Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer for Advanced Materials Characterization

该提案寻求资金购买一台新的动态机械分析仪（DMA），以取代麦克马斯特大学化学工程系退役的25年设备。目前，在麦克马斯特或汉密尔顿还没有这样的仪器。DMA是材料科学和工程领域中用于评估软材料在静态和动态条件下的热机械性能的高功能和高性价比的仪器。动态条件与预测新材料在实际环境（温度、湿度、振动）中的响应高度相关;没有其他仪器可以在这种条件下测量这些特性。更具体地说，DMA独特地能够量化材料的刚度和弹性在不同的应用频率和温度下如何变化，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，这对于进行分子模拟并试图将结果与实验数据相关联的研究人员来说至关重要。DMA只需要小尺寸的样品，可以从低温到高温工作，定制的操作模式，使材料应用的真实的条件的有效模拟。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。* 麦克马斯特大学的材料研究实验室对DMA的需求很高，这些实验室涉及多个部门，涉及聚合物材料，复合材料和共混物，无论是纯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是一种必不可少的分析工具，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（人造骨骼），餐具和包装的可食用材料，以及燃料电池等应用。因此，目前缺乏获得DMA的机会，对完成这些关键领域的高水平和具有国际竞争力的研究项目构成了重大障碍，这些研究项目对加拿大未来的经济至关重要。DMA的使用对于有效培训高素质的人员也非常重要。缺乏DMA访问，加上其对多个正在进行的项目的迫切需求，除了阻碍加拿大新兴市场机会所需的未来专业人士的就业市场竞争力之外，还在完成学生论文的时间表中引入了不确定性。

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.