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Broadband nanoindentation of glassy polymers: Part I. Viscoelasticity

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Abstract

Protocols are developed to assess viscoelastic moduli from unloading slopes in Berkovich nanoindentation across four orders of magnitude in time scale (0.01–100 s unloading time). Measured viscoelastic moduli of glassy polymers poly(methyl methacrylate), polystyrene, and polycarbonate follow the same trends with frequency (1/unloading time) as viscoelastic moduli generated from dynamic mechanical analysis and broadband viscoelastic spectroscopy but are 18–50% higher. Included in the developed protocols is an experimental method based on measured indent area to remove from consideration indents for which viscoplastic deformation takes place during unloading. Ancillary measurements of indent area and depth reveal no detectable (~1%) change in area between 200 s and 4.9 days following removal of indenter.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Oden Warren, Syed Asif, Jason Oh, and Yuxin Feng at Hysitron Inc. for helping us to quantify the effects of the electronic filters in the nanoindentation measurements. Research was supported by CRADA 10-RD-111111129-027 between Hysitron Inc. and Forest Products Laboratory (J.E. Jakes) and by the National Science Foundation, Award CMMI-0824719 (D.S. Stone).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Performance Enhanced Biopolymers, USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, 53726, USA

    Jakes E. Joseph

  2. Materials Science Program, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA

    Rod S. Lakes

  3. Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA

    Don S. Stone

  4. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA

    Don S. Stone

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  1. Jakes E. Joseph
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  2. Rod S. Lakes
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Correspondence to Jakes E. Joseph.

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Joseph, J.E., Lakes, R.S. & Stone, D.S. Broadband nanoindentation of glassy polymers: Part I. Viscoelasticity. Journal of Materials Research 27, 463–474 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2011.363

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