Temperature Resistance of Soft TPEs : Effects of Composition and Mw on the Deformation and Failure Behavior

Pour l’obtention du grade de Docteur en sciences de l’ingénieur et technologie

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are an extremely versatile class of engineering plastics that are suitable for many applications thanks to their high extensibility, reversible elasticity, and tunable hardness. They are widely used as fibers, cable insulators, medical devices, shoe soles, and many other applications. Additionally, like many other thermoplastic polymers, they are recyclable and can be easily processed.

However, regardless of their exact chemical structure, many TPEs show a decline in their mechanical properties, such as toughness and ductility, at high temperatures. This behavior is in sharp contrast with standard thermoplastics and limits the range of applications where TPEs can be used as a replacement for thermoset rubbers.

Understanding the different dynamics behind this behavior and finding out the key parameters that influence the high-temperature mechanical properties is critical to designing new TPEs and targeting new applications where traditional rubbers can be replaced.

In this thesis, we explore the high-temperature and high-deformation mechanical properties of a model series of industrially relevant soft TPEs. Through a series of mechanical and morphological tests, we investigate the fundamental relationships between microstructure and mechanical properties.

The ultimate aim is to draw a unifying picture that can describe which dynamics influence the deformation behavior and how they interplay with each other, which is ultimately the aim of this thesis.

Jury members :

• Prof. Evelyne Van Ruymbeke (UCLouvain), supervisor
• Prof. Sophie Demoustier (UCLouvain), chairperson
• Prof. Charles-André Fustin (UCLouvain), secretary
• Dr. Michelle Seitz (DSM), co-supervisor
• Dr. Tom Engels (DSM)
• Prof. Constantino Creton (ESPCI, Paris, France)

Pay attention :

The public defense of Simone Sbrescia scheduled for Friday 03 June at 2:00 p.m will also take place in the form of a video conference

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