An adaptable flexural test fixture for miniaturised polymer specimens

Choong, Gabriel Y.H.; Canciani, Alessia; De Focatiis, Davide S.A.

Abstract

An adaptable flexural test fixture is proposed to characterise the mechanical properties of miniature beam specimens (≤10 mg) at ambient conditions or in the presence of fluids at elevated temperatures. The fixture is validated using representative amorphous and semi-crystalline polymers. The response of miniature specimens is compared against that of medium-sized specimens (≤1 g) on the same fixture and on conventional test equipment. Good agreement is found between the specimen sizes for all materials, but the comparisons highlight small differences attributed to factors such as specimen dimensional accuracy, crystallinity and span-to-thickness ratios. Flexural tests in water at 37 o C using both specimen sizes were performed to investigate the evolution of mechanical behaviour of hydrolytically degraded polylactides. Here, specimen size influences the diffusion timescale of acidic by-products which can reduce or enhance autocatalysis.

Citation

Choong, G. Y., Canciani, A., & De Focatiis, D. S. (2020). An adaptable flexural test fixture for miniaturised polymer specimens. Polymer Testing, 85, Article 106430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2020.106430

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 10, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Feb 12, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020-05
• Deposit Date: Feb 19, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 25, 2020
• Journal: Polymer Testing
• Print ISSN: 0142-9418
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-2348
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 85
• Article Number: 106430
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2020.106430
• Keywords: flexural testing; three-point bending; miniature specimens; mechanical properties; hydrolytic degradation 2
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3993036
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941819321749
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: An adaptable flexural test fixture for miniaturised polymer specimens; Journal Title: Polymer Testing; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2020.106430; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.