When it comes to selecting materials for your next innovative product, the material specification sheet is likely the first place that you will turn. This document provides core properties measured by the manufacturer and serves as an essential tool for supplier verification and new product development. However, while these sheets are reliable and provide a standard method for comparison, they often fail to tell the whole story.

For successful material selection, product performance, failure prevention, it is important to go beyond the spec sheet and conduct in-house testing. This proactive approach will save you both time and money by facilitating informed material choices and enhancing product design.

A material specification sheet provides a snapshot of a material’s key properties as measured by the manufacturer. These properties are typically measured using standardized methods such as ASTM or ISO standards, offering some consistency and comparability across different materials. The spec sheet can be used for various purposes:

• Supplier Verification: Ensuring that the material provided by a supplier meets the necessary criteria for production.
• New Product Development: Aiding in the selection of new materials during the design phase of a product.

While spec sheets provide a foundational understanding, relying solely on them can be risky; they often provide incomplete information to know the material’s performance or predict lifetime of a product, especially in real-world application conditions.

Spec sheets are foundational for understanding general material properties, but they often lack detailed information about how a material will behave under specific conditions, such as the effects of different temperatures, prolonged stress or stress cycles, or exposure to harsh environments. Uncovering these blind spots is necessary for improving processing conditions, understanding material lifespan, and ultimately selecting the right material at the start of your development process.

To fully understand a material’s properties and ensure it meets your specific requirements, additional testing is required. Here are some critical aspects to consider:

Environmental Impacts

Materials can perform differently under various environmental conditions, such as UV exposure, or humidity. Due to the impracticality of inspecting materials in active use, such as polymer coatings on wires embedded in walls, a quick test lasting only a few minutes to hours is conducted to estimate the long-term stability of these materials over decades.¹

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) with oxidative induction time (OIT) analysis helps predict the aging and degradation of polymers, guiding material selection for longevity and reliability. For instance, polymers exposed to heat, oxygen, or light degrade faster, and OIT provides insights into their lifespan.

A variation of the OIT test, known as high-pressure OIT (HPOIT), is becoming increasingly popular. Proponents argue that oxidative data obtained under high pressure and temperature conditions align more closely with results from traditional, accelerated aging tests. The HPOIT test offers two primary advantages: high pressure raises the boiling points of additives, reducing their volatility, and it increases the concentration of the reacting oxidizing gas. This enables the use of lower test temperatures or significantly reduces test durations at comparable temperatures.²

Alternatively, high-pressure thermogravimetric analysis (HP-TGA) simulates extended exposure to harsh environments by using a combination of heat and elevated pressure. It is particularly useful for materials used in industrial applications, such as cabling for electrical or fiber optic systems. Safeguarding polymers against catastrophic degradation when exposed to direct sunlight or buried underground is crucial for these applications.³

Mechanical Behavior

Understanding the mechanical properties of materials beyond the scope of the datasheet is essential for nearly every application. For example, the following should be considered:

• Temperature Effects: Materials can exhibit drastically different properties at varying temperatures. Datasheets typically only list tensile properties at room temperature, but materials are frequently expected to perform under higher or lower temperatures.
• Long-Term Loading: What happens if a material is subjected to a load for weeks, months, or even years? Will it deform over time, i.e., creep? Will it crack under prolonged stress, i.e., creep rupture? For example, a clothing hanger may perform well under normal use, but storing a heavy coat over winter could cause the neck to elongate and eventually break. In this example, the clothing hanger began failing to perform its function (holding up clothes) due to creep and fell off the rod. Had it not fallen due to deformation, it would have eventually cracked due to creep rupture.

• Repeated Loading: In a process known as fatigue, repeated loading can cause accumulating damage, leading to fracture. It is important to know the stress levels and number of loading cycles a material can withstand before failure. Polymers exhibit fatigue in a very different way than metals and fatigue life estimates cannot be extrapolated from tensile strength as easily. Additionally, the usage temperature can have a significant impact on fatigue life at much lower temperatures than metals.

Mechanical test instruments evaluate durability and mechanical characteristics under various stresses (forces), frequencies, and environmental conditions. Specifically, Electroforce load frame instruments measure a sample’s response to force, whether it is a single push or pull (tensile test), repetitive load (fatigue), or creep/stress-relaxation test. Mechanical testing also accounts for environmental effects by testing in temperature-controlled air, gas, or fluid submersion.

Material testing is crucial in manufacturing and product development because it minimizes the risk of product failure, which can have costly and even dangerous consequences. Unexpected material behavior can lead to malfunctions, product recalls, and reputational damage.

For example, a woven fiberglass composite had a manufacturer’s recommended operating temperature up to 130°C. However, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) testing revealed that the material’s storage modulus and loss modulus began to change around 100°C.⁴ Further fatigue testing data revealed that the material had a 90% reduction in its fatigue life at 100°C.⁵ Manufacturers could have mistakenly put this material into products used at high temperatures, such as baking, without realizing that it was highly likely to break.

Conducting thorough testing upfront provides higher confidence in material choices, ultimately saving time, money, and resources. Moreover, comprehensive material testing contributes to better long-term product reliability and performance. By thoroughly examining how a material responds to factors like fatigue, creep, and environmental degradation, manufacturers can design products that not only meet initial requirements but also maintain integrity throughout their life cycle. This proactive approach fosters innovation in product design, as engineers gain a deeper understanding of the material’s limits and capabilities, allowing for the creation of more efficient, safer, and longer-lasting products.

Going beyond the spec sheet is not just a recommendation; it is a necessity. By investing in additional testing, such as OIT using DSC and HP-TGA, you can uncover profound insights about material performance. By adding DMA and Electroforce fatigue testing to your testing suite, you can better predict material properties at various temperature conditions and repeat loading. These insights will ensure you make informed decisions that save time, money, and valuable resources by selecting the proper material for your application conditions. TA Instruments is here to support you with precision instruments and technical expertise, ensuring you have the tools needed to expertly evaluate materials and make the best decisions for your projects.

The composites market is evolving fast. Global market projections indicate a 10.8 % growth by 2028, driven by the demand for composites across industries looking for materials with superior performance at reduced weight and cost.¹ This blog explores how advanced material analysis can enhance R&D and manufacturing processes in the composites market, ultimately leading to financial savings and increased efficiency.

While traditionally associated with the aerospace sector, composite materials have been adopted by several industries. Sectors actively utilizing composites include:

• Aerospace: Valued for their high strength-to-weight ratio, composites like carbon fiber reinforced polymer and aramid reinforced polymer enable the production of lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft and satellites, contributing to reduced operational costs and increased payload capacities.²
• Automotive: A variety of automotive components, such as chassis and suspension systems, rely on composites for improved safety, fuel efficiency, and performance. Stringent emission regulations are driving this shift, including lightweighting automotive materials for enhanced fuel economy.³
• Renewable Energy: Composites are integral to the renewable energy sector, particularly in the construction of wind turbine blades and solar panel components. Companies are leveraging the dimensional stability, durability, and strength of these materials for operation under harsh environmental conditions, enhancing the longevity and efficiency of renewable energy systems.³
• Construction: Advanced composite materials, such as high-performance concrete mixes and fiber-reinforced polymers, can create structures more resistant to environmental degradation while offering excellent design flexibility. This improves construction longevity, reducing maintenance costs over time.⁴

While composites offer numerous advantages, manufacturers and material scientists face several challenges during their development and manufacturing including:

Designing and Selecting the Right Material

One of the main challenges in composites R&D is the selection of appropriate materials for specific applications. Researchers must consider criteria such as mechanical strength, thermal stability, and environmental resistance, which will entail the careful balancing of trade-offs between different performance characteristics.

Increased Complexity of Material Design

In achieving the desired balance of characteristics, scientists need to precisely control parameters such as filler orientation and distribution. Research has shown that the incorporation of nanofillers into a polymer matrix can bolster its mechanical properties and reduce water absorption in fiber-reinforced composites. As a result, strong interfacial adhesion is established between the matrix and nanofillers, allowing for efficient stress transfer during loading.

However, if not properly managed, the orientation and distribution of fillers within a composite can lead to variations in strength and other properties. The subsequent effect on the interfacial interactions can induce premature failure in the material.⁵

Sustainability

Reinforced polymer composites present several benefits, including the conservation of depleting resources such as metals and alloys. However, their disposal poses significant environmental challenges due to the non-biodegradable nature of petroleum-based polymers and synthetic fibers.

Consequently, research has increasingly focused on developing fully biodegradable and eco-friendly materials known as green composites. The use of green composites has significantly expanded across various engineering disciplines, yet the limited solubility of lignin-based materials for analytical purposes restricts the complete understanding and development of lignin-based green composites.⁶

New Manufacturing Techniques

Techniques like lightweighting and additive manufacturing deliver benefits but also introduce new challenges. Lightweighting replaces heavy materials with lighter-weight composites without compromising strength-to-weight ratios or structures’ fundamental design, while additive manufacturing increases throughput and design complexity. However, researchers must tackle the expensive nature of lightweighting processes, which can also risk impairing the ductility and formability of the materials, as well as concerns regarding the fabrication of composites with long fibers and complex cavities that surround additive manufacturing.^7,8

High Manufacturing Costs

Producing complex composite parts can require costly raw materials, specialized equipment, and skilled labor, leading to high costs. Effective quality control measures are essential to ensure that the final products meet the required standards without excessive waste or rework.⁹

To overcome these challenges, precise material analysis is essential. Key material properties to measure include:

• Glass Transition and Crystallinity: Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is a powerful technique for measuring the glass transition temperature and crystallinity of composites. These parameters are critical for understanding the thermal and mechanical properties of the material. For example, NASA uses a TA Instruments DSC to determine the quality of thermoplastic composite panels, which is vital for ensuring their performance in space applications.¹⁰ Further examples of real-world composites research using DSC can be found in our blog.
• Cure Kinetics, Cross-Linking, Gelation, and Cure Conversion: DSC paired with LED-PCA accessory can measure cure kinetics and the extent of cross-linking, gelation, and cure conversion in composite materials. These measurements help optimize processing conditions to achieve the desired mechanical properties and durability.^11,12
• Structural Relaxation, Time-Temperature Superposition, and Aging: Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) provides insights into the viscoelastic behavior of composites, including structural relaxation, time-temperature superposition, and aging effects. This information is key for predicting the long-term performance and stability of composite materials under various, sometime harsh, environmental conditions.¹³ Learn more about DMA testing of composites in this blog.
• Coefficient of Thermal Expansion: Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA) measures the coefficient of thermal expansion, which is important for understanding how composite materials will behave under thermal cycling. This is particularly relevant for applications where materials are exposed to varying temperatures, such as in aerospace and automotive industries.¹⁴

In response to the rising demand for materials that combine superior performance with low weight and cost, the composites market is rapidly expanding. This growth trajectory underscores the importance of addressing inherent challenges in the development and manufacturing of composites, such as selecting and designing appropriate materials, ensuring sustainability, implementing new manufacturing techniques, and managing high production costs.

Advanced material analysis techniques, including DSC, DMA, and TMA, are crucial in overcoming these challenges. These techniques provide critical insights into the thermal and mechanical properties of composites, enabling researchers and manufacturers to optimize processes and achieve the desired performance and durability.

TA Instruments supports composite R&D with cutting-edge material analysis instruments, helping you to overcome the complexities of composite design and manufacturing. By investing in advanced material analysis, companies can lower costs, increase efficiency, and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving composites market.

For more information on how TA Instruments can support the R&D of your composites, visit our composites page or contact us to speak with an expert.

High-performance polymers are a critical material for manufacturers due to their combination of mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties, but especially their cost. Without adequate testing, manufacturers could run into a slew of issues, from immediate product failure to poor performance or failure after some time in usage. In this post, we review the three most important types of mechanical testing to better predict and ensure performance, safety and reliability.

As high-performance and technical industries innovate, so do the materials they use to build their products. A car company might have to design a specialized part to handle increased torque from an EV. An engineer might need to develop a novel storage solution for critical scientific cargo in a rocket headed to the International Space Station. No matter the goal, each component must perform safely, reliably, and predictably. Success requires a multi-faceted testing approach in the development stage, because the stakes could not be higher when a product reaches the real world (or leaves it).

Whether a new supplier is necessary because of lingering supply chain complexities after the COVID-19 pandemic, weight and cost reduction are required to innovate, or sustainability is mission critical, more and more industries around the globe–from aerospace to automotive to life sciences and beyond–have shifted toward one common materials solution: High-performance, synthetic polymers.

High-performance polymers are a category of chemically-produced substances such as polyamides, polyethylene, Teflon, and synthetic rubber. They offer numerous benefits, including reduced production costs and lower weight than historical engineering materials like steel and aluminum.

However, implementing any new material into your production process takes extensive lab time to answer two key questions: How does this material change over time? And how does this material respond to specific types of stress? Proactively answering these questions before launching your product isn’t just essential to your P&L. It’s also crucial to establish parameters for safe and reliable use.

Here are three types of mechanical testing that measure polymer behavior–whether that polymer is headed through the grocery store parking lot or into low earth orbit.

Fatigue Testing

Polymers usually fail in one of two ways:

1. Over time from repeated use.
2. All at once under extreme stress.

Manufacturers almost always test number two, yet they frequently overlook number one. But plastics are actually more sensitive to failure over time. Which is why fatigue testing is critical in any high-performance product–it reproduces the conditions in which a material behaves tomorrow, next week, or in 10 years.

Fatigue testing ensures you know precisely how many “pulls” it takes to break a product or material. Specialized equipment, like Load Frame Instruments, replicates real-world conditions, using predetermined levels of force over and over until a failure occurs. This information can predict product endurance, optimize structural design, inform safety limits, or help determine durability.

Observing a material after its first or even 10th use might be relatively simple. But what about its 40,000th? Fatigue testing is the most accurate and timely way to answer that question before your product leaves R&D into the real world.

Tensile (Monotonic) Testing

What happens to a polymer under a single, powerful blow? How much force is required to break it? Tensile–or monotonic–testing gets the answer.

Data like this is necessary in its own right, but tensile testing provides even more valuable insight when combined with fatigue testing. An initial tensile test provides thresholds that can then repeat over thousands of cycles. An instrument like the ElectroForce 3200 can perform both by applying precise levels of force and then duplicating those levels – thousands or even millions of times.

That testing rigor provides a fuller understanding of a material’s weakness – from catastrophic failure to normal wear and tear. This means you will gain the insight needed to save both money and time during the pre- and post-production cycles. More importantly, you’ll also get information that can save lives.

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA)

Time and force are crucial variables in polymer research. But so is temperature. Dynamic Mechanical Analysis combines all three to measure three fundamental material properties:

• Storage modulus: The stored energy (stiffness) of a material, and how that energy returns when it’s stretched and returns back into shape.
• Loss modulus: The energy lost to heat from the materials’ viscous properties, also known as damping.
• Glass transition: The temperature range in which a material changes from its rigid “glassy” state into a more rubbery, viscous state.

From testing the modulus difference between multiple samples of one polymer, understanding how a modulus changes across a temperature range, or finding the precise temperature ranges where a material loses its structural rigidity, DMA provides robust data with a wide range of applications. Quality control, product development, and product performance just to name a few.

A complete understanding of a polymer’s behavior is not possible through any single form of mechanical testing. You might know how much force it takes to break a single sample. But what about when 50% of that force is applied 10,000 times? Or if that force is applied next to a running engine at midday?

Any one mechanical test–be it fatigue, tensile, or DMA–provides an incomplete picture. As more and more industries need to navigate the polymer development journey, only combining all three ensures they’re fully equipped to ensure they do it successfully. But with the proper tools and a rigorous testing process, polymers will continue to fuel innovation in industries worldwide.

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用最新型号的仪器更换服务多年的老旧仪器是改善实验室结果的最简单的方法之一。更好的消息是，您可以用旧仪器换取升级折扣。

2000 年推出的 TA Instruments Q 系列热分析仪彻底革新了测量方法，Discovery 系列以其改进的测量和易用性延续了品牌传统。用户可对其 Q 系列 DSC、TGA、DMA、SDT、TMA 仪器或竞争型号仪器进行以旧换新，以节省购买新的 Discovery 系列热分析仪的费用。Discovery 系列提供无与伦比的灵敏度和准确性，可检测样品中的最小变化，并通过强大的 TRIOS 软件提供革命性的用户体验。点击此处以解更多信息并联系我们以对您的热分析仪进行以旧换新。

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除节省成本外，对您的热分析仪或流变仪进行以旧换新也非常易于操作且回报丰厚：

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