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Title: Failure of brittle micro-spherical shells embedded in elastomer matrix under indentation

Journal Article · · Composites Part B: Engineering
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
  2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Silicone elastomer filled with glass micro balloons (GMB) is an elastomeric syntactic foam used in electronics and component packaging for encapsulation, potting, stress-relief layer, and electrical insulation purposes. Under mechanical loading, the reinforcing phase, namely the GMBs embedded in the elastomer matrix, may break or delaminate, leading to internal damage and macroscale stiffness degradation, which can alter the material's protective capacity against mechanical shock and vibration. The degree of damage is controlled by the loading history, delamination, and failure behavior of the GMBs. In this work, we investigate the GMB failure behavior in this work wherein we present an indentation experiment to measure the force required to fail individual GMBs that are either embedded in the elastomer matrix or adhered to the surface of an elastomer layer. The indentation apparatus is augmented with an inverted optical microscope to enable in situ imaging of the GMB. Failure modes for the embedded or non-embedded GMBs are discussed based on the morphology of the broken GMBs and the measured failure forces. We also measure the adhesion energy between the glass balloon and the elastomer, based on which the possibility of delamination between the GMB and the surrounding elastomer matrix during the failure process is evaluated. Our results can facilitate the development of a failure criterion of GMBs which is necessary for establishing a physics-based constitutive model to describe the macroscopic damage mechanics of elastomeric syntactic foams.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
OSTI ID:
1595041
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1556790
Report Number(s):
SAND-2018-9987J; 667806
Journal Information:
Composites Part B: Engineering, Vol. 173, Issue C; ISSN 1359-8368
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 2 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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