Polymers torsion pendulum method

High polymers behave—cum crano sails—elastically at very low temperatures. But no deformation of materials is free from internal friction and damping processes. By means of the sensitive torsion pendulum method, the mechanical loss was determined. In Fig. 10, tan 6 has been plotted versus temperature, where is the mechanical loss angle. These are the results ... 

A. Torsion Pendulum Method (Damped Free Vibration) for Solid Polymers... 

Glass-transition temperatures are commonly determined by differential scanning calorimetry or dynamic mechanical analysis. Many reported values have been measured by dilatometric methods however, methods based on the torsional pendulum, strain gauge, and refractivity also give results which are ia good agreement. Vicat temperature and britde poiat yield only approximate transition temperature values but are useful because of the simplicity of measurement. The reported T values for a large number of polymers may be found ia References 5, 6, 12, and 13. 

This second group of tests is designed to measure the mechanical response of a substance to applied vibrational loads or strains. Both temperature and frequency can be varied, and thus contribute to the information that these tests can provide. There are a number of such tests, of which the major ones are probably the torsion pendulum and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The underlying principles of these dynamic tests have been covered earlier. Such tests are used as relatively rapid methods of characterisation and evaluation of viscoelastic polymers, including the measurement of T, the study of the curing characteristics of thermosets, and the study of polymer blends and their compatibility. They can be used in essentially non-destructive modes and, unlike the majority of measurements made in non-dynamic tests, they yield data on continuous properties of polymeric materials, rather than discontinuous ones, as are any of the types of strength which are measured routinely. 

Various methods (1-1) have used to determine the dynamic mechanical properties of polymers. Many of the instruments described are well known and are widely used (torsional pendulum, rheovibron, vibrating reed, and Oberst beam ASTM D4065-82). Newer instruments like the torqued cylinder apparatus (4), resonant bar apparatus (5) and Polymer Laboratories Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analyzer (6) are becoming more popular in recent times. 

Part of the work performed on a sample will be converted irreversibly into random thermal motion by movement of the molecules or molecule segments. This loss passes through a maximum at the appropriate transition temperature or relaxation frequency in the associated alternating mechanical field (torsion pendulum test). A similar effect is obtained by the delayed response of the dipoles with dielectric measurements. Therefore, dielectric measurements can be made only on polar polymers. According to the frequency used, the glass-transition temperatures measured with dynamic methods lie higher than those obtained by quasistatic methods (see Section 10.5.2). 

A torsion pendulum is a simple instrument to measure the dynamic viscoelastic properties of solid polymers. Using this method, the shear modulus G can be obtained as a function of temperature within the frequency range from 0.1 to 10 Hz. This method is actually separated into two methods, A and B, as shown in Fig. 5. In method A, the upper end of the specimen is rigidly clamped, and the lower end of the specimen is attached to an inertia member. In method B, the lower end of the specimen is fixed, and the inertia member, a rod, and an upper clamp are balanced by a counterweight. 

Free vibration and forced vibration methods have been employed to determine the respective data. Free vibration was common earlier in polymer blend studies, but forced vibration data is much more common today due to the availability of more sophisticated testing equipment. Free vibration methods include the torsion pendulum, the vibrating reed and the torsional braid analyzer. The torsion pendulum is comprised of an inertial source (disk or rod), which can freely vibrate and is attached to a specimen, which is rigidly fixed at one end. Upon angular deformation of the inertial source and releasing, a damped sinusoidal curve depicts the resultant deformation of the sample [18,19]. Tan S can be calculated from... 

Dynamic mechanical analysis is quite useful to observe the result of chemical reactions of polymer chains (e.g., transesterification) as evidenced by Figs. 3.12 and 3.13 [26]. The DMA method can be applied isothermally to determine crystallization kinetics (modulus versus time measurements) [13, 27] and reaction rate of thermosetting materials (e.g., epoxy) [28]. For reaction rate determination of liquid systems, the torsional braid analyzer is most appropriate as the braid can be saturated with the prepolymer liquid. A cellulose blotter could be used for the torsion pendulum, and a section of nylon hosiery could be used for forced vibration studies (both supports saturated with liquid prepolymer). 

Since little research had been reported on the application of thermal analysis (TA) methods to roofing, the committee recommended that more research be carried out to provide the technical basis for this application. The recommendation was based on research by Farlling and Backenstow and Flueler.I J These authors used TG, DSC, and DMA to characterize EPDM, PVC, and polymer-modified materials. Backenstow and Flueler reported the application of torsion pendulum analysis to characterize the above membrane materials. They concluded that TA techniques were useful for membrane characterization and should be investigated as methods for incorporation into standards. Previous work published by Cash on the use of DSC to characterize neoprene, chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) and PVC had shown that DSC could be used to identify not only the components in a single-ply sheet and the manufacturer, but also to differentiate between new and exposed materials. 

Test method for dynamic mechanical properties of plastics by means of a torsional pendulum Practice for determining resistance of synthetic polymer material to fungi. Practice for determining resistance of plastics to bacteria... 

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