Characterization of a Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) for Mechanical Design

This thesis outlines a methodology for formatting and applying stress models, collecting visco-elastic material properties, and presenting the material data for use in adhesive joint designs. There are a number of models/theories that can be applied to the design of Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) joints. Unfortunately, few design engineers are familiar with these models and the models are not formatted in a manner that can easily be applied to joint designs. By developing a format that is based on the existing knowledge of the designer and presenting them in a familiar manner the theories/models can easily be used in joint designs. This technique was demonstrated with Beam-on-Elastic Foundation, Shear Lag, and Shape Factors. Design examples successfully demonstrated the application of all of these models in the analysis and design of simple adhesive joints.

The material properties of PSAs are a function of loading/displacement rate, temperature, relative humidity, and stress state. The Arcan_m fixture was used to test VHB™ 4950 over a range loading and stress states including fixed load and displacement rates. Several bond widths were tested to determine the extent of the shape factor effect. A second fixture was used to determine the impact of gradient-tensile stresses on the failure strength.

All of the collected data was used to generate design plots. The strength data was presented as allowable strength envelopes with respect to rate. The moduli were calculated from the load-displacement data and plotted with respect to the displacement rate. The failure strength from the fixed load and displacement data were used to transform from one loading case to the other and a plot was generated. These three plots were used in the design and analysis of several adhesive joints.

The methods demonstrated in this thesis show a great deal of promises as a design tool, but there is still a large amount of work to be done. The design space for this material is much larger than what was covered by this work. Additional strength testing needs to be conducted to fully characterize the material for all key applications. The principle of time-temperature superposition, beam-on-elastic foundation, shear lag, and shape factors all need to be validated for this material.