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Providing confidence in components at all temperatures  

We enable organisations to understand with confidence the thermal performance of their materials and improve their process modelling. Understanding the thermal properties and performance of all materials and structures subject to harsh environments is essential to having confidence in their design, lifetime and function, across a wide range of industries. NPL has a unique range of instruments to support Industry to understand the thermophysical properties of their materials to support this understanding and provide reliable data to their process models. 

We provide thermal performance measurements to help ensure the reliability of consumer products and electronics, meet regulatory requirements and improve productivity of advanced manufacturing processes through better optimisation of the manufacturing process and design of components. Our expertise can also help to:

  • create durable and lightweight structures for aerospace or automotive industries
  • conserve energy and reduce waste in nuclear power generation and other energy industries
  • improve quality of life through support to the healthcare sector
  • measure the thermal conductivity and thermal resistance of engineering and construction materials

Thermal analysis

Materials are increasingly required in situations that challenge the thresholds of their thermal capabilities. It is therefore important to understand material behaviour under the influence of thermal loads. Thermal analysis techniques provide important information for the design engineer. The techniques can be used to analyse most materials in use today in a large number of applications such as metals, polymers, composites, coatings, pharmaceuticals, films, fibres, ceramics and even biological materials and foods. NPL's thermal analysis capabilities enable rapid determination of thermal properties over wide temperature ranges and help develop best practice for testing and data analysis of materials.

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermogravimetry (TGA) techniques can provide data for specific heat capacity, mechanical properties and mass change information, over low and high temperature ranges. We can advise on the best methods available for an application. Our current research is improving the reliability and temperature ranges of these measurements when using different methods. NPL is developing procedures based on these techniques that can be used to design products based on existing materials, select the best material for a given application, predict its performance, optimise processing conditions, improve quality, compare properties of similar or competitive materials and characterise newer research materials.

 

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) 

DSC is a rapid technique that measures the heat flow associated with material transitions as a function of temperature, time and atmosphere. 

TA Q2000 

Measurement properties 

Melting, glass transition, crystallisation, phase changes, specific heat capacity, OIT 

Temperature range 

-90 °C to 450 °C or ambient to 725 °C 

Test atmospheres 

Nitrogen, argon, air, helium 

Materials 

All types of polymeric materials, metals/alloys, gels, powders, liquids 

Test specimens  

Uses milligram quantities of sample.  
For specific heat capacity, a disc geometry specimen is needed for better accuracy  
(4.8 mm thickness / 1 mm maximum thickness) 

Standards and test methods 

Testing can be undertaken to most standards or customer specifications 

Setaram 96 Line EVO 

Measurement properties 

Melting, crystallisation, phase changes, specific heat capacity 

Temperature range 

300 °C to 1600 °C  

Test atmospheres 

Nitrogen, argon

Materials 

Suitable for metals/alloys 

Test specimens  

Cylindrical geometry (4.5 mm diameter/14 mm long) 

Standards and test methods 

Testing can be undertaken to customer specifications  

Netzsch 404 F1  

Measurement properties 

Melting, glass transition, crystallisation, phase changes, specific heat capacity, OIT 

Temperature range 

50 °C to 1600 °C

Test atmospheres 

Nitrogen, argon

Materials 

Suitable for metals/alloys and polymeric materials 

Test specimens  

Disc geometry (4.8 mm diameter/1 mm maximum thickness) 

Standards and test methods 

Testing can be undertaken to most standards or customer specifications

Modulated Temperature Differential Scanning Calorimetry (MT DSC) 
 
MT DSC helps separate overlapping and complex transitions in a material under test and is a useful complement to the standard DSC analysis.

TA Q2000

Measurement properties 

Melting, glass transition, crystallisation, phase changes, specific heat capacity 

Temperature range 

-90 °C to 450 °C 

Test atmospheres 

Nitrogen, argon, air, helium 

Materials 

All types of polymeric materials, gels, powders, liquids 

Test specimens  

Uses milligram quantities of sample.  
For specific heat capacity, a disc geometry specimen is needed for better accuracy  
(4.8 mm thickness / 1 mm maximum thickness) 

Standards and test methods 

Testing can be undertaken to all available standards for this technique or customer specifications

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA)

DMA is a versatile technique that measures the mechanical properties of the material as a function of the time, temperature and frequency. It is widely used to measure the glass transition and other secondary transitions

TA Q800 

Temperature range

ambient to 600 °C

Test atmospheres

Static air, nitrogen (Access to testing under different levels of humidity also possible)

Test modes

Flexure (single/dual cantilever, 3 point bend, tension, compression, shear sandwich) 

Frequency range 

0.01 Hz to 200 Hz 

Force

0.001 N to 18 N

Heating rate

 

Materials

All types of polymeric materials, gels, metals, films, fibres  

Test specimens

Varied and depends on the test mode. A bar geometry specimen is generally used in the single cantilever bend mode (L=35 mm, W=8 to 10 mm, T=2 to 5 mm)

Standards and test methods 

Testing can be undertaken to most standards for this technique or customer specifications 

RSA G2

Temperature range

ambient to 600 °C

Test atmospheres

Static air, nitrogen. Access to testing under liquid immersion possible

Test modes 

Flexure (single/dual cantilever, 3 point bend, tension, compression). Access to simultaneous or standalone dielectric testing also possible 

Frequency range 

0.01 Hz to 100 Hz 

Force 

0.0005 N to 35 N 

Heating rate 

0.1 to 60 °C/min 

Materials

All types of polymeric materials, gels, metals, films, fibres

Standards and test methods

Testing can be undertaken to most standards for this technique or customer specifications

Thermo Mechanical Analysis (TMA)
TMA measures dimensional changes in a material as a function of time, temperature and the applied force.

Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)
TGA measures weight changes in a material as a function of temperature, time in a given atmosphere. The determination of the absorbed or bound moisture and other volatiles, are important parameters to assess a material for their analyses for product performance and environmental acceptance.

Evolved Gas Analysis (using TGA-FTIR interface)
TGA-FTIR is used to monitor the evolved gas products resulting from a material under test. The results can be an indicator to study the decomposition behaviour of the material and monitor evaporation and other chemical reactions in real time.

In addition to research on new measurement techniques and representation on international standardisation committees, we also offer consultancy and a range of measurement services providing the material data required for modelling industrial applications and the accredited measurements required for certification of construction products.

Don’t see what you are looking for? Our diverse skill set enables us to provide bespoke solutions. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.

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Find out more about NPL’s research on Thermal performance

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Our research and measurement solutions support innovation and product development. We work with companies to deliver business advantage and commercial success.
Contact our Customer Services team on +44 20 8943 7070