Weathering of Polymers and Plastic Materials

Luís Eduardo Pimentel Real Graduated in chemical engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Lisbon, Portugal. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering (IST, Portugal) and a PhD in chemistry (UBP, France). He is a researcher in National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC), where he has worked since 1990. His activity has been very dispersed and covers several fields, namely applied chemistry, degradation and stabilization of polymers, durability, environmental issues (radon and recycling), biocomposites, assessment of construction products, and technical advice. He is author and co-author of more than 200 publications, including scientific papers, communications, technical guides and reports. He has participated in several European research projects, and in specialized courses and technical training. He was responsible, for several years, for an accredited laboratory of plastics and composites. He was awarded the degree of specialist in metrology by the Portuguese Order of Engineers, for having carried out numerous activities in the scope of quality control of plastic materials and products, doing agreement activity and support for certification, technical auditing in plastic pipe factories located in Portugal and Europe, and participation in technical committees and working groups.

Chapter 1. Degradation and stabilization of polymers.- Chapter 2. Natural weathering.- Chapter 3. Accelerated climatic weathering.- Chapter 4. Artificial accelerated weathering.- Chapter 5. Instrumental methods of analysis and characterization.- Chapter 6. Lifetime prediction.- Chapter 7. Statistical data treatment.