POLYMER ANALYSIS | TESTING
For applications where fatigue resistance is
Above: University of Bristol Pro-Vice Chancellor John Iredale (left) and Malvern Panalytical President Paolo Carmassi seal a partnership to explore advanced digital technologies and AI tools
according to Khaled Boqaileh, CEO of LabsCubed, in a presentation given at AMI’s 2019 Polymer Testing & Analysis conference. The company’s CubeOne tensile tester uses a
robotic arm to automatically load and unload samples, while “smart grips” ensure consistent testing. It claims that testing is four times more accurate and twenty times faster than manual tensile testing methods.
Molecular fingerprints Raman spectroscopy is a light-based technique that can be used to “fingerprint” materials and to understand chemical bonds and molecular structure. TA Instruments, a subsidiary of Waters Corporation, has introduced the Rheo-Raman Accessory for its Discovery Hybrid Rheometer (DHR) product line to enable simultaneous collection of rheology (flow properties) and Raman spectroscopy data. This combination helps to develop “a deeper understanding of how chemical structure drives material properties, and how macroscopic deformations can have implications at the molecular level,” says the company. The Discovery TMA 450 Thermomechanical Analyzer from TA Instruments measures dimensional changes of materials from -150 to 1000°C. Sample configurations allow testing in expansion, compression, flexure and tension modes. The instrument can measure a material’s coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CTE), shrinkage, softening, and glass transition temperatures. Test options also include stiffness (modulus), damping properties, and creep and stress relaxation over extended experimental time.
48 COMPOUNDING WORLD | January 2020
important, TA Instruments has launched two new fatigue-testing instruments that both use a patented, frictionless motor to provide the durability needed for high-cycle testing. Fatigue testing of material specimens or final assemblies uses repetitive stress and strain to determine point of failure. The ElectroForce 3300 Series III offers controlled stress and strain up to 100Hz loading frequency and can be configured with either 1000N or 3000N force capacity. The MSF16 Multi-Specimen Fatigue Instrument can measure 16 samples at a time, which helps to accelerate time-consuming testing. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is useful for analysing the structure and properties of polymers. A new instrument from Oxford Instruments’ Asylum Research, the Jupiter XR AFM, is a large-sample AFM with 200mm sample access and simple software control for R&D duties. The company has also launched the new Ergo software platform for its AFMs. This uses a simplified user interface that is said to make analysis more accessible and uses algorithms to automatically calculate optimal image settings.
Artificial intelligence The ability to use advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to solve problems is advancing rapidly and the polymer analysis equipment of the near future is likely to take advantage of these tools. Uses of predictive analytics could range from predicting analysis equipment health to using large data sets to build models to model behavior of polymer compounds. Last year, Malvern Panalytical and the University of Bristol announced a partnership that will focus on areas such as data analytics, machine learning, and AI. Malvern Panalytical also opened its Data Science Hub at Engine Shed, which is an innovation space run by the University. The two partners expect their collaboration to both enhance the future workforce and expand the company’s capabilities.
CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: �
www.dynisco.com �
www.agilent.com �
www.spectro.com �
www.thermofisher.com �
www.actusanalytical.com �
www.antonpaar.com �
www.labscubed.com �
www.tainstruments.com �
www.oxinst.com �
www.malvernpanalytical.com
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: MALVERN PANALYTICAL
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