LAUSR

This work is about the identification of polymers by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG) and simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) involving computer-assisted database search. One general limitation depicted is the possibility of multiple interpretations of a single measurement signal which sometimes makes definite identification difficult. It is shown that a consecutive but also simultaneous incorporation of two types of measurements can significantly reduce multiple interpretations and thus increase the odds of correct identification. The latter is furthermore enhanced by using the recently introduced KIMW database which contains DSC curves of 600 different commercially available polymers (about 130 polymer types) including information about trade names, colors and filler contents.