Why test mechanical properties in the cold
Automotive seals and gaskets, aerospace polymers, outdoor coatings, adhesives, frozen food and cold-stored medical products all work below room temperature. Cooling stiffens polymers and elastomers, slows their relaxation and can make them brittle. Room-temperature hardness and modulus can therefore be misleading for anything used cold.
How the module works
The indentation contact is enclosed in a Peltier-cooled environment. The indenter tip and the sample sit together inside the enclosure, so both reach the set temperature before testing. The standard configuration reaches -10 °C; colder configurations, below -40 °C, are available as custom options.
Thermoelectric cooling suits nanoindentation: it has no compressor at the instrument to add vibration, and it is precisely controlled electronically, so the temperature stays stable during the long holds used for creep.
Keeping the measurement stable
As at high temperature, the main risk at low temperature is thermal drift: any temperature difference between tip and sample makes them expand or contract during the test, adding false displacement. Enclosing both together and letting the system equilibrate before testing keeps the depth signal reliable. Limiting exposure to humid room air also limits condensation or frost on the sample surface.
What to measure
The same tests as at room temperature can run in the cold: hardness and elastic modulus, creep and relaxation, nanoindentation DMA as materials approach their glass transition, and scratch tests for coatings that may crack when cold. For friction and wear below zero, see NANOVEA’s low temperature tribology module.
