Investigating Mechanical Behaviours of PDMS Films under Cyclic Loading

Abstract

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is widely utilised as a substrate for wearable (stretchable) electronics where high fatigue resistance is required. Cyclic loadings cause the rearrangement of the basic molecular structure of polymer chains, which leads to changes in the mechanical properties of the PDMS structure. Accordingly, it is necessary to investigate reliable mechanical properties of PDMS considering both monotonic and cyclic loading conditions. This study aims to present the mechanical properties of PDMS films against both monotonic and cyclic loading. The effects of certain parameters, such as film thickness and magnitude of tensile strain, on mechanical properties are also investigated. The test results show that PDMS films have a constant monotonic elastic modulus regardless of the influence of thickness and tensile loading, whereas a cyclic elastic modulus changes depending on experimental parameters. Several material parameters, such as neo-Hookean, Mooney–Rivlin, the third-order Ogden model, and Yeoh, are defined to mimic the stress–strain behaviours of the PDMS films. Among them, it is confirmed that the third-order Ogden model is best suited for simulating the PDMS films over the entire tensile test range. This research makes contributions not only to understanding the mechanical behaviour of the PDMS films between the monotonic and the cycle loadings, but also through providing trustworthy hyperelastic material coefficients that enable the evaluation of the structural integrity of the PDMS films using the finite element technique.