Intended as a practical guide for polymer technologists, engineers and analysts in the plastics, composites and rubber fields, this title describes a range of techniques and strategies for compositional and failure analysis of polymeric materials and products. Numerous examples illustrate the application of analytical methods for solving commonly encountered problems in the polymer industry. The reader is guided towards the most appropriate method of analysis and measurement and the most likely reasons for the failure. Areas covered include: * Migration and interaction of additives * Mechanical stress and stress cracking * Crazing and fracture * Residual stress and weld lines * Contamination and discoloration Numerous pedagogical methods, illustrative flow diagrams, figures and tables are used throughout the text to make it an invaluable guide to all analysts and polymer engineers in industrial or academic laboratories.