Welcome to the Alvarez Research Group

The nonlinear rheology of three selected commercial low-density polyethylenes (LDPE) is measured in uniaxial extensional flow. The measurements are performed using three different devices including an extensional viscosity fixture (EVF), a homemade filament stretching rheometer (DTU-FSR) and a commercial filament stretching rheometer (VADER-1000).

We present start-up of uniaxial extension followed by stress relaxation experiments of a bi-disperse 50 % by weight blend of 95k and 545k molecular weight polystyrene. We also show, for comparison, stress relaxation measurements of the polystyrene melts with molecular weight 95k and 545k, which are the components of the bi-disperse melt.

Hydrogels formed by polypeptides could be much-favored tools for drug delivery because their main ingredients are generally biodegradable. However, the gelation of peptides in aqueous solution generally requires a minimal length of the peptide as well as distinct sequences of hydrophilic and hydrophobic residues.

This collaborative effort examines the relationship between processing conditions and material performance in high impact (high strain rate) applications. We have developed a novel gel spinning apparatus that controls key

The time–temperature superposition principle (TTSP) is a promising tool for filling the time-scale gap between molecular dynamics simulation and experiments in polymer systems. Here we propose a molecular dynamics approach to generate vinyl-ester (VE)/styrene (ST) thermoset modulus master curves that are comparable to experiments.

This work revisits several open questions regarding the mechanisms of GAG fibril formation and structure as a function of temperature.

Abstract HypothesisRecently, we reported a three-dimensional phase diagram for the gelation of cationic tripeptide glycylalanylglycine (GAG) in water–ethanol mixtures. We showed that the gel strength reaches an optimum for a

Abstract HypothesisThe cationic tripeptide glycylalanylglycine (GAG) self-assembles into long, thick crystalline fibrils in an ethanol/water solution. At sufficiently high concentrations, the fibrils form a volume spanning hydrogel network. We report

Abstract A well-defined resin system is needed to serve as a benchmark for 3D printing of high-performance composites. This work describes the design and characterization of such a system that

Abstract High performance ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers are primarily composed of extended chain (shish) and lamellae (kebab) crystalline domains. Characterization of these architectures commonly utilizes x-ray scattering