Mathematical Modelling for Polymer Processing

The polymer industry raises a large number of relevant mathematical problems with respect to the quality of manufactured polymer parts. These include in particular questions about: - the production of the polymeric material from a monomer (based on the Ziegler-Natta catalytic process) - the crystallization kinetic of the polymer melt - the coupling of the crystallization process with the fluid dynamics of the manufacturing process such as extrusion, injection moulding of film blowing, etc. This book provides the first unified presentation of the mathematical modelling of polymerization, crystallization and extrusion of polymer melts, by means of advanced methods, presented in an accessible way for applied scientists and engineers. The present volume is the result of a long-term cooperation between different research teams in Europe within the ECMI Special Interest Group on "Polymers".