Commissioning of the FRS 1800 high-temperature rheometer at the ITM - Unique research perspectives for high-performance materials

In March 2025, the new Furnace System 1800 (FRS 1800) high-temperature rheometer from Anton Paar was put into operation at the Institute of Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technology (ITM) at TU Dresden. The installation was carried out by Fabian Barth and Peter Brandes from Anton Paar in collaboration with Florian Pötzsch and Dr. Dilbar Aibibu from the ITM.

The FRS 1800, which is unique in Germany, enables precise rheological tests on high-performance materials up to 1800 °C. It combines a high-resolution, air-bearing rheometer head with a specially developed laboratory furnace for measuring the viscosity of melts - e.g. glasses, ceramics or metals that are processed at temperatures above 1000 °C. The FRS 1800 can be used to reliably determine key material properties such as melt viscosity or the complex shear modulus. This not only strengthens the quality of research at the ITM, but also opens up new possibilities in the development of temperature-resistant materials.

Thanks to modern functions such as normal force control, oscillation mode and the possibility of measurements in an inert gas atmosphere, thermal and mechanical properties can be analyzed under realistic conditions. The system meets international industry standards such as ASTM C965 and ISO 7884-2.

The acquisition was made as part of the joint R&D project Bioglasfasern II (100688024), which is co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and by tax revenue on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon state parliament.