Measurements of the complex shear modulus of polymers under hydrostatic pressure usina the quartz resonator method

Abstract

The quartz resonator method measures the complex shear modulus or compliance of viscoelastic materials in the frequency range from 50 kHz to 140 MHz at temperatures between −150°C and 300°C and pressures up to 1 GPa. This method can be applied to viscous fluids or polymer melts -even in their glassy or seminystalline regime.

The phase diagram of poly(diethylsiloxane) PDES (a mesophase polymer) was determined for two samples with different molecular weight at pressures up to 400 MPa and temperatures between 20°C and 100°C. Phase transitions are indicated by a sharp bend in the shear compliance although the volume effect of the mesophase-isotropic transition vanishes around 80 MPa.

The pressure dependence of the glass relaxation process (in PVAc), was studied by measuring the change of the complex shear modulus with pressure at constant temperatures between 95°C and 145°C and pressures up to 600 MPa. Additionally to the relaxation process, also the pressure dependence of the real part of the shear modulus in the glassy region can be determined for testing the dislocation concept in the meandermodell by W. Pechhold.