SPE WORKSHOP: Unlocking the Secrets of Plastics with Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

  Workshop

Unlocking the Secrets of Plastics with Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

  October 22, 23 & 26, 2026
  All workshop days are from 2:00 to 3:30 PM ET.
  Online

SPE WORKSHOP: Unlocking the Secrets of Plastics with Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

  Summary

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) is a powerful technique for exploring the viscoelastic properties of plastic materials, offering invaluable insights into their mechanical behavior under various conditions. This comprehensive 4-hour workshop, "Unlocking the Secrets of Plastics with Dynamic Mechanical Analysis", is designed to equip participants with both theoretical understanding and practical skills in DMA.

Participants will begin by exploring the fundamental principles of DMA, including key concepts like storage modulus, loss modulus, and tan delta. The workshop will then delve into the viscoelastic behavior of polymers, emphasizing the importance of DMA in material characterization.

Real-world case studies on polymeric materials will provide practical examples of DMA applications in quality control, material selection, and failure analysis. The workshop will also address the advantages and limitations of DMA, and offer insight into data interpretation.

By the end of the workshop, attendees will have a solid foundation in DMA, enabling them to apply this technique effectively in their work with plastics.

  Agenda

October 22, 2026
  Session 1
Duration: 1.5 Hours
October 23, 2026
  Session 2
Duration: 1.5 Hours
October 26, 2026
  Session 3
Duration: 1.5 Hours
 

If you can't attend one or several sessions live, or if you want to review some concepts, the recordings will be available after each session.

  Registration Information

SPE Premium Member$405
SPE Members$450
Nonmembers$650

  Workshop Packs

Strengthen your team’s skills and take advantage of group savings with an SPE Workshop Pack.
Go here for Workshop Pack information and registration.

 
3 Sessions
 
Level: Intermediate
 
Total Hours: 4.5 Hours
 
Streaming access on desktop and mobile browsers

  Instructor

Jeff Jansen
Engineering Manager
The Madison Group
Linked 

Jeffrey A. Jansen is the Engineering Manager and a Partner at The Madison Group, an independent plastics engineering and consulting firm. Jeff is a proven plastic professional with more than 30 years of experience solving problems and addressing opportunities related to polymeric materials. He specializes in failure analysis, material identification and selection, as well as compatibility, aging, and lifetime prediction studies for thermoplastic materials. Jeff has performed over 5,000 investigations, both for industrial clients and as a part of litigation. He is a regular presenter on the SPE webinar series, covering a wide range of topics related to plastics failure, material performance, testing, and polymer technology. Jeff is a graduate of Carroll College and the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

  Questions? Contact:

For questions, contact Iván D. López.

  Who Should Attend?

This workshop is designed for professionals who use, evaluate, select, develop, or troubleshoot plastic materials and need a practical understanding of Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), including:

  • Materials scientists, polymer scientists, and plastics engineers
  • R&D professionals involved in material development, formulation, and characterization
  • Quality control and quality assurance professionals responsible for material consistency and performance
  • Product design and application engineers selecting plastics for specific service conditions
  • Failure analysis and reliability professionals investigating material or component performance
  • Laboratory technicians and testing specialists who conduct or interpret thermal and mechanical analyses
  • Technical sales and application specialists who need to explain material behavior to customers
  • Graduate students and early-career professionals seeking a practical foundation in polymer viscoelasticity and DMA

A basic familiarity with polymers is helpful, but advanced DMA experience is not required.

  Why Should You Attend?

Plastic materials often behave differently as temperature, loading time, and deformation rate change. Conventional mechanical tests may not reveal the transitions and viscoelastic behavior responsible for those changes.

This workshop provides the theoretical foundation and practical interpretation skills needed to use DMA effectively. Participants will learn how storage modulus, loss modulus, and tan delta reveal changes in stiffness, damping, molecular mobility, and thermal transitions. Real-world examples will show how DMA supports material characterization, quality control, material selection, and failure analysis.

  Why This Course Matters

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis provides information about polymer behavior that is difficult to obtain from conventional mechanical or thermal tests alone. Understanding viscoelastic response and molecular transitions is essential when plastics must perform reliably across changing temperatures, loading rates, and service times.

This workshop matters because it equips participants to interpret DMA data with greater confidence, connect test results to real material behavior, compare materials more effectively, detect meaningful differences in quality or formulation, and support better decisions in material selection and failure analysis. Participants will leave with a practical foundation for using DMA as a problem-solving and decision-making tool rather than simply generating curves.

  Everyday Problems You’ll Address

How can I determine how a plastic's stiffness changes with temperature or frequency?

What do storage modulus, loss modulus, and tan delta actually reveal about material behavior?

How can I identify glass transition temperature and other important transitions from DMA curves?

Why do materials with similar room-temperature properties perform differently in service?

How should samples, deformation modes, and test conditions be selected to obtain meaningful results?

How can time-temperature superposition help predict behavior beyond normal laboratory time scales?

How can DMA help distinguish material variation, processing effects, formulation differences, or possible causes of failure?

What are the limitations of DMA, and how can incorrect conclusions be avoided?

  What You’ll Learn

You will gain a practical understanding of Dynamic Mechanical Analysis, including:

  • The basic principles of DMA and its significance in polymer characterization
  • The meaning and interpretation of storage modulus, loss modulus, and tan delta
  • Elastic, plastic, and viscoelastic behavior in polymeric materials
  • How DMA instruments apply tensile, compressive, bending, and torsional deformation
  • Best practices for sample preparation and selection of test conditions
  • How to read modulus and tan-delta curves as functions of temperature and frequency
  • How to identify glass transition temperature and other significant molecular or thermal transitions
  • The principles and practical relevance of time-temperature superposition
  • Applications of DMA in quality control, material selection, product development, and failure analysis
  • The principal advantages, limitations, and interpretation challenges of DMA

This educational program is provided as a service of SPE. The views and opinions expressed on this or any SPE educational program are those of the Speaker(s) and/or the persons appearing with the Speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Society of Plastics Engineers, Inc. (SPE) or its officials, employees or designees. To comment or to present an opposing or supporting opinion, please contact us at info@4SPE.org.

Refund Policy

Full refund 14 days prior to the event start date. Please contact customerrelations@4spe.org for assistance with registration.

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Anti-Trust Statement

  1. No discussion among members, volunteers, or staff, which attempts to arrive at any agreement regarding prices, terms or conditions of sale, distribution, volume, territories, or customers;
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