AKRON—Akron Rubber Development Laboratory Inc., an independent testing and development laboratory, increased its capabilities with the addition of a new C-Therm TCi thermal conductivity analyzer.
The new equipment is a continuation of its investment in technology, according to an ARDL release.
The modular system allows ARDL to expand its capabilities for testing, analysis and material characterization. The device uses a modified transient plane source test method, and can assist customers in studying materials' thermal conductivity and effusivity to ASTM D7984 for research and development and quality control.
The C-Therm Technologies system provides ARDL with noninvasive thermal conductivity and effusivity measurements for a number of polymer materials. Polymer samples can now include solids, liquids, powders and pastes, which are tested through direct measurement using the MTPS technique. After the application of a current to a sample, the machine monitors the increase in temperature, recording voltage to determine the thermos-physical properties, allowing the direct measurement of thermal conductivity.
A material's thermal conductivity can be characterized over a wide temperature range, creating a temperature-dependent thermal conductivity spectrum. Accompanying testing such as coefficient of linear thermal expansion via TGA and bulk modulus via volumetric compression can be combined to study the thermal effects on a physical body constrained in its thermally dynamic environment, such as a seal between two mating metallic components.
The thermal-mechanical performance of products can be observed with respect to compound batch-to-batch variability, property array from compound D.O.E., swollen state properties, immersion affected properties, and heat-aged properties, among others.
The system provides a range of 0-500 W/mK with a temperature range of -50 to 200ºC with a control precision of better than one percent and a measurement accuracy better than five percent of the specimen's thermal conductivity, said ARDL. The system can accurately test samples as small as 0.67 inches in diameter and 0.05 millimeters in thickness, dependent on the conductivity of the material.
The system exports data using Microsoft Excel.