ablatives for thermal protection, flame retardant polymers, fire resistant fabrics & textiles, insensitive munitions technology of solid rocket motors, and modeling of polymer degradation. Dr. Koo’s publications include the book, Polymer Nanocomposites: Processing, Characterization, and Applications, McGraw-Hill, New York (2006) and over 360 papers/presentations in materials, thermal, and optical science disciplines.