Adhesion and non-linear rheology of adhesives with supramolecular crosslinking points

Soft supramolecular materials are promising for the design of innovative and highly tunable adhesives. These materials are composed of polymer chains functionalized by strongly interacting moieties, sometimes called "stickers". In order to systematically investigate the effect of the presence of associative groups on the debonding properties of a supramolecular adhesive, a series of supramolecular model systems has been characterized by probe-tack tests. These model materials, composed of linear and low dispersity poly(butylacrylate) chains functionalized in the middle by a single tri-urea sticker, are able to self-associate by six hydrogen bonds and range in molecular weight (M n) between 5 and 85 kg/mol. The linear rheology and the nanostructure of the same materials (called "PnBA3U") was the object of a previous study 1,2. At room temperature, the association of polymers via hydrogen bonds induces the formation of rod-like aggregates structured into bundles for M n \textless{} 40kg/mol and the behavior of a soft elastic material was observed (G'\textgreater{}\textgreater{}G "and G'~$\omega$ 0). For higher M n , the filaments were randomly oriented and polymers displayed a crossover towards viscous behavior although terminal relaxation was not reached in the experimental frequency window. All these materials show however similar adhesive properties characterized by a cohesive mode of failure and low debonding energies (W adh \textless{}40J/m 2 for a debonding speed of 100$\mu$m/s). The debonding mechanisms observed during the adhesion tests have been investigated in detail with an Image tools analysis developed by our group 3. The measure of the projected area covered by cavities growing in the adhesive layer during debonding can be used to estimate the true stress in the walls of the cavities and thus, to characterize the in-situ large strain deformation of the thin layer during the adhesion test itself. This analysis revealed in particular that the PnBA3U materials with M n \textless{} 40 kg/mol soften very markedly at large deformation like yield stress fluids, explaining the low adhesion energies measured for these viscoelastic gels.

Interdigitation between surface-anchored polymer chains and an elastomer : consequences for adhesion promotion

We study the adhesion between a cross-linked elastomer and a flat solid surface where polymer chains have been end-grafted. To understand the adhesive feature of such a system, one has to study both the origin of the grafted layer interdigitation with the network, and the end-grafted chains extraction out of the elastomer when it comes unstuck from the solid surface. We shall tackle here the first aspect for which we develop a partial interdigitation model that lets us analytically predict a critical surface grafting density $\sigma^{*} \simeq P^{{1/10}}N^{-{3/5}}$ beyond which the layer no longer interdigitates with the elastomer. We then relate this result with recent adhesion measurements

The Slowly Formed Guiselin Brush

We study polymer layers formed by irreversible adsorption from a polymer melt. Our theory describes an experiment which is a ``slow'' version of that proposed by Guiselin [Europhys. Lett., v. 17 (1992) p. 225] who considered instantaneously irreversibly adsorbing chains and predicted a universal density profile of the layer after swelling with solvent to produce the ``Guiselin brush.'' Here we ask what happens when adsorption is not instantaneous. The classic example is chemisorption. In this case the brush is formed slowly and the final structure depends on the experiment's duration, $t_{final}$. We find the swollen layer consists of an inner region of thickness $z^* \sim t_{final}^{-5/3}$ with approximately constant density and an outer region extending up to height $h \sim N^{5/6}$ which has the same density decay $\sim z^{-2/5}$ as for the Guiselin case.Comment: 7 pages, submitted to Europhysics Letter

Cavitation-induced force transition in confined viscous liquids under traction

We perform traction experiments on simple liquids highly confined between parallel plates. At small separation rates, we observe a simple response corresponding to a convergent Poiseuille flow. Dramatic changes in the force response occur at high separation rates, with the appearance of a force plateau followed by an abrupt drop. By direct observation in the course of the experiment, we show that cavitation accounts for these features which are reminiscent of the utmost complex behavior of adhesive films under traction. Surprisingly enough, this is observed here in purely viscous fluids.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review Letters on May 31, 2002. Related informations on http://www.crpp.u-bordeaux.fr/tack.htm

Continuous EB welding of the reinforcement of the CMS conductor

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is one of the general-purpose detectors to be provided for the LHC project at CERN. The design field of the CMS superconducting magnet is 4 T, the magnetic length is 12.5 m and the free bore is 6 m. In order to withstand the electro-mechanical forces during the operation of the CMS magnet, the superconducting cable embedded in a 99.998% pure aluminum matrix is reinforced with two sections of aluminum alloy EN AW-6082 assembled by continuous Electron Beam Welding (EBW). A dedicated production line has been designed by Techmeta, a leading company in the field of EBW. The production line has a total length of 70 m. Non-stop welding of each of the 20 lengths of 2.5 km, required to build the coil, will last 22 hours. EBW is the most critical process involved in the production line. The main advantage of the EBW process is to minimize the Heat Affected Zone; this is particularly important for avoiding damage to the superconducting cable located only 4.7 mm from the welded joints. Two welding guns of 20 kW each operate in parallel in a vacuum chamber fitted with dynamic airlocks. After welding, the conductor is continuously machined on the four faces and on each corner to obtain the required dimensions and surface finish. Special emphasis has been put on quality monitoring. All significant production parameters are recorded during operation and relevant samples are taken from each produced length for destructive testing purposes. In addition, a continuous phased array ultrasonic checking device is located immediately after the welding unit for the continuous welding quality control, along with a dimension laser measurement unit following the machining. (8 refs)

Cell transformation assays for prediction of carcinogenic potential: State of the science and future research needs

Copyright @ 2011 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Cell transformation assays (CTAs) have long been proposed as in vitro methods for the identification of potential chemical carcinogens. Despite showing good correlation with rodent bioassay data, concerns over the subjective nature of using morphological criteria for identifying transformed cells and a lack of understanding of the mechanistic basis of the assays has limited their acceptance for regulatory purposes. However, recent drivers to find alternative carcinogenicity assessment methodologies, such as the Seventh Amendment to the EU Cosmetics Directive, have fuelled renewed interest in CTAs. Research is currently ongoing to improve the objectivity of the assays, reveal the underlying molecular changes leading to transformation and explore the use of novel cell types. The UK NC3Rs held an international workshop in November 2010 to review the current state of the art in this field and provide directions for future research. This paper outlines the key points highlighted at this meeting