Automated apparatus for dynamic mechanical analysis using the piezoelectric ultrasonic composite oscillator technique

Computer-controlled apparatus for the measurements of dynamic Young's modulus and internal friction as functions of temperature, using the piezoelectric ultrasonic composite oscillator technique (PUCOT), has been designed and demonstrated. The versatility of the apparatus and its resonance tracking techniques have been proven by detecting subtle structural phase transformations within the Ca1-xSrxTiO3 perovskite system as well as dramatic changes accompanying the martensitic transformation in a Au-Cd shape-memory alloy. The simplicity of the PUCOT technique allows a system such as this to be constructed easily and with low cost