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年的设备。目前，麦克马斯特和汉密尔顿都没有这样的仪器。DMA是材料科学与工程领域中用于评估软质材料在静态和动态条件下的热机械性能的高功能、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；在这样的条件下，没有其他仪器可以测量这些特性。更具体地说，DMA独特地量化了材料在不同频率和温度下的刚度和弹性变化，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，对于进行分子模拟和试图将结果与实验数据相关联的研究人员来说，这是至关重要的信息。DMA只需要小尺寸的样品，并且可以使用定制的操作模式从低温到高温工作，从而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加上在实际条件下测试材料的能力，提供了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有很高的需求，这些实验室横跨多个部门，从事聚合物材料、复合材料和共混材料的研究，既可以进行纯实验工作，也可以通过实验验证材料性能和结构-性能相互作用的理论预测。DMA是表征一系列先进材料的重要分析工具，这些材料对当前和未来的加拿大市场、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、燃料电池等应用至关重要。因此，目前缺乏对DMA的访问，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国际竞争力的研究项目造成了重大障碍。DMA的使用对于有效培养高素质人才也具有重要意义。缺乏DMA访问，再加上其对多个正在进行的项目的迫切需求，在完成学生论文的时间表上引入了不确定性，并阻碍了加拿大新兴市场机会所需的未来专业人才的就业市场竞争力。

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.