Advances in high temperature polymers

One facet of materials science which has been the subject of intensive research over the last decade is the development of new thermally stable polymers. The main stimulus has come from the need to meet the demands of modern technological advances, in particular, the increasingly stringent environmental requirements of the aerospace program. Industry, government agencies and the military are designing and building machinery, equipment and components requiring light-weight, high-strength operation at high temperatures and in adverse environments. Advanced design concepts have increased the urgency of this need for more thermally stable materials and pushed the temperature requirements into even higher regions. This is now being felt in the electrical industry as design engineers attempt to increase the power to size ratio of electrical apparatus by the use of new high performance materials.