Mechanical Characterization of Assemblies Bonded With Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives (PSAs)

The focus of this paper is on the stress-strain behavior and creep response of a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) with and without carrier layers. This study consists of two phases. The first phase focuses on understanding of the effects of fabrication profiles, including bonding pressure, bonding temperature, bonding time, and aging time, on the PSA joint strength. This part of the study is used to identify an acceptable bonding and aging conditions for manufacturing a robust PSA bonded assembly. Specimens fabricated with this selected set of bonding process conditions are then used for mechanical characterization. The second phase focuses on the assembly’s mechanical behavior (stress-strain behavior and the creep curves) under different loading conditions, including loading stress, loading rate, and loading temperature. The mechanical behavior of PSA bonded assemblies is affected not only by the loading conditions, but also by the assembly architecture. The mechanical behaviors and failure modes of PSAs with and without carrier layers are compared. The reasons for these differences are also discussed.