Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer for Advanced Materials Characterization

这项提案寻求资金购买新的动态机械分析仪(DMA)，以取代麦克马斯特大学化工系已退役25年的装置。目前，麦克马斯特和汉密尔顿都没有这样的仪器。DMA是材料科学和工程中功能强大、性价比高的仪器，用于评估软材料在静态和动态条件下的热机械性能。动态条件与预测新材料在实际环境(温度、湿度、振动)中的反应高度相关；没有其他仪器可以在这样的条件下测量这些特性。更具体地说，DMA能够量化材料在不同施加频率和温度下的硬度和弹性如何变化，以及软材料在不同频率和温度条件下的永久变形。DMA是唯一一种能够在分子水平上直接评估材料的热机械性能与其结构之间关系的仪器，这些信息对于研究人员执行分子模拟并尝试将结果与实验数据相关联具有至关重要的信息。DMA只需要小尺寸的样品，可以通过定制的操作模式从低温度到高温工作，从而能够有效地模拟材料应用的真实条件。与差示扫描量热法和通用机械测试等其他相关技术相比，DMA测量的高精度和灵敏度，以及在现实生活条件下测试材料的能力，提供了使用其他仪器无法复制的独特功能。*麦克马斯特大学材料研究实验室对DMA的需求很高，涉及聚合物材料、复合材料和共混物的多个部门，无论是纯粹的实验工作，还是实验验证材料性能和结构-性能相互作用的理论预测。DMA是一种基本的分析工具，用于表征对当前和未来加拿大市场至关重要的一系列先进材料、形状记忆聚合物、生物医学材料(人造骨)、餐具和包装的可食用材料以及燃料电池等应用。因此，目前无法获得DMA对完成这些对加拿大未来经济至关重要的领域的高水平和具有国际竞争力的研究项目造成了重大障碍。DMA的使用对于高素质人员的有效培训也非常重要。缺乏DMA接入，再加上它对多个正在进行的项目的迫切需要，不仅给完成学生论文的时间表带来了不确定性，还阻碍了加拿大新兴市场机会所需的未来专业人员的就业市场竞争力。

This proposal seeks funding to purchase a new Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA) to replace the decommissioned 25-year-old unit in the Chemical Engineering Department at McMaster University. Currently, there is no such instrument available at McMaster or in Hamilton. The DMA is highly functional and cost-effective instrument in materials science and engineering used for evaluating the thermomechanical properties of soft materials under static and dynamic conditions. Dynamic conditions are highly relevant to predicting the response of new materials in practical environments (temperature, humidity, vibrations); no other instrument can measure these properties under such conditions. More specifically, DMA uniquely enables quantification of how the stiffness and elasticity of materials change at varying applied frequencies and temperatures as well as the permanent deformation of soft materials under varying frequency and temperature conditions. DMA is the only instrument that enables direct evaluation of the relationship between the thermomechanical properties of a material and its structure on a molecular level, information of critical importance for researchers performing molecular simulations and attempting to correlate results with experimental data. DMA requires only small size samples and could work from low to high temperatures with customized operation modes, enabling effective simulation of the real conditions at which a material would be applied. In comparison to other related techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry and universal mechanical testing, the high accuracy and sensitivity of DMA measurements coupled with the capacity to test materials under real-life conditions provide unique functionality that cannot be replicated using other instruments. ***Access to DMA is in high demand by materials research labs at McMaster University across multiple departments working with polymeric materials, composites and blends, both for pure experimental work as well as to experimentally verify theoretical predictions of material properties and structure-property interactions. DMA is an essential analytical tool for characterizing a range of advanced materials critical for current and future Canadian markets, shape memory polymers, biomedical materials (artificial bones), edible materials for cutlery and packaging, and fuel cells, among other applications. As such, the lack of current access to DMA introduces a significant barrier to the completion of high-level and internationally competitive research projects in these critical fields to Canada's future economy. The use of DMA is also of high importance for the effective training of high-quality personnel. The lack of DMA access, coupled by its critical need for multiple ongoing projects, introduces uncertainty in the timelines for completing student theses in addition to hindering the job market competitiveness of future professionals needed for emerging market opportunities in Canada.