Quality Control of Advanced Materials with Thermal Analysis
As the market for advanced materials continues to grow, thermal analysis becomes increasingly critical for efficient, reliable quality assurance of innovative materials.
As the market for advanced materials continues to grow, thermal analysis becomes increasingly critical for efficient, reliable quality assurance of innovative materials.
While many instruments can measure DMA type properties (phase, tan delta, etc), many are not performing ‘real’ DMA experiments. On the surface, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis seems straightforward: apply periodic stress/strain and measure the sample’s mechanical response including the phase relationship, revealing characteristics like stiffness (storage modulus) and damping (loss modulus).
Developing high-performance materials for demanding applications requires predicting their behavior over a wide range of time scales. Rheology and DMA are powerful tools to understand and predict viscoelastic behavior, including how materials will respond to sudden forces or years of continuous use.
Heat shrink tubing appears simple at first glance: wrap it around your wires, apply a heat gun, and voila – perfectly insulated wires every time. But these tubes are more complex than they seem.
As electronic devices grow more powerful and compact, thermal management has become a critical design challenge. Central to this challenge are Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs)—specialized materials engineered to enhance heat transfer between high-power electronic components and heat-dissipating surfaces.
Polymer rheology plays a critical role in understanding the flow behavior and viscoelastic properties of polymers across the supply chain. Whether in polymer manufacturing, compounding, conversion, or recycling, precise rheological measurements are essential for optimizing processing conditions, ensuring product quality, and preventing defects.
Will your paint stick to the wall or drip off? Does your low-fat cream cheese have the same texture as a full-fat version? How will new ingredients affect your formulation’s texture and application, especially as environmental conditions change? Rheology offers invaluable insights that help researchers, developers, and engineers across numerous industries optimize their products for performance and customer satisfaction.
Mechanical testing supports material and product innovation across a variety of industries and applications, from testing the long-term durability of dental implants during chewing to predicting how a car part will bend during an accident. Learn how the latest technology advances mechanical testing to better support cutting-edge product development.
From faster prototyping to ensuring long-term performance, fatigue testing is a critical step in product development across a variety of industries that rely on high-performance materials, like polymers, rubber compounds, and composites. When done properly, fatigue testing accelerates development by helping engineers make informed decisions about prototypes and designs.
Polymers are everywhere, from components making up the electronic device you’re reading this on to life-saving medical devices, energy efficient solar panels, and lightweight aero or auto components. Material scientists and engineers continue to improve high-performance polymers for strength, durability, and stability under demanding applications.
In the world of material science, understanding the viscoelastic properties of materials is crucial for developing and optimizing products. Two key parameters in this context are storage modulus (E’ or G’) and loss modulus (E” or G”). These parameters provide insights into a material’s stiffness and damping characteristics, respectively, which are essential for applications ranging from polymers and pharmaceuticals to batteries and composites.
Differential Scanning Calorimetry is a thermal analysis technique commonly used to characterize materials across a broad array of applications including chemistry, biochemistry, pharmaceuticals, polymers, and more. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) measures the heat flow in a material as it is heated or cooled over a specified temperature range.