P. Côté, N. Desnoyers "Thermal stress failure criteria for a structural epoxy " Proc. of SPIE, 8125, art. no 81250K, 201, 2011
Abstract: Representative failure data for structural epoxies can be very difficult to find for the optomechanical engineer. Usually, test data is only available for shear configuration at room temperature and fast pull rate. On the other hand, the slowly induced stress at extreme temperature is for many optical systems the worse-case scenario. Since one of the most referenced epoxy for optical assembly is the 3M™ Scotch-Weld™ Epoxy Adhesive EC-2216 B/A Gray, better understanding its behavior can benefit a broad range of applications. The objective of this paper is two-fold. First, review data for critical parameters such as Young's modulus and coefficient of thermal expansion. Secondly, derive failure criteria from correlation between a thermal stress experiment and a finite element model. Instead of pulling out a standard tensile specimen, it is proposed to test thin bondline geometry to replicate an optical device usage. Four test plates are assembled at the Institut National d'Optique (INO) in Quebec City, Canada with bondlines of 50 µm and 133 µm. To detect the failure of the epoxy, the low level vibration signature of a cantilever Invar plate is monitored as temperature changes. Following the finite element analysis, a failure criterion is found to better match the experimental results than generic lap shear data.
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