Minnesota Rubber & Plastics Advanced Materials Lab Enhanced by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

Minnesota Rubber and Plastics invests in its material science capabilities with the purchase of a TA Instruments Discovery DMA 850

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), is an extremely versatile and flexible analytical technique for measuring the physical properties of a range of materials. Recently, Minnesota Rubber and Plastics (MRP) invested in its already substantial material science capabilities with the purchase of a TA Instruments Discovery DMA 850, to deliver powerful DMA analysis capabilities to its customers. Examples of physical properties that can be analyzed with DMA include storage modulus, and glass transition temperature. These are instrumental in assisting MRP, and our customers, in specifying the correct materials for an application, and also providing valuable inputs for our finite element (FEA) analyses.

For example, MRP developed a unique test method to measure the viscoelastic behavior of 5 different molded parts using DMA for a customer. MRP was able to identify that the tan delta¹ was highest for failing parts. MRP developed a maximum allowable value for this unit of measure and is in the process of implementing this test method into a control plan for the customer’s products, which will drive improved performance and reduced service cost.

Read more about MRP materials science & formulation capabilities and our on- premise advanced materials lab here.

¹ Tan delta is a measure of viscoelastic behavior of a material by quantifying the way in which a material absorbs and disperses energy.