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Title: Modeling of Sylgard Adhesive Strength

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1169141· OSTI ID:1169141
 [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sylgard is the name of a silicone elastomeric potting material manufactured by Dow Corning Corporation.1 Although the manufacturer cites its low adhesive strength as a feature of this product, thin layers of Sylgard do in fact have a non-negligible strength, which has been measured in recent tensile and shear debonding tests. The adhesive strength of thin layers of Sylgard potting material can be important in applications in which components having signi cantly di erent thermal expansion properties are potted together, and the potted assembly is subjected to temperature changes. The tensile and shear tractions developed on the potted surfaces of the components can cause signi cant internal stresses, particularly for components made of low-strength materials with a high area-to-volume ratio. This report is organized as follows: recent Sylgard debonding tests are rst brie y summarized, with particular attention to the adhesion between Sylgard and PBX 9501, and also between Sylgard and aluminum. Next, the type of numerical model that will be used to simulate the debonding behavior exhibited in these tests is described. Then the calibration of the debonding model will be illustrated. Finally, the method by which the model parameters are adjusted (scaled) to be applicable to other, non- tested bond thicknesses is summarized, and all parameters of the model (scaled and unscaled) are presented so that other investigators can reproduce all of the simulations described in this report as well as simulations of the application of interest.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1169141
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-15-20757
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English