RECONSIDERING STANDARD EVALUATION OF THERMAL-BEHAVIOR OF PLASTICS

Thermal tests on polymeric materials have been standardized for a long time. New experimental techniques offer new perspectives on thermal c haracterization, allowing easy evaluation of the entire deflection cur ve as a function of temperature. This new improvement is an interestin g way of measuring flexural modulus as a function of temperature, a ta sk which is usually carried out using more sophisticated techniques. T his paper analyzes these new possibilties showing that proper treatmen t of experimental data may also result in an estimate of the dilatatio n coefficient. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.