Polymers and Their Composites Applied in Extreme Environments

Dear Colleagues,

Polymers and their composites are increasingly being applied in extreme environments, such as cryogenic, high-temperature, corrosive, oxidizing or biological environments, to substitute for traditional metal materials in load-bearing applications due to their properties of low density, flexibility, chemical stability, biodegradability and so on. In recent years, tremendous progress has been made in many engineering fields, driven mostly by new applications of polymers and their composites. In the future, they will be in more demand for equipment used in extreme environments; see, for example, the large demand for promoting the cryogenic mechanical, leakage resisting, anti-thermal, thermal insulating or electromagnetic-radiation-resisting properties of polymer matrix composites for the development of heavy lift rockets and deep space exploration. Fundamentally understanding the behaviour of polymer chains govern, to a large extent, the relationships between the structure, properties, processing, and performance of the corresponding materials, which forms the basis for a more efficient, rational, and economical design of new products and processes for specific applications in several new technologies where polymers are used.

Recognizing the importance of both theories and experiments in understanding the properties of materials across scales and under a variety of conditions, this Special Issue of Polymers invites contributions addressing several aspects of polymer matrix composites, such as design and preparation of polymers, design and processing of composites, testing methodologies and standards, reliability evaluation and life assessment, etc. The above list is only indicative and by no means exhaustive; any original theoretical or engineering experimental work or review article on the polymer matrix composites used in extreme environments is welcome. We hope that these contributions will address a variety of application fields relative to extreme environments, including aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, marine engineering, mechanical engineering, cryogenic engineering, biological or medical engineering, etc.

Prof. Dr. Zhanjun Wu
Dr. Jia Yan
Prof. Dr.Ling Liu
Prof. Dr.Tao Sun
Dr. Shichao Li
Guest Editors

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• polymer
• polymer matrix composite
• extreme environment
• cryogenic polymer
• high-temperature polymer
• liquid-oxygen-compatible polymer
• aerospace material
• engineering material
• biological material