Aging experiments using the NIST (National Institute of Standards and
Technology) torsional dilatometer have been performed in which the tem
perature of an isothermally equilibrated epoxy glass was abruptly chan
ged to a new temperature T-0 and the evolution of the volume and torsi
onal relaxation responses recorded. The results of down-jump and up-ju
mp experiments were found to differ dramatically. Not only is the norm
al asymmetry of volume approach to equilibrium found, but the mechanic
al responses are found to evolve differently from the volume response,
contrary to simple free volume models of the physical aging process.
It is found that the torsional modulus changes with increasing time af
ter the T-jump. In the case of the down-jump the evolution of the modu
lus ceases prior to that of the volume of the sample. In the up-jump e
xperiment, the contrary is true, viz., the modulus continues to evolve
after the volume has attained its equilibrium value, The implications
of this for the description of material behavior are discussed.