Abstract
The terms thermoplastic and thermoset describe the processability of a material as the temperature is changed. A polymer that becomes plastic and flows on heating, either by reason of crystal melting or by exceeding the glass transition temperature Tg is thermoplastic. This process is reversible and so the material can be processed by, for example, moulding or extrusion after it has been prepared as a solid. A thermoset is a material that undergoes a chemical reaction on heating or curing that irreversibly sets the material to a given form.
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References
Ward, I.M. and Hadley, D. W. (1993) An introduction to the Mechanical Properties of Solid Polymers, Wiley
Cowie, J. M. G. (1973) Polymers: Chemistry and Physics of Modern Materials, Intertext Books
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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Rennie, A.R. (1999). Thermoplastics and Thermosets. In: Swallowe, G.M. (eds) Mechanical Properties and Testing of Polymers. Polymer Science and Technology Series, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9231-4_53
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9231-4_53
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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