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A microdeformation stage based on a piezoelectric crystal actuator capable of measuring the force applied to micrometre-sized polymeric samples is described. Laboratory force/strain measurements on a single strut of an elastomeric polyurethane foam have been conducted for the first time. The device has also been used on the microfocus beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility to collect microbeam small-angle X-ray scattering data simultaneously with strain and force measurements during the time-resolved tensile deformation of a single strut of elastomeric polyurethane foam.

The microfocus X-ray beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility has been used to investigate the variation in molecular orientation and crystallinity in the wall of a container fabricated from poly(ethylene terephthalate). Two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray scattering patterns were recorded and displayed in real time as the specimen was tracked across the incident X-ray beam enabling the measurement of textural changes to be made with a spatial resolution of ~2 mum.

The microfocus X-ray beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility has been used to investigate the variation in molecular orientation and crystallinity in spherulites of the organic polymer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB). This is the first report of the correlation of optical and X-ray measurements on spherulitic polymer films where X-ray diffraction patterns have been recorded and displayed continuously in real time while the specimen was tracked in steps of 10 mum across an incident X-ray beam with a diameter as small as 10 mum.