The workshop will convey important fundamental concepts and introduce necessary tools for testing, evaluation and improvement of scratch resistance of polymers. The usefulness of FEM modeling in linking between observed scratch damage and material parameters will also be emphasized. Special attention will be placed on understanding the scratch behavior of TPO materials.

• Background and Introduction
• Review of Relevant Material Issues
• Test and Evaluation
  • Scratch Machine
  • Test Methods
  • Evaluation Methods
• FEM Modeling of Polymer Scratch
  • scratch groove formation
  • friction coefficient
  • crack/craze formation
  • yielding
• Slip Agent Effect
• Processing Effect
• Design of Scratch Resistant Polymers

Instructor: Dr. H.-J. Sue is a Full Professor teaching at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University since 1995. He received his Bachelor's degree from the Chemical Engineering Department, Chung-Yuan Christian University, Taiwan, in 1981. He then obtained his Masters' and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan in 1985, 1987, and 1988, respectively. Before joining Texas A&M University, Dr. Sue was employed by Dow Chemical USA at Freeport, TX, for about seven years. He has focused most of his research work on fundamental understanding of structure-property relationships of polymeric materials. His recent research interests include micro- and nano-scratch of polymers and preparation and characterization of polymer nanocomposites for nanotechnology applications.