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Automated Monitoring of Thin Film Properties via Ultrasonics

Published

Author(s)

Donald L. Hunston

Abstract

Non-destructively monitoring of the properties in a thin film or layered material (coatings, adhesives, etc.) is a difficult challenge, and yet there are many instances where this would be useful: fabrication (curing or drying), environmental attack, aging behavior, etc. One method that has been successful uses ultrasonic shear waves. This technique measures the ultrasonic properties (dynamic shear storage and loss moduli) of thin films and coatings applied to a substrate. Although the technique is well established, the measurement is very tedious. The present study uses modern digital electronics to acquire the data, and develops computer programs to control the acquisition and analyze the results. This not only simplifies the measurement but also completely automates the process so time dependent changes like curing and degradation can be followed. A number of calculations and experiments were conducted to determine the resolution and illustrate the stability of the analysis.
Citation
Adhesion Society

Keywords

adhesives, coatings, curing, drying, durability, films, rheology, ultrasonics, viscoelasticity

Citation

Hunston, D. (2008), Automated Monitoring of Thin Film Properties via Ultrasonics, Adhesion Society (Accessed December 6, 2024)

Issues

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Created October 16, 2008