Thermally stimulated creep (TSCr) study of viscoelastic behavior and physical aging of a polymeric matrix composite for spacecraft structures

Thermally Stimulated Creep (TSCr) mechanical spectroscopy has been used to analyze molecular movements in KMU‐4lcarbon/epoxy composite material around the glass transition temperature. This technique is powerful to characterize the microstructure and micromechanical properties of the epoxy matrix and their evolution upon thermal aging. Three cooperative submodes have been distinguished by resolving the fine structure of the material complex α‐retardation mode. The elementary processes constituting this mode possess activation enthalpies and preexponential factors that strongly depend on the thermal history of the sample. The activation parameters of the composite are subject to perceptible evolution due to postcuring degradation. The α‐mode associated complex spectrum shifts towards higher temperatures by 27°C as a consequence of a series of quenching in the temperature range 260 to 0°C; the material shows a rise in the fragility and a deterioration in the crack‐growth resistance qualities. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 342–350, 2002     

Comparison of the viscous and elastic components of two ABS materials with creep,stress relaxation and constant strain rate measurements using the universal viscoelastic model

In general, the universal viscoelastic model evaluated in this study was found to adequately predict constant strain rate, creep, and/or stress relaxation measurements from the constants determined from constant strain rate measurements. The elastic and viscous components for two acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) viscoelastic materials were also easily isolated using this new universal viscoelastic model. The creep measurements for ABS‐A (25383‐A) and ABS‐N (LL‐4102‐N) at three different stresses allowed elucidation of the common creep intercept strain of the calculated creep slopes that was designated as the “projected elastic limit.” Once the values for n and β were evaluated from creep measurements, then the creep variation of the universal viscoelastic model yielded a reasonably good fit of the measured creep data for both ABS‐A and ABS‐N. The extensional viscosity constant λ_E was found to be 7.2% greater for ABS‐A than for ABS‐N. Consequently, ABS‐N was found to have a lower extensional viscosity in secondary creep than that of ABS‐A at any specific strain rate. The value of the efficiency of yield energy dissipation n for ABS‐N as determined from creep measurements was also 37.6% larger than the value of n for ABS‐A. In addition, the projected elastic limit ?_I for ABS‐A was 2% greater than the projected elastic limit for ABS‐N. These observations indicated that ABS‐A should be slightly more solidlike than ABS‐N. However, both ABS‐A and ABS‐N were significantly more solidlike than liquidlike because both of their values for the efficiency of yield energy dissipation n were very close to zero. In general, values of n range from 0 < n < 1 with a material characterized as being essentially pure elastic having a value of n = 0. Using the yield strain as the failure condition for constant strain rate and stress relaxation measurements and the strain at critical creep, the failure condition for creep, it was found that the universal viscoelastic model allowed these failure criteria to yield remarkably good agreement on a projected time scale. This agreement resulted even though separate and independent data were used to evaluate these three different techniques for both ABS‐A and ABS‐N. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 1298–1318, 2003     

A modified quasi‐creep model for assessment of deformation of topas COC substrates in the thermal bonding of microfluidic devices: Experiments and modeling

The effects of thermomechanical properties of dissimilar polymer plates on thermal bonding were investigated and the resultant deformation of cover Topas COC plate was modeled using a simplified quasi‐creep model. The appropriate conditions for thermal bonding for minimal deformation of both the Topas cover and substrate plates could be established through simulation using the quasi‐creep model. Both the cover plate and the substrate containing microchannels were fabricated by injection molding. The elastic modulus of the COC plate at different temperatures was measured using three‐point bending test. The thermal bonding was conducted at different temperatures, pressures, and holding times. The deformation of the cover plate (consisting of Topas with a lower glass transition temperature, T_g) into the microchannel of the substrate plate (consisting of Topas with a higher T_g) was found to be significant even at lower bonding pressures when the bonding temperature was higher than a critical temperature. Such deformation was dependent on the viscoelastic creep behavior of the material and the thermal bonding temperature and load. This deformation behavior was predicted by the numerical model, and the predicted results agree well with the experimental data. The bonding strength of the sealed microchannels was evaluated using the burst test. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Investigation on strategies for optimizing process definition in rubber processing: A study on mechanical and chemical properties of vulcanizates as basis for the development of a new calculation model for quality prediction

Rubber compounds may exhibit significant batch variations due to multiple different ingredients mixed in one compound. Hence, defining the manufacturing process for constant part quality can be challenging. Common strategies in considering batch variations in rubber processing include the determination of reaction kinetics, and the definition of process parameters according to normalized vulcanization isotherms. Thereby, maintenance of the degree of cure is targeted. With this path, information on the mechanical properties of vulcanizates is lost, despite its visibility from the kinetic data and part quality assurance is missed. This contribution points out the differences obtained for parts produced to the same degree of cure at various temperatures and intends to emphasize new strategies in process definitions. Therefore, compression molded parts were produced from styrene-butadien rubber, which was then characterized with mechanical and chemical methods. Each of the methods revealed a significant difference in part behavior, which were manufactured to the same degrees of cure but at different temperatures. It was concluded that a temperature-dependent reaction rate should be considered when quality maintenance is targeted in the production. Only then will it be possible to predict the properties adequately, with simultaneous effect of enhancing sustainability policies in rubber processing.     

A study on hygrothermal degradation and recovery of an epoxy adhesive using molecular dynamics simulation

For application of epoxy adhesive to joining similar or dissimilar materials in vehicle bodies, its hygrothermal degradation (HTD) caused by severe environmental conditions of service will always be an issue until the relevant mechanism is clearly addressed and the remedy is found. This study provides experimental observations of an epoxy adhesive in terms of HTD and recoverability of the mechanical performance, and in the meantime, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to analyse the underlying mechanism. Comparing experimental results of the adhesive among states of the initial, HTD and dried manifests that the glass transition temperature (T_g) and the uniaxial tensile properties both reduced after HTD but partially recovered when dried. In the MD simulations, both of the dominant HTD factors, plasticization and hydrolysis, are accounted for via characterizations of water inclusion and bond scission. The simulation results reveal that both of the HTD factors reduce T_g, while only hydrolysis weakens the tensile properties. A quantitative comparison between the influences of plasticization and hydrolysis implies that hydrolysis is reversible for this specific epoxy adhesive.