Development of Experimental Device with Data Acquisition for Thermomechanical Characterization of Polymers

The aim of this paper is to present a handmade laboratory device with data acquisition for estimating the thermomechanical characteristics (caused by dimensional changes in height) of polymeric materials. This experimental device is able to perform penetration tests, monitoring the expansion of the samples and based on experimental tests, the thermal expansivity or coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) can be determined. A data acquisition instrument, which register (i) the deformation of the specimen, by using two displacement transducers (an inductive proximity transducer and an transmission type photoelectric linear encoder) as well as registers (ii) the temperature (at the base of the specimen and in the vicinity of the point of contact with the penetrator) is used. In order to test the device and to highlight its qualities, preliminary tests were carried out on a thermosetting polymeric material in various stages of polymerization.