ADVANCED POLYMER UTILIZATION

POLYMERIC MATERIALS WITH EXCEPTIONAL MECHANICAL, CHEMICAL AND THERAML PROPOERTIES ARE BEING DEVELOPED AS PART OF AIR FORCE RESEARCH. THESE MATERIALS FORM IGID MOLECULAR CHAINS, HENCE THE TERM ROD-LIKE POLYMERS. CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS AND STUDY OF THE MOLECULAR STRUCTURE WILL CONTINUE TO ADVANCE RAPIDLY, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MATERIALS SHOULD PROCEED AT A SIMILAR PACE. THIS WILL DEPEND ON FABRICATING THE BULK MATERIALS INTO PARTS WHICH EXPLOIT THE HIGH STRENGTH, TEMPERATURE RESISTANCE,, CHEMICAL RESISTANCE AND OTHER SUPERIOR QUALITIES OF THE POLYMERS. WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE APPLICATIONS AND MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES FOR ROD-LIKE POLYMERS. BASED ON REVIEW OF THE MOST RECENT MATERIALS AND SURVEYS OF POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS, BOTH CONVENTIONAL AND NOVEL FABRICATION TECHNIQUES WILL BE EVALUATED. THE MOST PROMISING TECHNIQUES WILL BE FURTHER DEVELOPED DURING PHASE II AND III.