Dynamic Viscoelastic Properties of Polymeric Materials

Polymeric materials are used in a wide variety of industries, including aircraft, automobile, building and construction, electronics, furniture, packaging, and consumer products. For both scientific and commercial purposes, the dynamic viscoelastic measurement as a function of temperature is now the important technique to characterize polymer materials. The dynamic mechanical properties are measured as a function of frequency at a constant temperature or as a function of temperature. The dynamic viscoelastic properties are sensitive to the morphology of polymers. The dynamic viscoelastic measurements of these resins during curing are important from the viewpoint of practical use of resins in adhesives, paints, and printing inks. A convenient technique to measure the dynamic mechanical properties of resins during curing is torsional braid analysis, which uses a torsion pendulum capable of examining small specimens. Dynamic experiments characterize the small strain behavior, whereas the steady-state shear viscosity, normal stresses, and elongational flow experiments describe the large strain deformation rate response.