This project will incorporate the study of polymers, ceramics, and composites into the existing laboratory. The addition of this equipment makes comparisons between the structural and mechanical properties of all major classes of materials possible. With a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), a sensitive and quantitative method becomes available for detecting phase transformations in metals and polymers, and lass gransition emperatures and crystillinity in polymers. Supplemental accessories for the existing tensile testing equipment will permit flexural testing of ceramics and polymers. For the adequate characterization of polymers with changes in temperature and time dependent loading, a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) will be used. By including computer control in these experiments, the students are exposed to modern laboratory data acquaition and are relieved from tedious data collection which allows them to concentrate on interpretation of the results and the development of analytical skills.
