Dielectric thermal analysis instrumentation

Figure 9 Schematic diagram of a dielectric thermal analysis instrument. Inset shows a single-surface interdigitated electrode...

Figure 18.26. Dielectric thermal analysis scans of polycarbonate at 1Hz and at a heating rate of 3°Cmin 1. Reproduced from Foreman et al. (1995), by permission of TA Instruments, Inc.

Dielectric thermal analysis El DuPont de Nemours Inc. PL Thermal Sciences TA Instruments... 

Studies of the thermal and chemical stability of polymers are of paramount importance and instrumentation used in these studies discussed in Chapter 9 include thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, thermal volatilisation analysis and evolved gas analysis. Monitoring of resin cure is another important parameter in polymer processing in which dynamic mechanical analysis, dielectric thermal analysis and differential scanning calorimetry is used (Chapter 10). 

Differential scanning calorimetry, thermomechanical analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, differential thermal analysis, dielectric thermal analysis, infrared and NMR spectroscopy, are some of the instrumental techniques that have been applied to the determination of glass transition and other transition temperatures in polymers (Chapter 13). 

Two techniques, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and dielectric thermal analysis (DETA), have been used for the study of resin cure. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has also been employed (for a discussion of the theory and instrumentation of DSC, see Chapter 9). The application of differential photocalorimetry to the measurement of cure rates of photocurable resins is discussed in Chapter 12. 

Dielectric thermal analysis PL Thermal Sciences Inc. TA Instruments Inc. El DnPont de Nemours... 

The principal techniques that have been used in resin cure studies are differential scanning calorimetry (DSC Chapter 7), photocalorimetry (Sections 11.3.1 and 11.3.2), dielectric thermal analysis (DETA Section 12.2.1) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA Section 8.3.2). Earlier differential photocalorimetry (DPC) instruments were based on a DSC instrument. However, these were only partially successful in the analysis of photocurable polymers. The failure to develop a completely adequate system has been the result of two factors. The first and most significant is the change in the intensity of the light with time of operation - as much as an 80% reduction in the first 100 hours of operation. The second reason for the limited success was the lack of data analysis software to convert raw data into easy-to-understand results that could be correlated with actual performance. 

While the theory of dielectric analysis is well known, its use has not been possible due to lack of effective instrumentation. Modern dielectric thermal analyses make the technique a practical reality. 

Various instrumental methods applied or developed at MMI over the past ten years to study liquid state transitions are presented. T>Tg transition studies with an emf asis on polystyrene are discussed. Instrumental techniques cover the areas of dielectric relaxation, thermal methods, dynamic mechanical relaxation, and computer statistical analysis of tabulated literature data, as well as the spectroscopic methods of Fourier transform infrared and electron spin resonance. 

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