| Popis: |
The last ten or fifteen years have seen some highly significant changes in what needs to, and what can be, achieved in the area of the characterization of materials with time-dependent mechanical properties. On the one hand we have seen a tremendous increase in the use and variety of materials with time-dependent properties such as composites and semi-crystalline engineering materials, as well as the development and application of multiphase materials (e. g., block and graft copolymers, and polyblends), requiring new or improved methods of characterization. On the other hand, there have been notable advances in the availability and sophistication of state-of-the-art sensors, and of methods of data acquisition and manipulation. It appears that the need for better characterization has not been universally recognized, and that, consequently, the possibilities for implementing it have not been fully exploited. The lecture examines these issues and suggests some new-old approaches. |
