Shear modulus estimation of the polymer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using digital image correlation

Single lap joint under tensile load is used as a standard test specimen for characterizing adhesive properties and is considered the simplest form of adhesive joints. This paper presents an experimental investigation of full-field displacement in single lap adhesive joint. For the single lap joint specimen. steel adherends are bonded using a flexible rubber elastic polymer. The experimental procedure is carried out using the digital image correlation (DIC) method. This method consists of an optical-numerical experimental approach developed for full-field and non-contact measurements. The principal main is to describe a new testing methodology to analyze and estimate the adhesive shear modulus of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which is a commercially available silicone elastic rubber. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.