G. V Kozlov & Y. G Yanovskii 
Structure and Properties of Particulate-Filled Polymer Composites [PDF ebook] 
The Fractal Analysis

The interest in polymer composites research is due to their enlarged application. Filling with hard particles gives to polymers a number of desirable properties: increases hardness, decreases heat expansion coefficient, improves resistance to creep and fracture toughness. Difficulties in structure-properties relationships researching for polymer composites are due to their structure complexity.Till now, composites studies were conducted within the frameworks of continuum mechanics and thermodynamic conceptions. However, these conceptions applications does not allow satisfactory descriptions nor predictions of such materials properties. As a matter of fact, an experimental data set dictates one or another physical model of structure choice for composites macroscopic properties description.Proceeding from the aforesaid, in the present monograph the main effects, realized at the introduction of particulate filler in polymer are considered: polymer matrix structure change in comparison with initial polymer, filler particles aggregation, interfacial layer formation, interfacial adhesion level etc. The quantitative structure-properties relationships for this class of polymer composites are obtained. Separate chapters are dedicated to multifractal formalism and synergetics principles application for composites structure and properties description. The fulfilled within the frameworks of fractal analysis structural treatment gives not only composites properties description possibility, but their prediction as well.