Conventional DSC Experiments

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• DSC Ramp experiments heat or cool the material at a constant rate.  The results obtained are affected by the previous thermal history (often imparted on the material during processing [e.g., extrusion]).  Therefore, the results are designated "as received.”

• DSC Heat/Cool/Heat experiments are designed to erase previous thermal history by heating the material above a transition (e.g., glass transition or melting), where relaxation or molecular rearrangement can occur, then cooling at a known rate before heating again.  The first heating curve provides the “as received” information. The cooling imparts a known thermal history.  Therefore, any differences observed between similar materials in the second heating curve are related to real internal differences in the materials (e.g., molecular weight) rather than previous thermal history effects.

• DSC Cyclic experiments are used to assess changes in the material as it is exposed to a series of heating/cooling cycles.  Multiphase materials (e.g., emulsifiers) often change internally (become less stable) during thermal cycling.

• DSC Isothermal experiments provide an indication of a material's stability at elevated temperature.  The purge gas, which surrounds the material, remains constant or is switched at the elevated temperature to generate a sample-atmosphere interaction (e.g., oxidative stability).

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