Mapping Viscoelastic and Plastic Properties of Polymers and Polymer-Nanotube Composites using Instrumented Indentation

Published

August 15, 2016

Author(s)

Robert F. Cook, Andrew J. Gayle

Abstract

An instrumented indentation method is developed for generating maps of time-dependent viscoelastic and time-independent plastic properties of polymeric materials. The method is based on a pyramidal indentation model consisting of two quadratic viscoelastic Kelvin-like elements and a quadratic plastic element in series. Closed-form solutions for indentation displacement under constant load and constant loading-rate are developed and used to determine and validate material properties. Model parameters are determined by point measurements on common monolithic polymers. Mapping is demonstrated on an epoxy-ceramic interface and on two composite materials consisting of epoxy matrices containing multi-wall carbon nanotubes. A fast viscoelastic deformation process in the epoxy was unaffected by the inclusion of the nanotubes, whereas a slow viscoelastic process was significantly impeded, as was the plastic deformation. Mapping revealed considerable spatial heterogeneity in the slow viscoelastic and plastic responses in the composites, particularly in the material with a greater fraction of nanotubes.

Citation

Journal of Materials Research

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2016.207

Keywords

nano-indentation, polymer, composite

Citation

Cook, R. and Gayle, A. (2016), Mapping Viscoelastic and Plastic Properties of Polymers and Polymer-Nanotube Composites using Instrumented Indentation, Journal of Materials Research, [online], https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2016.207 (Accessed October 9, 2025)