Application Studies / Silicon Gels

Silicon Gels

Industry:

Adhesives

Cosmetics

Gels

Materials

Pharmaceutical

Medical Devices

Attributes measured:

hardness

firmness

burst

relaxation

adhesiveness/tack

resilience

stringiness

extensibility.

Background

Silicone gels are used for hundreds of applications, so instrumental and test design flexibility is required to meaningfully quantify their physical characteristics. The TA.XTPlus Texture Analyzer (with a 5-kg capacity load cell & 0.1-g sensitivity) is an excellent tool for quantifying silicone gels because of its precision and its flexibility with regard to test settings and test design. This study shows how silicone gels can be tested with a TA-8 ¼” diameter stainless-steel ball probe directly in small vials which are mounted on the TA-90 Heavy-Duty platform. Other common probes are 5 mm diameter ball probes (TA-8B) or TA-10 ½” diameter acrylic cylinder probes. The study shows how silicone gels are tested for firmness, burst, relaxation, adhesiveness/tack, resilience, stringiness, and extensibility.