Dynamic mechanical thermal anaysis device (DMTA)

• Subject Area: Materials Science
• Term: Funded in 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 584675181

A deep understanding of the thermomechanical and microstructural properties of material systems under operating stresses is fundamental to their safe and resource-efficient use. The DMTA enables the precise characterization of temperature- and frequency-dependent mechanical modulus and material reactions. In the context of fatigue testing, local phase transformations and damping changes in metals, as well as relaxation processes and transition phenomena in polymers, can thereby be recorded. In the field of hybrid material systems, the interaction of different system configurations can be traced back to interface characteristics. The DMTA allows measurements of material properties under defined temperature, frequency, and loading conditions and the correlation with results from microstructural analyses, fatigue tests, and numerical simulations. Thus, damage initiation and evolution, as well as fatigue-induced changes within the material, can be comprehensively described also in the context of load- and frequency-dependent self-heating. The experimental data serve as a basis for model-based approaches to identify process-structure-property relationships in various material classes, allowing for the specific adaptation of model-based lifetime predictions to particular structures. In this way, the potential of novel material systems can be exploited, and damage mechanisms induced by variable environmental conditions can be quantified. On this basis, process parameters can be specifically adjusted to develop tailor-made material properties. The integration of these findings significantly supports ongoing and future research projects within and outside TU Dortmund University.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Dynamisch-mechanisch-thermischer Analysator (DMTA)
• Instrumentation Group: 2990 Sonstige Werkstoff-Prüfmaschinen und Zubehör (außer 290-298 und 410-419)
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Dortmund
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Frank Walther