Analytical testing is another form of material testing that is used to identify, quantify, and understand the chemical properties and composition of materials as it relates to investigations into quality control, failure analysis, and process improvements.
Alpine uses several sophisticated machines to determine properties such as material makeup, cure temperatures, and viscoelasticity.
Different tests provide different pieces of information, and any combination of these tests can be performed to tell your products’ story.
Failure Analysis – Follow the failure analysis hierarchy to see how these analytical machines can supplement each other
FT-IR – Identifies the chemical fingerprint of polymer materials
TGA – Measures weight changes to identify filler, volatile, and polymer content
DSC – Measures heat flow to identify melting points and thermal transitions
DMA – Measures stiffness and dampening across temperatures and vibrations to determine Tg and viscoelastic properties
RPA/ESR – Measures viscoelastic and cure properties of elastomers under shear and heat
Microscopy – Provides high-resolution imaging to identify cracks, wear, and surface failures
LIBS – Identifies elemental composition directly at flaw or fracture sites