IMR: Aquisition of a Stress Rheometer for Polymer Materials Research and Education

这是DMR材料研究仪器项目授予西北大学的奖项。该奖项是为了获得一种受控应力流变仪，以支持西北大学在聚合物材料和其他复杂流体方面的广泛研究。拟议的仪器将被安置在一个中央聚合物表征设施，取代老化的设备，有限的能力。此外，它将为西北社区从未提供的可控应力测试（如蠕变/恢复实验）提供全新的功能，并且对于该仪器的主要用户正在研究的材料类别具有重要的潜在价值。除了用于研究之外，该仪器还将广泛用于实验室实验和定期安排的聚合物粘弹性和流动课程的学生项目。该仪器将满足目前正在进行需要广泛流变测试的研究项目的几位教员的不同需求。这些研究包括：(i)有序聚合物和表面活性剂流体中流动引起的结构变化的研究；（ii）嵌段共聚物凝胶的研究，为陶瓷加工中应用的高填充凝胶体系提供基质；（iii）正在开发的热敏聚合物溶液和微凝胶，作为微通道设备中先进生物聚合物分离的基质；（iv）用于生物材料应用的各种功能化聚合物凝胶和网络。除了主要的用户群体之外，还有其他几位西北大学的教职员工可能会间歇性地利用该设施进行各种聚合物流体表征需求。这份来自DMR材料研究仪器项目的奖励支持了西北大学流变仪的收购。“流变学”是研究所谓复杂流体的流动特性的学科，用于这类研究的主要仪器是流变仪，它在明确规定的条件下测量这些复杂材料的流动行为。许多技术上重要的材料不能简单地分为固体或液体。相反，它们的流动特性更为复杂，经常结合固体和液体的特性。日常生活中常见的例子包括蛋清或蛋黄酱等食品，牙膏、乳液和粘合剂等消费品，以及生物液体。新的流变仪将为西北大学的材料研究人员提供广泛的服务。将受益于这种新仪器的一些研究领域包括：有序聚合物和表面活性剂流体流动诱导结构变化的研究。2. 嵌段共聚物凝胶的研究，为陶瓷加工中应用的高填充凝胶体系提供了基体。3. 热敏聚合物溶液和微凝胶正在开发中，作为微通道设备中先进生物聚合物分离的基质。4. 功能化聚合物凝胶和网络在生物材料中的应用。用于组织工程和药物输送的新材料正在用“仿生”方法合成，旨在模拟凝胶和网络形成的自然策略。

This is an award from the Instrumentation for Materials Research program in DMR to Northwestern University. The award is for the acquisition of a controlled stress rheometer to support a wide array of research at Northwestern University on polymer materials and other complex fluids. The proposed instrument will be housed in a central polymer characterization facility, replacing aging equipment with limited capabilities. In addition, it will provide entirely new capabilities for controlled stress testing (such as creep/recovery experiments) that have never been available to the Northwestern community, and that are of significant potential value for the classes of materials under study by the major users of the instrument. In addition to its use in research, the instrument will be used extensively for lab experiments and student projects in a regularly scheduled course on polymer viscoelasticity and flow. The instrument will serve the diverse needs of several faculty members who are presently pursuing research projects that require extensive rheological testing. These include (i) studies of flow-induced structural changes in ordered polymeric and surfactant fluids; (ii) studies of block-copolymer gels that provide a matrix for highly filled gel systems with applications in ceramic processing; (iii) thermoresponsive polymer solutions and microgels under development as matrices for advanced biopolymer separations in microchannel devices; and (iv) a variety of functionalized polymer gels and networks for biomaterials applications. In addition to the primary user community, there are several other Northwestern faculty members who are likely to take advantage of this facility intermittently for miscellaneous polymer & fluid characterization needs.%%%This award from the Instrumentation for Materials Research program in DMR supports the acquisition of a rheometer at Northwestern University. 'Rheology' is the study of the flow properties of so-called complex fluids, and the primary instrumentation used for such research are rheometers, which measure the flow behavior of such complicated materials under well-defined conditions. Many technologically important materials defy simple classification as either solids or liquids. Instead, their flow properties are more complicated, frequently combining elements of both solid and liquid character. Familiar examples from everyday life include food products such as egg whites or mayonnaise, consumer products such as toothpaste, lotions, and adhesives, and biological fluids. The new rheometer will serve a broad community of materials researchers at Northwestern University. Some areas of research that will benefit from this new instrumentation include: 1. Studies of flow-induced structural changes in ordered polymeric and surfactant fluids. 2. Studies of block-copolymer gels that provide a matrix for highly filled gel systems with applications in ceramic processing. 3. Thermoresponsive polymer solutions and microgels under development as matrices for advanced biopolymer separations in microchannel devices. 4. Functionalized polymer gels and networks for biomaterials applications. New materials for tissue engineering and drug delivery are being synthesized with 'bio-mimetic' approaches-designed to simulated nature's strategies for gel and network formation.