TECHNOLOGY | MATERIALS TESTING


Right: C-Therm’s MTPS sensor equipped with a TLS needle probe sensor


its suppliers’ polymeric and composite materials. The move means suppliers now have an independent third party verification option to establish compliance with FCA, SAE and ISO standards, Intertek says. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)


spectroscopy is another technique proving to be of particular value to the plastics industry. “We use NMR as a key technique for polymer characterisation of medical devices, often in problem solving or failure investigations where it is used to investigate the root cause of failure,” says Malcolm Beckett, NMR Specialist, Materials Sciences at Intertek. “Example materials include medical grade cyanoacrylates, which are often used as adhesives for medical device manufacturing, or nylon elastomers used in the manufacture of stents. We use NMR to identify the materials in the device and determine end groups, molar ratios and weight% composition. This information helps us to pinpoint reasons for failure – perhaps due to polymer processing issues or adhesive failures.”


Right: A polymer


sample set up for thermal conductivity measurement in C-Therm’s MTPS sensor


Novel materials Bioplastics is an area where Intertek expects testing and analysis will be vital. “One future innovation development area are novel materials from renewable sources [bio-based plastics] such as polysaccharides, furans, and vegetable oil, where there is a need to meet the requirements for green technologies, or for materials where the functional- ity of being biodegradable is a key performance criteria,” says Beckett. “Testing of these new materials will bring new challenges in terms of process residuals, degradation products and leachables where low levels of perhaps unknown substances will need to be firstly identified and secondly quantified in order to fulfill risk assessment requirements for specific applications such as packaging, food contact materials or medical applica- tions.”


An alternative approach for the compounder is to equip a laboratory on-site and there are a number of companies offering instru- ments that are particularly well suited for the plastics compounder or master- batcher. “One key element is the cost and availability of


PHOTO: C-THERM 74 COMPOUNDING WORLD | September 2017 www.compoundingworld.com


innovative materials,” says spokesperson for C-Therm Technologies, a supplier of thermal conductivity instruments. “The amount of sample required for testing becomes important when dealing with expensive or hard to obtain additives, such as graphene nanoplatelets. Test time is another core issue that needs to be addressed when deciding on characterisation techniques. Faster testing times allow for faster turnaround of results and ultimately higher efficiency in research. Other important issues include instrument preci- sion, reproducibility, accuracy and long-term durability.” The company adds that a better understanding


of the thermal conductivity of materials before, during and after a phase change is required for a wide range of applications. An understanding of a polymer compound’s enhanced thermal conduc- tivity at room temperature can be quickly deter- mined with C-Therm’s single-sided MTPS (Modi- fied Transient Plane Source) sensor, while its conductivity at higher temperatures can be monitored with the new and complementary Transient Line Source (needle probe) sensor. This has a wide range of potential applica- tions, from improving heat management in consumer electronics such as cell phones, to making medical devices such as prosthetics feel more natural to the end user, or even energy-efficient construction. C-Therm says that by pairing


its traditional Modified Transient Plane Source sensor with the new Transient Line Source sensor, researchers are able to extend their temperatures of research


PHOTO: C-THERM


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