Rubber processing analyzer

TA Instrument RPA EliteRubber processing analyzerRPA is a rotorless rotational shear rheometer dedicated to the complete characterization of polymers, rubbers, and rubber composites.

RPA elite provides valuable viscoelastic data for non vulcanized materials, materials during vulcanization processes, and in-situ vulcanized materials. The ultra-high rigidity structure, high-resolution adjustable direct drive motor, ultra-high rigidity wide range torque sensor, and precise temperature control system can achieve accurate measurement of torque, viscosity, and viscoelastic properties over a wide range of testing conditions.

The flexible structure of RPA elite enables it to complete advanced testing projects that other rubber rheometers cannot match, including: characterization of sample viscoelasticity after vulcanization, programmable closed mold pressure, large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS), and arbitrary waveform deformation.

characteristic

*The design achieves flexible testing and excellent data accuracy;

High resolution adjustable direct drive motor ensures absolute strain control;

The proprietary high rigidity and wide range torque sensor has high sensitivity and is almost unaffected by noise;

The ultra-high rigidity frame structure ensures accurate data on non coupled instrument compliance;

Programmable testing parameters and methods, including strain, frequency, temperature, time, and closing pressure;

Ultra wide range, testing mode, and testing conditions can be combined;

Pneumatic locking test head, equipped with adjustable pressure plate closing force and pressure sensor;

The automatic sampler can achieve unmanned operation;

Users can calibrate the instrument and replace the embossing disc themselves.

Rigid testing platform

RPA elite is equipped with an ultra-high rigidity frame structure and linkages, eliminating the impact of instrument compliance on test data. Instrument compliance or deformation can result in erroneous low values of measured properties such as modulus and torque, as well as irregular strain, irregular torque waveform signals, and other errors.

The large diameter steel shaft and thick cross support in the H-shaped sample frame provide rigidity to the RPA elite, preventing instrument deflection when the sample is deformed by the motor drive. This special design ensures that even highly filled vulcanized rubber can obtain controllable strain during each deformation cycle. In addition, non compliant systems can also obtain true sinusoidal strain waveforms under all conditions. This feature can be verified by performing continuous Fourier transform analysis on deformation and measuring torque signals in Scarabaeus software. Excellent design also ensures smooth movement, accurate alignment, and precise application of vertical loads.

Direct drive motor

A powerful direct drive motor can apply precise deformation to RPA elite. High quality rheological or kinetic measurements rely on precise application of constant rate, step or periodic deformation.

The direct drive system avoids the startup delay, instrument compliance, and translational losses that exist in clutch or track drive configurations.

The excellent motor design ensures that RPA elite always applies accurate and repeatable deformation to the sample.

RPA elite effectively combines the continuously variable frequency and amplitude in all rubber rheometers, providing important material information including:

Linear viscoelastic response of high filling rubber under low strain

Behavior under processing and usage conditions characterized by high strain

End material behavior at low frequencies

Response to high-speed deformation measured at high frequencies

Advanced Data Processing

The common complex deformations and stress-strain responses in rubber testing require the use of * data processing techniques. RPA elite (from TA Instrument) utilizes excellent/outstanding/outstanding 20 bit encoders and * data acquisition techniques to perform calculations based on fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis of 90 data points within each oscillation cycle.

RPA elite is capable of measuring and reporting nonlinear results of torque and displacement. Each data point reports high-order harmonics indicating the non-linear results of applied displacement and measured torque. When the testing conditions are not ideal, simple indicators will be used to prompt the operator and this information will be saved for subsequent data validation.

High rigidity torque sensor

The advantage of RPA elite lies in its proprietary wide range high rigidity torque sensor. This durable non compliant device can accurately and precisely measure torque over a wide range, greatly improving the accuracy and precision of the measured torque, modulus, and viscosity values.

The common complex deformations and stress-strain responses in rubber testing require the use of * data processing techniques. RPA elite (from TA Instrument) utilizes excellent/outstanding/outstanding 20 bit encoders and * data acquisition techniques to perform calculations based on fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis of 90 data points within each oscillation cycle.

RPA elite is capable of measuring and reporting nonlinear results of torque and displacement. Each data point reports high-order harmonics indicating the non-linear results of applied displacement and measured torque. When the testing conditions are not ideal, simple indicators will be used to prompt the operator and this information will be saved for subsequent data validation.

High pressure pneumatic system

RPA elite uses a high-pressure pneumatic system to accurately and reproductively imprint samples. This high-capacity pneumatic system can apply a nominal pressure of up to 8 bar during the gap closure process. Accurate alignment and the use of mechanical bearings ensure efficient transfer of load from the system to the sample without causing losses in the sample rack. The actual sealing pressure can be directly measured and recorded. This high-pressure automatic sample container can eliminate human factors and tightly accommodate test samples. This embossing process is particularly important for materials that undergo volume increase or decrease during vulcanization, as well as high rigidity materials such as carbon filled fluororubber.

Torque calibration

With the help of a certified torque calibration device, torque calibration can be easily completed. This feature enables users to directly calibrate instruments, thereby improving data reliability, extending runtime, and reducing reliance on service engineers for calibration.

mold surface

The RPA elite mold surface has an optimized radial sawtooth arrangement, ensuring tight sample contact even under high strain values. Polyester or polyamide film can be used to assist in sample peeling and avoid cleaning the mold between experiments.