'Seeing' Strain in Soft Materials

Zhiyong Xia; Vanessa D Alphonse; Doug B Trigg; Tim P Harrigan; Jeff M Paulson; Quang T Luong; Evan P Lloyd; Meredith H Barbee; Stephen L Craig

doi:10.3390/molecules24030542

'Seeing' Strain in Soft Materials

Molecules. 2019 Feb 1;24(3):542. doi: 10.3390/molecules24030542.

Authors

Zhiyong Xia¹, Vanessa D Alphonse², Doug B Trigg³, Tim P Harrigan⁴, Jeff M Paulson⁵, Quang T Luong⁶, Evan P Lloyd⁷, Meredith H Barbee⁸, Stephen L Craig⁹

Affiliations

¹ Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD 20723, USA. Zhiyong.Xia@jhuapl.edu.
² Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD 20723, USA. vanessa.alphonse@jhuapl.edu.
³ Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD 20723, USA. Doug.trigg@jhuapl.edu.
⁴ Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD 20723, USA. Tim.harrigan@jhuapl.edu.
⁵ Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD 20723, USA. jeff.paulson@jhuapl.edu.
⁶ Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD 20723, USA. quang.luong@jhuapl.edu.
⁷ Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD 20723, USA. Evan.lloyd@jhuapl.edu.
⁸ Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. Meredith.barbee@duke.edu.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. Stephen.craig@jhuapl.edu.

Abstract

Several technologies can be used for measuring strains of soft materials under high rate impact conditions. These technologies include high speed tensile test, split Hopkinson pressure bar test, digital image correlation and high speed X-ray imaging. However, none of these existing technologies can produce a continuous 3D spatial strain distribution in the test specimen. Here we report a novel passive strain sensor based on poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) elastomer with covalently incorporated spiropyran (SP) mechanophore to measure impact induced strains. We have shown that the incorporation of SP into PDMS at 0.25 wt% level can adequately measure impact strains via color change under a high strain rate of 1500 s^-1 within a fraction of a millisecond. Further, the color change is fully reversible and thus can be used repeatedly. This technology has a high potential to be used for quantifying brain strain for traumatic brain injury applications.

Keywords: impact strain; mechanophore; poly(dimethyl siloxane); spiropyran; strain sensing.

MeSH terms

Benzopyrans / chemistry*
Brain Injuries, Traumatic / diagnostic imaging
Color
Dimethylpolysiloxanes / chemistry*
Elasticity
Humans
Imaging, Three-Dimensional / instrumentation
Imaging, Three-Dimensional / methods*
Indoles / chemistry*
Materials Testing
Models, Chemical*
Nitro Compounds / chemistry*
Pressure
Stress, Mechanical
Tensile Strength
Time Factors

Substances

Benzopyrans
Dimethylpolysiloxanes
Indoles
Nitro Compounds
merocyanine
spiropyran
dimethicone

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding