August Research Systems, Inc.
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Overview
    • Polymer Physics
    • Careers
  • Solutions
    • Thermal Coatings
    • Textile Coatings/Pattern Files
    • Fractal Camouflage
  • Services
    • Product Development
    • Environmental Exposure Testing
    • Analytical & Diagnostic Testing
  • Resources
    • ARS Insights
    • Project Inquiry Form
  • Contact
  • Menu
You are here: Home / Analytical & Diagnostic Testing
  • Analytical and Diagnostic Testing Services

The properties of coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers are evaluated through a variety of analytical and diagnostic tests. Spectral characterization probes the interaction of a material with electromagnetic radiation, revealing details of chemical composition, surface profile, or refractive index. Physical characterization determines properties such as complex dynamic modulus, tensile strength and elongation, hardness, and flexibility. Rheological characterization determines properties such as viscosity, thixotropy, and stages of drying and cure. Listed here are some of the analytical capabilities that August Research Systems (ARS) employs to characterize materials and to quantify changes that occur as a result of service life or exposure to accelerated test environments.

Spectral Characterization


Color and Reflectance

Spectral reflectance and color is evaluated using a spectrophotometer. Color is quantified mathematically through coordinates defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) according to ASTM E308. ARS utilizes a diffuse hemispherical measurement geometry (d/8°) for measuring color conforming to ASTM E1331.

UV-VIS-NIR

In some applications, the reflectance of a material beyond the visible spectrum is important. Ultraviolet (UV) and near-infrared (NIR) spectra can be measured at ARS from 250 to 1000 nm in a d/8° configuration.

FTIR Spectroscopy

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy obtains the infrared molecular absorption spectrum of a material. This spectrum acts as a fingerprint which can be used to identify a material and its chemical makeup. It can also be used to assess the change in the chemical makeup of a material over time owing to chemical reactions or chemical changes from environmental exposure.

DRIFTS

Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) is a method for characterizing the diffuse reflectance of powders or opaque films. This property is closely related to the emissivity of opaque materials.

Specular Gloss

A glossmeter is used to measure the specular reflectance of light from a surface, providing a quantifiable way to differentiate between a glossy, semi-gloss or matte coating. This measurement conforms to ASTM D523.

Physical Characterization


Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA)

DMA measures the mechanical properties of a material as a function of time, temperature, and frequency. A wealth of information can be obtained from the DMA measurement of a material, including, but not limited to its viscoelastic behavior, glass transition temperature (Tg), vibration and sound damping characteristics, and tendencies to creep and relax. ARS often employs DMA measurements to evaluate changes that result from various accelerated environmental exposures.

Adhesion

Several tests are used for evaluating the adhesion of coatings to substrates. The quick and easy way of evaluating adhesion is the tape adhesion test that is performed according to ASTM D3359. A quantitative evaluation of adhesion is provided by a pull-off tester conforming to ASTM D4541.

Tensile and Elongation Testing

Tensile and elongation of elastomeric materials are measured using a universal test machine according to ASTM D412. Samples held between two jaws are elongated as the jaws separate at a given rate. Tensile force and displacement are tracked, permitting the determination of yield stress, ultimate stress, percent elongation and modulus as a function of elongation.

Hardness

The hardness of a coating can be evaluated using a pendulum hardness tester conforming to ISO 1522. A well-characterized pendulum is suspended from a fulcrum that rests on a coating surface. The time required for the pendulum amplitude to decay to half its initial value is the hardness, expressed in seconds. For thicker materials, ARS employs a Shore M Durometer in accordance with ASTM D2240.

Flexibility

ARS evaluates the flexibility of coatings using the cylindrical mandrel bend, conical mandrel bend and the GE impact tester. The conical mandrel (pictured) provides a continuous range of flexibility values, rather than a binary pass/fail determination. Mandrel bend tests are performed according to ASTM D522. The GE impact test conforms to ASTM D6905. Each of these test can be conducted at ambient, sub-ambient or super-ambient temperatures.

Rheological Characterization


Dry Time

The dry time recorder tracks the drying history of paint in four stages in accordance with ASTM D5895.

Viscosity

The rheology profile of a material is evaluated using a viscometer. ARS utilizes a cone/plate viscometer to evaluate material viscosity as a function of shear rate and temperature. Pot life of two-component coatings, adhesives, or sealants can be assessed through change in viscosity using a viscometer or viscosity cups.

  • Product Development
  • Environmental Exposure Testing
  • Analytical & Diagnostic Testing

August Research Systems, Inc.

August Research Systems, Inc.
5390 Progress Blvd.
Bethel Park, PA 15102
Tel: 412-269-4546

QuickLinks

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Project Inquiry Form
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy

ARS Insights

  • Coming Soon!December 19, 2019 - 10:02 am
© Copyright 2021 - August Research Systems, Inc.
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OK×

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy
Accept settingsHide notification only