Thermal Analysis

The thermal analysis lab at Brunel has a variety of techniques that can study how a material's properties can change in response to controlled changes in temperature over time and in specific atmospheres.

By checking monitoring changes in mass, dimension and energy conversion, is possible to determine important information such as the sample material's melting point, crystallinity, decomposition temperature, crystallinity and glass transistion temperature.

There are a number of techniques available that are designed to check for certain variables:

• Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) - can determine moisture content and point of decomposition by measuring changes in mass as it is heated. 
• Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) - can identify melting or crystallisation transisitons by detecting heat flow in/out of the sample.
• Simultaneous Thermal Analysis (STA) - a combined TGA/DSC technique that provides both mass and energy outputs for a comprehensive understanding of a material's thermal stability.
• Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) - subjects a sample to periodic stress over a range of temperatures to measure its mechanical properties. 

For more information or to discuss your testing requirement, please contact Dr Wayne Lam at wayne.lam@brunel.ac.uk

You can return to our main Commercial Services page to see what else we have that could support your requirements.