Testing dynamic mechanical analysis

Daniels PH, Cabrera A. Plasticizer compatibility testing dynamic mechanical analysis and glass transition temperatures. J Vinyl Addit Technol 2015 21(1) 7-11. 

The authors have characterized the graft polymer by solvent extraction, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, mechanical testing (including measurement of tensile, tear, and impact strength), and morphology by SEM. The reaction scheme is given in Figure 11.25. 

ASTM E 1640-99, ASTM Book of Standards 2002. Standard Test Method for Assignment of the Glass Transition Temperature by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis . ASTM International, Conshohocken, PA. 

An appropriate cure cycle was established based on the results obtained from the thermal analysis and cure rheology studies of the resin and cured BCB bar and dogbone shaped samples were fabricated for testing. Bar shaped specimens had the dimensions of 3.5 x 0.5 X 0.125 and were used to stake compact tension specimens for fracture toughness studies and for dynamic mechanical analysis of a torsion bar. Dogbone shaped specimens for tensile tests had a gauge area of 1 x 0.15 and were approximately 0.040 thick. 

Thermal analysis, moisture uptake and dynamic mechanical analysis was also accomplished on cured specimens. Thermal analysis parameters used to study cured specimens are the same as those described earlier to test resins. The moisture uptake in cured specimens was monitored by immersing dogbone shaped specimens in 71 C distilled water until no further weight gain is observed. A dynamic mechanical scan of a torsion bar of cured resin was obtained using the Rheometrics spectrometer with a temperature scan rate of 2°C/minute in nitrogen at a frequency of 1.6Hz. The following sections describe the results obtained from tests run on the two different BCB resin systems. Unless otherwise noted all tests have been run as specified above. 

The complex sorption behavior of the water in amine-epoxy thermosets is discussed and related to depression of the mechanical properties. The hypothesized sorption modes and the corresponding mechanisms of plasticization are discussed on the basis of experimental vapor and liquid sorption tests, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermomechanical analysis (TMA) and dynamic mechanical analysis. In particular, two different types of epoxy materials have been chosen low-performance systems of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) cured with linear amines, and high-performance formulations based on aromatic amine-cured tetraglycidyldiamino diphenylmethane (TGDDM) which are commonly used as matrices for carbon fiber composites. 

The main experimental methodology used is to directly characterize the tensile properties of CNTs/polymer composites by conventional pull tests (e.g. with Instron tensile testers). Similarly, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermal mechanical analysis (TMA) were also applied to investigate the tensile strength and tensile modulus. With these tensile tests, the ultimate tensile strength, tensile modulus and elongation to break of composites can be determined from the tensile strain-stress curve. 

Dynamic mechanical analysis has been used to study the compatibility of ester lubricants, and stearic acid and its derivatives (403, 420). On the basis of a PVC melt flow test (ASTM D 3364), the effect of lubricants on processing has been determined (313). 

Accelerated aging testing and dynamic mechanical analysis were used to evaluate the stability of coated laminates. Testing results are provided in Table 2. 

A convenient method for determining transition times and transition temperatures of polymeric materials is dynamic mechanical analysis. One type of instrument which is particularly suitable for polymeric solids is the freely oscillating torsion pendulum (TP). Advantages of the TP include its simplicity, sensitivity, relatively low frequency ( 1 Hz) which permits direct correlation of transition temperatures with static nonmechanical methods (e.g., dilatometry and calorimetry), and its high resolution of transitions A major disadvantage of the conventional TP is that test temperatures are limited by the inability of materials to support their own weight near load-limiting transition temperatures. 

Glass transition temperature, Tg, and storage modulus, E , were measured to explore how the pigment dispersion affects the material (i.e. cross-link density) and mechanical properties. Both Tg and E were determined from dynamic mechanical analysis method using a dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer (DMTA, TA Instruments RSA III) equipped with transient testing capability. A minimum of 3 to 4 specimens were analyzed from each sample. The estimated uncertainties of data are one-standard deviation. 

Pellicle and tea-immersed pellicle were analyzed using nanoDMA (dynamic mechanical analysis) to see if the tannins had an effect on the viscoelasticity of the pellicle. NanoDMA is a technique used to study and characterize mechanical properties in viscoelastic materials. The method is an extension of nanoindentation testing [58, 59], An analysis of the nanoindentation load-depth curve gives the hardness (H) and reduced elastic modulus (E ), provided the area of contact, A, between the indenter tip and the sample is known [ 13]. By... 

Gel content measurements ASTM D2765 Compression tests ASTM D2990 Specific gravity determination Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) Ultrasonics... 

While TMA is one of the older and simpler forms of thermal analysis, its importance is in no way diminished by its age. Advances in DSC technology and the appearance of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) as a common analytical tool have decreased the use of it for measuring glass transitions, but nothing else allows the measurement of CTE as readily as TMA. In addition, the ability to run standardized material test methods at elevated temperatures easily makes TMA a reasonable alternative to larger mechanical testers. As the electronic, biomedical, and aerospace industries continue to push the operating limits of polymers and their composites, this information will become even more important. During the last 5 years a major renewed interest in dilatometry and volumetric expansion has been seen. Other thermomechanical techniques will also likely be developed or modernized as new problems arise. 

Analytical Techniques. The cloud point of the blends was determined with a light-transmission device (21). Once the blend was cloudy, the test tube was taken out and chilled in ice, so that the time and conversion at the cloud point, tc and a could be obtained. The Tg value and conversion were measured by DSC (Mettfer TA3000 microcalorimeter) (22). The gel time, fge], of rubber-cyanate blends was determined as the time at which insolubles appeared in tetrahydrofu-ran (THF). That of PES-cyanate was determined by dynamic mechanical analysis (Rheometrics RDA700). 

Small deformation dynamic mechanical analysis on compressed or blown fdms was done using a Rheometrics Scientific RSA II Solids Analyzer. Samples were tested using an initial applied force of 150 grams, an applied strain of 0.1%, and were heated from -100°C to 200°C at 10°C/min. A triplicate set of tests were performed for each samples... 

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