Combining oscillatory shear rheometry and dynamic mechanical analysis to obtain wide-frequency master curves

Abstract

In this paper, we present a novel approach combining widely available techniques, oscillatory shear rheometry and dynamic mechanical analysis to obtain wide-frequency range master curves. We carried out finite element analysis to investigate the influence of the specimen thickness and Poisson's ratio on the moduli measured with a shear sandwich clamp in solid-state. We demonstrated that the thickness/height ratio of the specimen greatly influences its shear stress state. Using polystyrene, which is a thermorheologically simple thermoplastic, we showed that continuous master curves can be generated from melt-state torsion and solid-state shear tests. Our results can facilitate the characterisation of polymers from viscous to elastic state and the development of test methods that use more accurate calculations.