*** Please note, each row and course# listed below is a separate, complete course. ***
Basics of Polymer Processing
| Course# | Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 168-1136 | 05/09/2025 - 05/09/2025 | 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM | Microsoft Teams |
Online Registration
CEU's: 1.6
Instructor: Dr. Erol Sancaktar
Course Overview
This short course is designed to introduce engineers and engineering students to the basic concepts of polymer processing. It provides an overview of polymer materials, thermoplastic and thermoset polymers, block and graft copolymers, mechanical properties and morphology of polymers in glassy, rubbery and viscous melt states and the relationship between polymer molecular structure and glass transition and melting temperatures. The flow properties of polymer melts and the polymer processing methods of extrusion, injection molding, film casting, blow molding, plastics compounding, thermoforming, rotational molding, fiber spinning and polymer composites are discussed.
Online Course Requirements
We want you to have a great experience participating in our remote (online) courses, and for that, you’ll need the right equipment and internet connection.
Minimum needs are:
- A broadband internet connection that has at least a 2 Mbps upload and download speed.
- A computer (PC or Mac) that can support the latest web browser versions.
- At least 4 GB of RAM and adequate hard drive space.
- A microphone and a speaker.
- International Students: For virtual (online) courses, an additional fee will be assessed to cover the cost of shipping the professional binder (presentation slides), to your address. The cost of international shipping can be significant.
For more information, visit our Online Course Requirements webpage.
Instructor Biography:
Dr. Erol Sancaktar received his Ph.D. (Eng. Mechanics) and M.S. (Mech. Eng.) degrees from Virginia Tech. He is a Fellow of ASME and has served as Chair of ASME Tech. Committee on Reliability Stress Analysis, and Failure Prevention (1997-2008, 2013-present). He served as Associate Editor for the ASME J. Mech. Design (1995-2006) and Medical Devices (2006-2013). He was a faculty member at the Mechanical Eng. Dept. at Clarkson University during 1978 to 1996 before joining Univ. Akron in 1996 as Professor of Polymer Eng. He was also appointed Professor of Mechanical Eng. in 2009. Dr. Sancaktar currently holds the title, Professor Emeritus at the University of Akron’s School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering (since August 2020). Prof. Sancaktar edited 25 books and Journal Special Issues, authored 111 refereed journal articles, 30 articles in books edited by others, including 2 chapters in ASM Engineered Materials Handbook, as well as two chapters in Handbook of Adhesion Technology by Springer. He delivered 244 technical presentations and has 4 patents. Dr. Sancaktar organized 30 Conferences.
Dr. Sancaktar served in 15 different Federal Government review panels and served as reviewer for numerous scientific research proposals, journal articles and books. He had over 18 consulting assignments, sabbatical and extended visits with various government agencies (i.e., NASA, U.S. Army), industrial establishments (Kendall Co., Chrysler Corp.), foundations and legal agencies, not counting one-day consulting/advising visits. Among these expert services was an over-billion-dollar case and expert witness testimony at the U.S. International Trade Commission (2017).
Prof. Sancaktar and co-workers obtained ~ $4M Research and Grant support with 56 projects during 1980-2022. These include 8 National Science Foundation grants (~ $1.1M and spanning over 25 years), 3 Teaching Grants and 20 projects sponsored by Industry.
The chapters covered include:
Introduction to Polymer Materials; Thermal Transitions in Polymers: Tg & Tm; Semi-crystalline Polymers and Fiber Spinning; Commodity Thermoplastics, Polymer Film Processes; Engineering & High-Performance Thermoplastics, Plastics Compounding; Engineering Thermoset Plastics and Polymer Composite Materials; Thermoset Elastomers, Rubber Technology, Thermoplastic Elastomers; Extrusion and Injection Molding; Polymer Blends; Blow Molding, Thermoforming, Rotational Molding, Compression and Transfer Molding.