Sensor ótico heterogêneo aplicado na análise de polímeros

Abstract

This thesis presents a heterogeneous system to characterize the drying and curing process of polymer films and dental resin. This characterization is important to improve the manufacturing process and the choice of the raw materials, since parameters such as thickness variation and the mechanical deformation in the material are directly related to their quality and durability. The sensor employs heterogeneous complementary techniques for the quantification of multiple physical parameters, aimed to understand the steps that occur during drying and curing. The tests took place in periods of 24 hours analyzing samples of both acrylic paint and varnish, as well as dental resin. Longitudinal deformation, mass variation, thickness and mean refractive index were quantified. In samples of acrylic paint and varnish, a reduction between 60% and 70% in the initial value of the thickness was obtained, while the behavior of the refractive index of the varnish was associated with the different stages of the drying process. Samples of dental resin presented thickness decreasing less than 5% in all tests, percentage similar to the variation of the refractive index. However, fiber Bragg gratings have identified a temperature increase of the dental resin about 20 ° C during the polymerization. The flexibility of the heterogeneous sensor system demonstrated allows the analysis of drying or cure processes of a great variety of polymer films and resins, without the need for important changes in the experimental setup. With the correct characterization of the stages involved in the drying or cure, the whole process from the product formulation to the final application may result in an optimized and cost effective product for any intended application.