Hyperelasticity modelling for thermally aged silicones

Abstract

Two families of Room Temperature Vulcanized PDMS with different hardness were thermally aged. Mechanical properties were monitored by tensile tests and macromolecular architecture was followed by differential scanning calorimetry (crystallization) and sol gel analysis (swelling degree). Data showed that PDMS display a loss of plasticity due to a crosslinking process. The main novelty was to describe mechanical behavior by a hyperelastic so called Ogden’s model whose coefficients were correlated with macromolecular properties and then ageing degree. The model coefficients were also used to derive an embrittlement criterion.