DYNAMIC STUDIES OF FIBRES AND POLYMERS IN SPECIMEN CHAMBER OF SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

The device is described for examination of fibres and other samples under stress, which can be controlled from outside the specimen chamber of the scanning electron microscope. One end of the sample under observation is attached to the cantilever, the other to a holder, which can be operated by the rotation control of the standard Stereoscan specimen stage. Two strain gauges (one on each side of the cantilever strip) form the measuring arms of the bridge circuit of a Kelvin-Hughes single channel strain amplifier, operating at 2 kHz, followed by a chart recorder. When stress is applied to the sample, the out-of-balance signal is fed to the amplifier. The present system gives excellent and reproducible results within a range of loads between 0 and 50 g. With the aid of the present device it is possible to follow the changes in the morphology and surface topography of fibres and polymer samples.