Facilities and Services
Facilities
CEPSE has several state-of-the-art laboratories with a wide range
of processing equipment and research instrumentation. Listed below
are major pieces of equipment.
• Mechanical
and Rheological Characterization
Instron
4507 Universal Solids Testing Machine
Instron
Capillary Rheometer
Rheometrics
Mechanical Spectrometer (RMS-800)
Rheometrics
Solids Analyzer (RSA-II)
MTS/Sintech
6 Mechanical Test Station
Melt
Indexer
• Structural,
Thermal and Optical Characterization
Perkin Elmer 2000 FTIR Spectrometer with TGA Interface
Perkin Elmer 10 UV/Visible/Near IR Spectrometer
Perkin Elmer Q-910 Mass Spectrometer with auto-system GC
Perkin Elmer 2400 Elemental Analyzer
Wyatt Tech DAWN DSP-F Laser Photometer for light scattering
Nikon EPIPHOT Optical Microscope
Phillips CM200 Transmission Electron Microscope
Waters GPS with WISP 712 auto-sampler
Perkin Elmer Series 7 Thermal Analyzer
Polymer Labs Thermal Analysis Station
Matricon 2010 Prism Coupler
TA Instruments DEA 2970 Dielectric Analyzer
Wyatt Technology Corp. Minidawn light scattering
Wyatt Technology Corp. Optilab interferometric refractometer
• Sample
Preparation
Vacuum Compression Mold
Labconco 6 Class-100 Laminar Flow Station
Headway EC-101 Spin Coater
• Processing
Engel ES200/55AH Injection Molding Station with barrels and screws
for
thermoplastic and thermoset materials equipped with molds for
standard (solid)
and foamed specimens preparation.
Brabender PL 2000 Plasti-Corder Mixer Head and Single/Twin Screw
Compounding Extruder Research Station equipped with pelletizer.
Compression Molding Station
Bridgman Anvil high compression/shear apparatus
• Non-linear
Optical (NLO) Characterization Setup
Quantel Brilliant-20 Nanosecond Laser
Quantel 531-30 Picosecond Mode-locked Laser
Detectors and other optics for 2nd- and 3rd-order NLO
• Forced
Rayleigh Scattering (FRS) Setup
Coherent Innova 90C CW Ar+ laser
HP 54520A high-speed, digitizing oscilloscope
Detectors and other optics for FRS measurements
Industrial Research Program
As part of its mission, CEPSE is dedicated to serving the polymer
industry by development of new polymer technologies and evaluating
and improving existing processes. Various programs of cooperation
with industry are available and are designed to accommodate the
specific needs of the project and the sponsor. Research projects
of mutual interest to the industrial sponsor and CEPSE researchers
that can be coupled with graduate level academic education are
the major targets of this program. However, small-scale investigations
on narrowly focused problems of direct interest to an industrial
sponsor are also welcome. In addition, projects at all levels
that require confidentiality are fully protected under this program.
For example, publication of research results exclude any proprietary
information and/or can be delayed to allow for patent applications.
Patents and know-how resulting from this cooperative research
between CEPSE and an industrial sponsor can be licensed on an
exclusive or non-exclusive basis on terms negotiated as part of
an overall research agreement that defines applicable overhead
rates, license or option fees for background inventions owned
by IIT, etc.
Chicago Society of Rheology
Due
to the relatively high concentration of rheologists in the Chicago-area,
a local chapter of the Society
of Rheology was informally established sometime in the mid
90's. The founding members of the Chicago Society of Rheology
are Barry Bernstein, Jay
Schieber and Dave Venerus
from Illinois Institute of Technology. Informal meetings of the
Chicago Society of Rheology are held (almost) annually at Wrigley
Field in Chicago, Illinois. Informal discussions on rheology are
usually limited to gas-filled, Newtonian fluids. Other members
of the Chicago Society of Rheology include Wes Burghardt
from Northwestern University, and Lew Wedgewood
from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Photos and other archives
from a past meeting are available.
