Thermal and Mechanical Analysis

The mechanical testing lab at Matexcel runs most common and fundamental types of testings such as Instron tensile testing, which applies tensile (pulling) force to a specimen and measures the specimen's response to the stress. Our lab is also capable of nanomechanical testing, such as nanoindentation, which is a test to measure the hardness/stiffness of a sample in nanoscale.

Material such as polymers’ mechanical property varies with temperature. For example, hard plastics like polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) are used well below their glass transition temperatures (T_g), that is in in glassy state. When the temperature is above T_g, polymer chains become easier to move and more viscous. Rubber elastomers like polyisoprene and polyisobutylene, are used above their T_g, that is, in the rubbery state, where they are soft and flexible. Rheometer is a device used to characterize the rheological properties of polymer melts or other liquid samples. Thermomechanical analysis (TMA) is a technique used in thermal analysis, a branch of materials science which studies the properties of materials as they change with temperature. It provides valuable characterization information on the dimensional properties of a wide range of materials. TMA is used either alone or in conjunction with other thermal analysis techniques: Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). DMA (or dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA)), measures the stiffness and damping properties of materials as a function of time, temperature, and frequency by applying a sinusoidal load to a specimen and measuring the resultant deformation. The magnitude of the applied stress and the resultant strain are used to calculate the stiffness of the material under stress. The lab scientists at Matexcel are experienced with different thermal and mechanical analysis techniques, which give you a large amount of valuable information on polymers and other materials that is difficult or even impossible to obtain by other analytical techniques.

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