Testing site Elastomer Analytics

Chemical analysis of elastomers and failure analysis:

Due to their diverse spectrum, materials made of rubber are used, for example, as tires, ‎seals, dampers or protective elements in a wide variety of areas, from industry, traffic and ‎personal needs to medical devices. In order to achieve the required property profile of the ‎product and appropriate processing conditions as well under cost aspects, careful ‎selection of the raw materials used is indispensable and quality-determining. 15 to 20 ‎components are not uncommon and, due to impurities, reaction products and any ‎substances absorbed in use, it represents a very complex chemical mixture compared to ‎other material groups, whose analysis and evaluation we dedicate ourselves.‎

We carry out standard tests for you that you need, e.g. for approvals or monitoring, or ‎detailed material analyses. In many cases, however, our investigations are individually ‎tailored to the respective problem or question with the customer. The background is ‎mostly failure analysis, quality control, product optimisation, purity, environmental aspects ‎or questions from the areas of food contact and drinking water. In addition to specialists ‎from the rubber industry, we also support inquiries from areas / branches of industry ‎where there is no in-depth knowledge of elastomers. Where used articles are sometimes ‎little noticed accessories and suddenly cause massive problems. In these cases it is not ‎uncommon for our cooperation to begin, in addition to the recording of facts, with ‎explanations of the special properties of the material and the possible connections. The ‎DIK is therefore also the point of contact for suppliers in the field of automotive, ‎pharmaceutical and medical technology and other industries.‎

As your service provider, we see ourselves not only as a supplier of measurement data, but ‎especially as a problem solver. In addition to the given confident handling of the ‎measurement techniques, this is guaranteed by the existing knowledge of raw materials, ‎processes, properties and use. Long-time employees and the broad competence available ‎in the DIK are important factors for that.‎

In addition to the analyses already listed, the following tests should be mentioned as ‎examples from our extensive range of services, which we carry out not only on elastomers, ‎but also on composite materials:‎

‎-‎    Failure analysis
‎-‎    Identification of material types, blooming, cross-linking systems, layers
‎-‎    Determination of qualitative and quantitative compositions
‎-‎    Comparison of crosslinking densities / degrees of vulcanization
‎-‎    Determination of emissions and odours

Methods we use for this are for e.g.

‎-‎    Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR)‎
‎-‎    Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)‎
‎-‎    Extraction and swelling measurements
‎-‎    Various gas chromatographic methods, e.g. coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-‎MS)‎
‎-‎    Dynamic scanning calorimetry (DSC)‎
‎-‎    Transmission (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-‎ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS)‎

If you are not sure whether your question falls within our area, please do not hesitate to ‎contact us. We will handle that for you!‎

Further information

Please find information relating to the DIK quality management and to the accreditation here.