Mechanics of peeling of rubbery materials. I. Peel strength and energy dissipation

The peel strength found in the trousers-type peeling process is treated for the case in which the adherends, assumed to be flexible but inextensible are bonded by rubbery viscoelastic adhesives. Taking into consideration energy dissipation during deformation of the adhesive, Griffith's criterion is extended to the peeling of viscoelastic materials. For the peeling force per unit width f it is deduced that 2f = Γ + u′h, where T is twice the surface energy, u' is the energy dissipation per unit volume of adhesive, and h is the thickness of the adhesive layer. Values of u' obtained from peeling tests for various thicknesses are compared with those from the tensile tests and found to agree with the above relation. The deduction that the peel strength is independent of the thickness for adhesives with no energy dissipation is also verified experimentally.     

Effects of carbon filler on sorption and diffusion of gases through rubbery materials

Effects of carbon filler on the sorption and diffusion of carbon dioxide in natural rubber and in styrene-butadiene rubber have been studied. Sorption isotherms conform to Henry's law in unfilled rubber and to Langmuir's law in carbon black. The isotherms in filled rubber exhibit a combination of the two sorption modes. The Henry's law solubility parameter k_D increases with carbon filler content; the Langmuir saturation constant C′_A initially is constant with filler level, but then decreases abruptly when carbon particles begin to aggregate. The diffusion coefficient decreases with increasing filler content, presumably owing to geometric effects and to polymer chain immobilization in the interfacial regions.     

Mechanics of interfacial composite materials

Recent experiments and simulations have demonstrated that particle-covered fluid/fluid interfaces can exist in stable nonspherical shapes as a result of the steric jamming of the interfacially trapped particles. The jamming confers the interface with solidlike properties. We provide an experimental and theoretical characterization of the mechanical properties of these armored objects, with attention given to the two-dimensional granular state of the interface. Small inhomogeneous stresses produce a plastic response, while homogeneous stresses produce a weak elastic response. Shear-driven particle-scale rearrangements explain the basic threshold needed to obtain the near-perfect plastic deformation that is observed. Furthermore, the inhomogeneous stress state of the interface is exhibited experimentally by using surfactants to destabilize the particles on the surface. Since the interfacially trapped particles retain their individual characteristics, armored interfaces can be recognized as a kind of composite material with distinct chemical, structural, and mechanical properties.     

Dissolution of rubbery and glassy polymers

A mathematical model is formulated for solvent dissolution of rubbery and glassy polymers. An exact solution to the problem is derived for the constant diffusivity case, and a weighted residual solution is developed for the case of a concentration-dependent diffusion coefficient. The solution is used to calculate concentration profiles, dissolution curves, dissolution half-times, and pseudointerface positions at various times. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. B Polym. Phys. 36: 2607–2614, 1998     

Origin and propagation of tears in plastic materials

Zusamenfassung Bei Temperaturen über dem Glasübergangspunkt haben hochpolymere Körper einen so niedrigen Elastizitätsmodul, daß die Kräfte, die zum Aufspalten chemischer Bindungen notwendig sind, nicht ohne extrem große Deformationen des Materials entstehen können. Bei kautschukelastischen Polymeren ist dies auch tatsächlich der Fall. Viele viskoelastische Polymere können jedoch fast ohne Deformation zerrissen werden. Bei genauerer Betrachtung ergibt sich, daß die starken Kräfte, die erforderlich sind zur Trennung chemisch gebundener Atome, eine Folge der hohen Deformationsgeschwindigkeit sind. Die scharfe Spitze des Rißwinkels bildet nämlich eine Diskontinuität in der Spannungsverteilung. Jeder infinitesimale Fortgang des Risses ist deswegen mit einem Umklappen der Scherdehnung verbunden und trotz kleiner Rißfortpflanzungsgeschwindigkeiten ist die Deformationsgeschwindigkeit des Materials groß in der Nähe dieser Spitze. Es ist diese hohe, aber örtlich sehr beschränkte Dehnungsgeschwindigkeit, welche dem Material die notwendige Härte gibt, so daß Reißen möglich wird.

---

---

With 5 figures in 6 details     

Initiation and propagation in γ-radiation-induced polymerization of ethylene

The initiation and propagation reaction in γ-ray-induced polymerization of ethylene was studied by the two-stage irradiation method, i.e., a first stage in which initiation and propagation occur at a high dose rate, and a second stage where only the growth of polymer radical occurs. The rate of initiation is calculated from the amount of polymerized monomer and the degree of polymerization as the rate of increase in the number of polymer chains. The initiation rate is shown to be proportional to the ethylene density in the reactor and dose rate. G_R of radical formation is found to be about 1.6 at 30°C. at a dose rate of 2.5 × 10⁴ rad/hr. and is almost independent of ethylene density but decreases slightly with increasing irradiation dose rate. The lifetime of the growing polymer chain radical is shown to be long at normal temperature. The absolute propagation rate is proportional to the square of ethylene fugacity and depends on dose rate to some extent. For chain growth, irradiation of low dose rate is necessary. The apparent activation energy for the propagation reaction is ?9 kcal./mole.     

Initiation,propagation and termination in fluid phase free‐radical polymerization

Free‐radical polymerizations are carried out in extended ranges of temperature, pressure, and conversion. The precise knowledge of individual rate coefficients of initiation, propagation, termination, and chain‐transfer is essential for the modelling and optimization of monomer conversion and of polymer microstructure in technical polymerizations. In addition to the application‐oriented interest, this data is of fundamental importance for the detailed understanding of reaction mechanisms of such free‐radical‐molecule, free‐radical‐free‐radical, and unimolecular decomposition processes. Even for the polymerization of rather common monomers at moderate temperatures and ambient pressure such information is scarce. The present paper illustrates some recent advances in measuring, within wide ranges of pressure and temperature, propagation and termination rate coefficients of free‐radical homo‐ and copolymerizations and also peroxyester decomposition rate coefficients.     

Viscoelasticity of low molecular weight polystyrene. Separation of rubbery and glassy components

The complex shear modulus was measured for four low molecular‐weight polystyrenes (M_w = 10,500, 5970, 2630, and 1050) near and above the glass transition temperature. For the lowest molecular weight sample, the method of reduced variables, the time–temperature superposition principle, was applicable, while it was not applicable for the higher M samples. For these higher M samples, it was assumed that the complex modulus is composed of two components (R and G components). The R component was estimated by subtracting the G component, which was assumed to be the same as the modulus of the lowest molecular weight sample. The time–temperature superposition principle was applicable to each of the R and G components, and the shift factors were different from each other. The contribution of the R component to the total complex modulus decreased with decreasing M. Anomalous temperature dependence of the steady‐state compliance for low M polymers as Plazek reported could be attributed to difference in temperature dependence of the two components. The estimated complex modulus for the R component was in accord with that calculated by spring‐bead model theory. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 389–397, 1999     

Copolymerization of styrene and butadiene in emulsion. II. Relative rates of crosslinking and propagation

For the styrene–butadiene emulsion copolymerization (71 parts butadiene:29 parts styrene) the ratio of the rate coefficients for crosslinking, k_x, and propagation, k_p, have been determined at 5, 15, and 25°C by using an adaption of the method of Morton and co-workers. These ratios yield a value of 4.85 kcal/mole for the difference in activation energy between crosslinking and propagation, E_x ? E_p. Since the relative frequency of crosslinking and propagation depends upon the copolymer composition, and hence upon the free monomer ratio and the temperature, the range of application of these data is more limited than in a simple homopolymerization.     

Disentanglement and reptation during dissolution of rubbery polymers

The dissolution mechanism of rubbery polymers was analyzed by dividing the penetrant concentration field into three regimes that delineate three distinctly different transport processes. The solvent penetration into the rubbery polymer was assumed to be Fickian. The mode of mobility of the polymer chains was shown to undergo a change at a critical penetrant concentration expressed as a change in the diffusion coefficient of the polymer. It was assumed that beyond the critical penetrant concentration, reptation was the dominant mode of diffusion. Molecular arguments were invoked to derive expressions for the radius of gyration, the plateau modulus, and the reptation time, thus leading to an expression for the reptation diffusivity. The disentanglement rate was defined as the ratio between the radius of gyration of the polymer and the reptation time. Transport in the second penetrant concentration regime was modeled to occur in a diffusion boundary layer adjacent to the polymer-solvent interface, where a Smoluchowski type diffusion equation was obtained. The model equations were numerically solved using a fully implicit finite difference technique. The results of the simulation were analyzed to ascertain the effect of the polymer molecular weight and its diffusivity on the dissolution process. The results show that the dissolution can be either disentanglement or diffusion controlled depending on the polymer molecular weight and the thickness of the diffusion boundary layer. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Vinyl Polymerization by Metal Complexes. XXXI. Initiation by Chitosan-Copper(II) Complex

The polymerization of methyl methacrylate and acrylonitrile can be initiated by the chitosan-copper(II) complex and its monomeric form, glucosamine-copper(II) complex, in the presence of carbon tetrachloride. The chitosan complex system was found to be more active for initiating the polymerization of methyl methacrylate than acrylonitrile at neutral pH. On the other hand, the glucosamine complex system showed no activity at neutral pH region, but had high activity at higher pH, because of the reducing endgroup of the glucosamine. Formation of the copper(II) complexes was studied by pH titration and visible spectroscopy. The relationship between complex formation and the activity for initiating the polymerization is discussed.     

Extension and compression behavior of rubbery polymer networks

The elastic behavior of different types of rubbery polymers (natural rubber, polybutadiene, silicone, and polyisoprene) networks at various degrees of vulcanization and swelling was examined in extension and compression. The data are represented by the Mooney-Rivlin equation. In compression, although C₂ is zero, C₁ decreases strongly with increasing swelling to a limiting value which, in some cases, may be correlated with the value of C₁ found in extension and hence related to the theoretical modulus for highly swollen networks. A possible explanation is presented in terms of supramolecular order in the amorphous materials.     

NMR Study of the propagation center in the cationic polymerization of N-benzoyl-8-octanelactam. II. Investigation of the propagation center

The nature of the propagation center in the cationic polymerization of N-benzoyl-8-octanelactam initiated by octanoylium hexachlcroantimonate, SbCl₅, and Ph₃CAsF₆ in perdeuterated tetrachloroethane or its mixture with o-dichlorobenzene was studied using ¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹F, ³¹P, ⁷⁵As, and ¹²¹Sb nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of model oligomers and the products of their end-capping with triphenylphosphine. In all cases, the nature of the propagation center has been found to be of an acylium ion pair with an SbCl₆^? or AsF₆^? counterion coordinated with the nearest benzoylamide group and cosolvated by the solvent. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Dynamic mechanical properties of plasticized polystyrene-based ionomers. I. Glassy to rubbery zones

The plasticizing effect of a nonpolar and a polar diluent in ionomers was studied by dynamic mechanical methods in the glassy to rubbery regions. Specifically, a carboxylate and a sulfonate polystyrene-based ionomer were investigated with variation of diethylbenzene content and of glycerol content. It was found that the nonpolar diluent plasticizes the transition by formation of ionic aggregates as well as lowering the glass transition temperature. However, the ionic regions of the carboxylate ionomer are plasticized more than those of the sulfonate ionomer. This corroborates the results of other studies which had found that the sulfonate groups in ionomers interact more strongly than the carboxylate groups. The polar diluent causes the ionic transition to disappear; this is probably due to solvation of the ions by the diluent.     

Water-Soluble Copolymers. II. Synthesis and Characterization of Model Dextran-g-Acrylamides by Ce(lV)/HNO3-lnduced Initiation

In order to develop polymers useful as mobility control agents in enhanced oil recovery processes, water-soluble acrylamide grafted polysaccharide copolymers have been synthesized in water at 25° C using a ceric ammonium nitrate/nitric acid system. The effects of varying concentrations of ceric ion, monomer, and substrate on conversion, graft length, and molecular structure of the reaction products have been examined. The crude reaction products were purified by fractional precipitation and then were analyzed for nitrogen content using a micro-Kjeldahl method. The chemical structures of the graft copolymers were studied by selective hydrolysis of the carbohydrate backbones. Intrinsic viscosity and grafting length data were used to predict solution behavior of the graft copolymers prepared under controlled conditions. Aqueous size exclusion and viscosity studies showed direct correlations between hydrodynamic volume and length of the polyacrylamide side-chain grafts.