Technical & Scientific Equipment Co -
It is important to be able to monitor the cure of the resin in a composite, in order to know how long to cure the part in the mould or vacuum bag. Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) measures the rigidity of the resin, by applying an alternating stress, which allows the degree of cure to be measured by the DMA.
By applying the same temperature profile used in the mould or vacuum bag, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis allows measurement of the resin response by measuring the elastic modulus and complex modulus (loss modulus), as well as the loss angle tan delta.
These parameters allow a much more meaningful measurement of the degree of cure than the simple measurements made by DSC (Dynamic Scanning Calorimetry), which only monitors the progress of the cure process, not the effectiveness of the cure.
A special new measuring jig for viscous liquids from Netzsch enables the monitoring of the entire curing process using a single measurement head, whereas previously it was necessary to make multiple measurements to collect this data.
Alternatively Dielectric Analysis DEA can be used to measure the ion viscosity across an even wider range of values, enabling monitoring of cure in real time in the final part, or in a laboratory simulation to determine the optimum curing profile for that particular resin.
The Netzsch DMA 242 also has provision for measuring the DMA response of a sample while it is immersed in a liquid, which is very useful for biological applications or determining environmental sensitivity.
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Netzsch thermal analysis instruments are supported in Australia by TSE Technical & Scientific Equipment.
