A novel extensional rheometer has been developed for use in characterizing the flow behavior of polymers in uniaxial extension. The device has been designed as a fixture for use on a commercial rotational rheometer and incorporates dual wind-up drums that allow for a truly uniform extensional deformation during flow measurement. The miniature unit can be accommodated within the oven chamber of almost any rotational rheometer such that the extensional flow properties of filled and unfilled polymers can be measured over a very wide range of extensional rates, deformations, and temperatures. Validation results with this robust instrument are in excellent agreement with published data in the literature. These and other results indicate the potentially invaluable impact that this novel device could have as a polymer characterization tool.
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