Compression stress relaxation apparatus for the long-time monitoring of the incremental modulus

A compression apparatus for aging experiments on soft rubbers and foams is presented. The sample is compressed between two parallel surfaces and held there for long-time relaxation studies. The specific purpose of the test is twofold: possible exposure of the sample to aggressive environment under compression during aging and measurement of sample modulus without unloading, i.e., while leaving the sample under constant compression at all times. To determine the restoring force in the compressed sample, the compression strain is modulated with an incremental strain while measuring the force response. The total force gives the compression modulus, and the slope of the force-strain curve allows the determination of the incremental modulus. Stress relaxation data for silicon foam, Dow Corning S-5370 RTV, with 68% void fraction are shown. The modulus of the compressed sample decays over long experimental times of several days. The decay can be described by two relaxation modes, a short mode at 1500 s and a long mode at about 10(5) s. The incremental modulus changes sharply in the first 1000 s (first mode) and then levels off. The apparatus consists of two self-contained components, the removable sample holder (compression jig) and the stationary test station, which performs the modulation of the strain and all measurements (restoring force and incremental modulus). This allows separation of functions. The apparatus design specifically focused on the control of the incremental strain modulation. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.