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An Experimental Investigation Of Humidity And Temperature Effects On The Mechanical Properties Of Persfluorosulfonic Acid Membrane, Y. L. Tang, Anette M. Karlsson, Michael H. Santare, Michael Gilbert, Simon Cleghorn, William B. Johnson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The mechanical properties of a perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membrane have been investigated at different humidities and temperatures in a custom-designed environmental chamber. Tensile tests were conducted to determine Young’s modulus, the proportional limit stress (“yield strength”), break stress, and break strain. In-plane dimensional changes of the membrane at different temperature and humidities were also determined. The results indicate that Young’s modulus and the proportional limit stress of the PFSA membrane decrease as humidity and temperature increase. Higher temperature leads to lower break stress and higher break strain. However, humidity has little effect on the break stress and break strain. A …