Optical dilatometer

Supervisor : Guia Guarini

The instrument can work in three different ways:
– Heating stage microscope: equipped with a 5Mpix resolution chamber, it allows to study the physical behavior of materials during the firing cycle, also by simulating industrial cycles. It is possible to analyze different size samples, between 3 and 10 mm, up to 8 samples simultaneously.
– Horizontal dilatometer: by using two HiRes cameras it is possible to study expansion and sintering of samples (from 30 to 60 mm in lenght size).
– Fleximeter: through 3 independent high resolution cameras it allows contact less bending measurement, simulating industrial conditions in order to optimize the ceramic product. The fleximetry tests can be carried out on samples of sizes up to 80 mm.

Instrument configuration

ODP868 – TA Instruments

Temperature range: RT-1600°C
Resolution temperature: 0.2°C
Heating rate: 0.1-100°C-min (80°C/min)
Resolution: 3 ppm in Heating Microscopy – 250 nm in Horizontal Dilatometry – 500 μm in Fleximetry
Sample dimension: up to 85 mm width and up to 19 mm height
Light source: high-performance blue LED source
Software: Misura 4 Thermal Analysis software