Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) measures the viscoelastic properties of materials—their elastic stiffness and viscous damping—by applying a sinusoidal stress or strain and measuring the phase lag and amplitude of the material's response. Developed from rheology principles in the 1960s and formalized by Ferry, Schwarzl, and others, DMA provides quantitative measures of how polymeric biomaterials respond to time-dependent and frequency-dependent mechanical stimuli. Key outputs include the storage modulus (elastic component), loss modulus (viscous component), and loss tangent (tan δ), which together characterize the material's mechanical behavior across temperature and frequency ranges.