Thermische Analyse en in het bijzonder Dynamisch Mechanische Analyse is een veelzijdige meettechniek voor het karakteriseren van rubber materialen. DMA meet visco-elasticiteit en dempingsgedrag als functie de temperatuur, excitatiefrequentie, opgelegde vervormingen en gasatmosfeer (droog, vochtig of ondergedompeld). Daarnaast biedt DMA geavanceerde mogelijkheden voor analyse van kruip, relaxatie, vermoeiing, crack growth en heat build up. Thermische analyse omvat een breed scala van meettechnieken zoals Differential Scanning Calorimetrie voor vulkanisatiewarmte, Laser Flash voor warmtegeleiding, Thermo Gravimetrische Analyse onder vacu

Infraroodspectroscopie (FTIR) is een snelle en eenvoudige chemische analytische techniek om inzichtelijk te krijgen met welk type rubber (of andere organische verbindingen) we te maken hebben voor zowel QC- als R&D-toepassingen. Naast chemische karakterisatie kan FTIR ook ingezet worden voor diverse quantitative vraagstukken.

Company VictoLab Partner in Product Development on request, specialized in rubber material and modeling. From an idea of a customer until a validated product. All steps of the product development process, including concept development, engineering, prototyping, IP development, assistance in mould development and validation. An important contribution can be assistance in trouble shooting in the existing development projects. FEA When

1) Developments in Stress Relaxation and Lifetime estimation test methods and instruments Stress relaxation tests are becoming more and more popular for determination of rubber properties. From the beginning stress relaxation tests were used mainly in scientific projects at universities, but a growing use has been shown in recent years and this may be caused by the introduction of stress relaxation tests in product standards, such as sealing rings for pipes. The automotive industry has also started to specify stress relaxation tests for critical sealing products in the cars. The latest requirements from the automotive industry is temperature cycling tests from subzero to elevated temperatures. This paper will describe the test methods, the instruments, test results and how to use the test data for lifetime estimations. 2) Developments in low temperature testing and instruments The low temperature properties of rubber materials are important in colder climates, such as that encountered in Scandinavia. The requirements for these properties have since long been included in specifications, especially those of the automotive industry. There are a number of test methods in use, the most common methods in Scandinavia is the Temperature Retraction Procedure, also known as the TR-test. This test is now also included in the new material specifications that have been developed by the Swedish Standards Institute. Another low temperature test is the Gehman test which measures the stiffness (modulus) at a range of temperatures. A problem with both these methods is that they are both very time consuming to perform however this is eliminated with automated instruments. This paper will describe what happens in the rubber material at low temperatures and review the most common standardized test methods for low temperature properties. The new automated instruments used for testing and the improved precision that can be achieved will also be discussed.