Polymer Labwork
September - December 2021
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Polymers was an incredibly fun class, and I really appreciate the hands-on labwork we got to do. After a semester of remote work, it was refreshing to be back in the lab. We worked with several material samples, some prepared at Tufts, and some supplied by the local company Sensata. Using the Instron machine and temperature chamber, we worked to characterize the temperature and time dependent properties of each material.






Lab 1: Temperature Dependent Properties
Lab 1 Presentation
For our second lab, we analyzed material samples supplied by Sensata, a sensor company. One issue they consistently struggle with is selecting a polymer material to hold a pressure sensor in place. These sensors have a criteria of large range of temperature use, which makes material selection more difficult. Because of stress relaxation and creep, which may dislodge the sensor and ruin electrical connection. Our job was to perform material characterization for several new materials Sensata was considering. After our analysis, we compared each group's data and selected the best material. For our final, we presented our findings to a team of Sensata engineers.