Automated dynamic Young’s modulus and loss factor measurements

A progressive wave apparatus featuring an automated data processor is described. The apparatus accurately determines the propagation constants of an extensional acoustic wave by exciting one end of a strip of material while the other end is suspended under constant tension. The apparatus is capable of making measurements in the frequency range of 100 Hz to 40 kHz, depending on the extensional wave velocity and attenuation in the material. As illustrations of the technique, measurements were made on three rubber compounds: a polyurethane, a neoprene, and a nitrile rubber. Extensional sound speed, attenuation, modulus, and loss factor were determined over a frequency range of 1–10 kHz and a temperature range of 4 °–47 °C. Applying the time–temperature superposition principle to the data, master curves were constructed and WLF shift constants were determined. The apparatus was found to be a fast and reliable method to determine the dynamic viscoelastic constants.