Experimental characterization of a coupled deformation-diffusion theory for elastomeric materials

Abstract

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.