High performance polymers for long-term application in a demanding environment - developing an understanding

High performance thermoplastic and thermoset polymers such as polyaryletherketones and polybismaleimides are employed in some of the most hostile environments found in the aerospace, automotive and energy industries. Given the move to reduce weight, improve fuel efficiency, extend lifetime and extract hydrocarbons from ever greater depths dramatic improvements in the performance of these materials are essential. This EPSRC CASE PhD award between the University of Manchester and TWI Ltd aims to develop a better understanding of the degradation mechanisms in these polymers to enable the design of improved materials that open up new opportunities across many industries. The project will involve synthesis and characterisation of polymers using a wide range of analytical techniques at the Organic Materials Innovation Centre (OMIC), University of Manchester. The polymers will be exposed to a variety of hostile environments (e.g. high T, water, hydrogen sulphide) at TWI. Extensive analysis of degraded samples will provide an in-depth understanding of degradation and morphologic alteration in these materials. This understanding will be used to design improved chemical structures that are fit for purpose.