Use of Shock Waves to Measure Adhesion at Interfaces

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe central problem in the study of composite materials is the adhesive strength of the electronic bond between reinforcement and matrix. We have introduced a unique method of measuring the interface bond strength of a wide variety of engineering interfaces (e.g. metal/ceramic, semiconductor/metal, metal/polymer). Specimens are composed of a relatively thin overlayer on a thick substrate. The specimens are shocked using a magnetic hammer which accelerates a thin metal flyer onto the substrate. The shock, upon reflection at the free surface, is incident on the bonded interface as a tensile wave, spalling the overlayer. The method is unique in using free surface velocity measurements to determine the interface stress at the instant of separation. The debonding process is sufficiently rapid (on the order of 1.0 ns) that debonding occurs by the simultaneous breaking of atomic bonds, rather than by propagation of cracks nucleating at stress concentrations near existing flaws.