Characterization of Polymer Adhesion through Modified JKR Theory and Instrumented Indentation Technique

Abstract

The Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) theory was combined with the instrumented indentation technique to evaluate the work of adhesion and modulus of an elastomeric polymer. An indentation test was used to obtain the load-displacement data for contacts between a diamond indenter and poly(dimethylsiloxane), PDMS. The JKR theory, modified to avoid the effect of ambiguous contact radius and depth for nanocontact, was applied to take into account surface adhesion and viscoelastic effects of the compliant polymer. Future work will include experimental verification that polymer stiffness in JKR contact is a time-dependent function.