Thermal analysis of polymers using virtual instruments: A tool for teaching and training

It’s expensive in terms of time and equipment to give students the necessary exposure to a wide variety of polymer behaviors in thermal analysis. One type of ‘Virtual Instrument’ (VI) has been developed that demonstrates the effects of changing input variables in classic polymer equations. Another type of VI more closely resembles real instruments such as DSC/DTA, DMTA and other thermal methods. These VIs consist of software developed using Labview® from National Instruments and currently running on a PowerMac; the VIs are readily adapted to run on other platforms. These VIs are not intended to replace hands-on experiments with real instruments, rather they are designed to provide the student with exposure to a range of typical thermal responses experienced with changes in various parameters. In the DSC/DTA unit such parameters include copolymer composition, randomness, heating and cooling rate. The DMTA unit incorporates the effects of variables such as percentage crystallinity, cross-linking, molecular weight and compatibility. These VIs and others are described and their development and assumptions are discussed.