Experimental characterization of a coupled deformation-diffusion theory for elastomeric materials
Author(s)
Watson, Sterling (Sterling Marina)
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Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Advisor
Lallit Anand.
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Show full item recordAbstract
Certain cross-liked polymer networks can absorb solvents and swell far beyond their initial volume, a useful property which may be exploited in a variety of applications. In this thesis, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) samples were swollen in pentane in order to experimentally characterize the transient and steady-state swelling behavior of this system, and to extract material properties in order to fully characterize a coupled deformation-diffusion theory. Free swelling experiments, transient swelling force measurements, and an analysis of the swollen geometry of a PDMS bilayer strip were performed, and compared to numerical simulations. The experimental results and numerical simulations were shown to be in good agreement.
Description
Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2015. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (page 45).
Date issued
2015Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical EngineeringPublisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Mechanical Engineering.