Dynamic Response of Polymers Characterized using Ultrafast Laser Compression

Polymer degradation kinetics and reaction mechanisms are of a great interest for many applications. Reports about chemistry related aging effects found in the literature are, however, rarely correlated to the performance of these materials under dynamic compression conditions. One longstanding question is how much degradation must occur before a polymer-based component is significantly affected? Answering this question requires high-throughput testing under a broad spectrum of aging conditions. In this talk, we describe a path forward using an ultrafast laser compression platform. First, we demonstrate validation results from PDMS-based polymers, reproducing available gas-gun shock Hugoniot data and further, show Hugoniot slope changes with polymer filler and radiation-induced damage. Lastly, we present shock results from a set of CVD deposited Kapton and Parylene films cured at different thermal/humidity aging conditions. Discussion of our main findings and future development plans are presented.