Ultra-fast Scanning Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) for Advanced Thermal Analysis of Engineered Materials

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is one of the most widely used characterization methods in the materials science and engineering field. While it provides valuable insight, conventional DSC equipment is limited to heating/cooling rates between 1-200 K/min. This is far below the rates actually experienced by materials in a manufacturing process. Materials in real industrial processes such as injection moulding, fibre spinning, thermal spray coating, and foaming experience rapid heating and cooling on the scale of 104 to 106 K/min, far outside the testing range of conventional DSC. ******Due to this limitation, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding the structural development in materials during these processes. The evolution of the material structure and molecular organization is extremely dependent on the cooling rate; this structural development in turn significantly influences the properties and performance of the material. In order to bridge this knowledge gap for the processes studied by the PI and co-PIs, we are requesting a Flash DSC device for ultra-fast scanning calorimetry of engineered materials. Flash DSC is an advanced DSC technique provided by Mettler Toledo which allows ultra-fast scanning from 6 to 2,400,000 K/min, and in temperature ranges from -95 to 1,000°C. Currently, no such equipment exists in Canada.******The applicants and their HQP will use the requested equipment for thermal analysis in the following research programs: (1) Nanolayered polymer films, (2) Polymer foaming, (3) In-situ nanofibrillated polymer composites, and (4) Thermal spray coatings. These research programs represent advanced manufacturing processes with rapid heating and cooling rates which cannot be replicated in a conventional DSC. The acquisition of this Flash DSC equipment will allow high-impact research that will help inform and optimize these industrial processes. This research will be highly valuable in growing Canada's advanced manufacturing sector, and provide an avenue for Canada to increase its global impact and expertise in this field. **