MRI: Acquisition of a Calorimetry STA/TMA System for Coe College

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Non-Technical SummaryThis Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award, jointly funded by the Division of Materials Research and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), will acquire a new thermal characterization system which will allow the Physics Department at Coe College to measure various properties that depend on temperature up to very high values. The scientists will be able to look at the behavior of samples as the temperature is increased up to 2000 degrees Celsius. More specifically, they will conduct experiments on glasses that are extremely difficult to make. They will also measure thermal properties like melting points, crystallization temperatures, and the glass transition temperature (where the glass begins to soften). The system will also allow for the measurement of mechanical properties. These determine how easily a glass stretches as the temperature increases (thermal expansion coefficient), as well as volume and density changes. More advanced experiments that determine properties like the sintering temperature (where glass grains coalesce into a solid) will also be possible. These measurements are critical to understanding state-of-the-art new glasses and ceramic materials of future importance to the US economy. The work will also allow for the training of many undergraduate students. On top of carrying out the research described above, they will also be exposed to the instruments in certain advanced classes. International collaborators will also have access to the equipment during their visits to Coe.Technical SummaryThe new thermal characterization system at Coe College will be composed of a Simultaneous Thermal Analyzer (which runs differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)) and a ThermoMechanical Analyzer (TMA). This suite of tools will enable various Coe research groups to expand their measurement capabilities into the high-temperature range, with DSC/DTA measurements up to 2000 °C and 1600 °C for the mechanical (TMA) experiments. Projects will span from measurements on aerolevitated samples to comparisons between the results on invert glasses and topological constrain theory (TCT) models. The thermal properties of ionically conducting glasses will also be studied. The STA+TMA system will add substantive new capabilities to the materials research groups at Coe College; allow for the training of over 70 undergraduate students, and continue the growth of Coe College as a regional materials characterization hub. In turn, the characterization work on the system will impact other local academic institutions and companies, domestic and international collaborators; REU students; and high school teachers participating in Coe’s RET program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.