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- Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (2) (entfernen)
The prospects of modern thermoanalytical methods for characterisation
of flow, curing and final mechanical behaviour of
moulding compounds were demonstrated. Using urea resin
moulding compounds from different manufacturers the possibilities
of the various techniques could be shown. With comparatively
low effort, fundamental information can be gained
before production process had been started. On this basis it is
possible to make appropriate material selection at an early
point in the process chain. On the basis of thermoanalytical
data an incoming goods inspection can be established. Also it
is easy to control the compliance with the conditions of delivery.
In some cases it could also be helpful to have stored analysis
data especially when problems appear in manufacturing
process or unexpected part damages occur
With the ultrasound measuring system it is possible to transfer
the findings from the analytical methods directly to the processes
in the mould. The application of ultrasound provides
Dynamic Mechanical Analysis in the mould. Beside quality
assurance ultrasound can also be used for process optimisation,
especially for reduction of cycle time. In an advanced form
ultrasound information can be used as a basis for improved
machine control based on material state. The ultrasound measuring
system developed by ISK Iserlohn and BAM can be
obtained from the ISK.
The objective of this work is to demonstrate the practical application and sensitivity of ultrasound as a high frequency Dynamic Mechanical Analysis DMA technique for the characterisation of polymers. Conventional DMA techniques are used to determine thermo mechanical behaviour of polymers by typically employing dynamic shear or tensile loading modes at defined frequencies between 0.1 and 50 Hz. Sound waves may also be employed for DMA applications and depending on type of wave propagated, shear G´, G´´ and longitudinal L´, L´´ storage or loss modulus and tan (δ) may be determined from the measured acoustic parameters sound velocity and amplitude. The primary advantage of ultrasound DMA is that due to the compact sensor size it can easily be integrated into most manufacturing processes. To demonstrate the sensitivity of ultrasound to variations in the viscoelastic properties of polymers, the acoustic properties of a cured epoxy with an observed glass transition temperature of 86 °C (tan(δ) peak, 1Hz) were monitored in a temperature range from 20 to 200 °C and compared to conventional DMA results. The influence of measurement frequency, dispersion, hysteresis, reflections at material boundaries, and changes in material density on the measured sound velocity and amplitude were taken into account. To support conclusions a wide range of experimental data was evaluated using sensors operating in the frequency ranges 400 to 800 kHz and 3 to 6 MHz. The ultrasound results are compared to the tensile moduli E´, E´´ and tan(δ) measured using a conventional DMA technique operating at 0.1 to 33 Hz. Using different evaluation strategies such as the Williams Landel Ferry WLF equation it was possible to study the sensitivity of wave propagation to variations in the viscoelastic behaviour of a polymer. Taking advantage of this background knowledge, further experimental results are presented with the aim of demonstrating the sensitivity of this technique for cure monitoring applications and to the material transformations: gelation and vitrification. For this purpose an epoxy resin was cured at a range of constant temperatures whereby the curing reaction and the corresponding change in viscoelastic properties were monitored. Analysis techniques employed included ultrasound at 3 to 6 MHz, Differential Scanning Calorimeter DSC and Rheometry at 1 Hz. All results were summarised and presented graphically. Additionally an Arrhenius relationship was employed enabling direct comparison of results obtained from analysis techniques based on different working principles. Using this information, it was possible to demonstrate the practical application and the sensitivity of this technique to even small changes in viscoelastic properties of polymers.