The soft matter mechanics lab at Texas A&M is always open for collaboration. We have the following equipment available.
- Anton Paar MCR-302 and MCR-92 rotational rheometers
- Cone in plate, parallel plate, and couette attachments.
- UV-lamp (For curing of responsive polymers)
- Uni and Bi-axial tensile tester (under construction).
MCR-302 torsional rheometer
The MCR-302 rheometer is a stress and strain controlled torsional rheometer. We have parallel plate, cone in plate, and couette cell attachments. The system is equipped with a Peltier plate with a temperature range between -40 C and 200 C. This machine serves as the workhorse for the lab.
Anton Paar MCR-92 torsional rheometer
The MCR-92 rheometer is a strain controlled torsional rheometer. We have parallel plate, cone in plate, and couette cell attachments. The system is equipped with a Peltier plate with a temperature range between -40 C and 200 C.
Ultra-Violet polymer curing lamp
The UV curing lamp is used primarily for the polymerization of stimuli-responsive hydrogels. Addtionally the lab comes equipped with a radiometer capable of determining intensities up to 20 mW/cm2.
Uni and Bi-axially tensile tester.
We use uni-axial and bi-axial tensile testing for accurate characterization of soft materials. The non-linear mechanical response of many soft materials requires accurate determination of stress and strain responses such that appropriate constitutive equations can be developed.