Abstract
Many plastics are now used in such quantities that they have reached the status of commodity materials; indeed, the volume usage of plastics now comfortably exceeds that of metals. Much of the growth has taken place over the last thirty-five years, and the plastics industry is still expanding at twice the rate of the economy as a whole. The motivation for the rapid growth is the suitability of plastics for mass production, which depends mainly on their easy and reproducible shaping, and their low volume cost, coupled with some attractive properties. Shaping at low temperatures into complex forms is a characteristic of most plastics, and ensures their increasing use in spite of some shortcomings. The manufacturing industry has responded very positively to the increasing demand for plastics and for diversification of properties. The major feedstock is oil; the dependent petrochemicals industry supplies the monomers for plastics production, and manufactures a wide range of additives to modify their behaviour.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Further reading
Polymer science
Bassett, D.C., Principles of Polymer Morphology, Cambridge University Press (1981).
Billmeyer, F.W., Textbook of Polymer Science ( 3rd edn. ), Wiley-Interscience, New York (1984).
Cowie, J.M.G., Polymers: Chemistry and Physics of Modern Materials, International Textbook Co. Blackie Publishing Group, Glasgow and London (1973).
Haslam J., Willis, H.A. and Squirrell, D.C.M., Identification and Analysis of Plastics ( 2nd edn. ), Iliffe [Butterworth], London (1972).
Parker, D.B.V., Polymer Chemistry, Elsevier-Applied Science, Amsterdam (1974).
Rodrigues, F., Principles of Polymer Systems ( 2nd edn. ), McGraw-Hill, New York (1982).
Plastics properties
Brown, R.P., Handbook of Plastics Test Methods, Godwin [Longman Group], London (1981).
Brydson, J.A., Plastics Materials, Iliffe [Butterworth], London (1982).
Blythe, A.R., Electrical Properties of Polymers, Cambridge University Press (1979).
BS 4618, Recommendations for the Presentation of Design Plastics Design Data. British Standards Institution, London.
Crawford, R.J., Plastics Engineering, Pergamon Press, Oxford (1987).
Hall, C., Polymer Materials: An Introduction for Technologists and Scientists, Macmillan, London (1981).
Hearle, J.W.S., Polymers and their Properties: Vol. 1: Fundamentals of Structure and Mechanics, Ellis Horwood, Chichester (1982).
Ogorkiewicz, R.M., Thermoplastics: Properties and Design, Wiley-Interscience, New York (1974).
Ogorkiewicz, R.M., The Engineering Properties of Polymers (Engineering Design Guides No. 17), Oxford University Press (1977).
Turner, S., Mechanical Testing of Plastics ( 2nd edn. ), Iliffe [Butterworth], London (1983).
Polymer manufacturing and processing
Becker, W.E., Reaction Injection Moulding, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York (1979).
Brown, R.L.E., Design and Manufacture of Plastic Parts, Wiley-Interscience, New York (1980).
Brydson, J.R., Flow Properties of Polymer Melts (2nd edn.), Godwin [Longman Group] (1981).
Cogswell, F.N., Polymer Melt Rheology, Godwin [Longman Group] (1981).
Fenner, R.T., Principles of Polymer Processing, Macmillan, London (1979).
Radian Corporation, Polymer Manufacturing: Technology and Health Effect, Noyes Data Corporation, Park Ridge (1986).
Tadmor, Z. and Gogos, C.G., Principles of Polymer Processing, Wiley-Interscience, New York (1979).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1988 Blackie & Son Ltd
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Birley, A.W., Heath, R.J., Scott, M.J. (1988). Introduction. In: Plastic Materials. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-7614-9_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-7614-9_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-7514-0162-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-7614-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive