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During free surface moulding processes such as thermoforming and blow moulding, heated polymer materials are subjected to rapid biaxial deformation as they are drawn into the shape of a mould. In the development of process simulations, it is therefore essential to be able to accurately measure and model this behaviour. Conventional uniaxial test methods are generally inadequate for this purpose and this has led to the development of specialised biaxial test rigs. In the present study, the results of several programmes of biaxial tests conducted at Queen's University are presented and discussed. These have included tests on high impact polystyrene (HIPS), polypropylene (PP) and aPET, and the work has involved a wide variety of experimental conditions. In all cases, the results clearly demonstrate the unique characteristics of materials when subjected to biaxial deformation. PP draws the highest stresses and it is the most temperature-sensitive of the materials. aPET is initially easier to form but exhibits strain hardening at higher strains. This behaviour is increased with increasing strain rate but at very high strain rates, these effects are increasingly mollified by adiabatic heating. Both aPET and PP (to a lesser degree) draw much higher stresses in sequential stretching showing that this behaviour must be considered in process simulations. HIPS showed none of these effects and it is the easiest material to deform.

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Outcome-based Education (OBE) emphasises on two main components in terms of student achievement in an academic programme. One is the Programme Outcomes (POs) which is measured at the point of graduation, and the other, the Programme Educational Objectives (PEOs) is assessed over a longer period of time (around 4-5 years) after graduation. This study focuses on the establishment of a systematic procedure adopted by the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) to formulate PEOs assessment criteria with integration of stakeholders' input, methodology for an unbiased measurement of graduates' long-term attainment rate, as well as analysis and identification of a set of strategies for continuous quality improvement (CQI). These PEOs are mapped using the guidelines set by the Engineering Council to those required by the Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC), Malaysia. The outcome of the mapping exercise was used to formulate an anonymous online questionnaire survey as a measure of the PEOs' attainment. Key outcomes from this study revealed that graduates are broadly satisfied with their achievement in all eight PEOs. Strategies were also proposed to improve the attainment level in four PEOs with relatively lower attainment rate, as part of the CQI process adopted in the department.