Recording Creep Tester for Soft Polymeric Materials

Abstract

An apparatus to measure tensile creep of soft polymeric materials has been designed and tested. This servo-controlled device permits recording the length of a plastic sample as a function of time from approximately 1 sec after loading. Length changes up to 20 cm can be determined to a precision of ±0.0012 cm. The instrument is stable to ±0.0012 cm over periods of several hours.