Dynamic thermal expansivity near the glass transition

Dielectric techniques were used to investigate the thermal expansivity of polystyrene films. Capacitive scanning dilatometry (CSD) employs temperature ramping in order to monitor the non-linear structural relaxation in the glass transformation range and to quantify liquid fragility. In the linear response regime, the complex thermal expansivity is obtained as a function of the temperature cycling frequency and is observed to reflect the structural relaxation.