Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Micromechanics Model Based On The Nanostructure Of Pfsa Membranes, Ahmet Kusoglu, Michael H. Santare, Anette M. Karlsson, William B. Johnson, Simon Cleghorn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

A micromechanics model is developed to predict Young’s modulus of perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes at various temperatures and water contents. The morphology of PFSA membranes is characterized by a two-phase structure, where hydrophilic clusters expand to hold water molecules during swelling, whereas the hydrophobic polymer network maintains the structural stability. A representative volume element (RVE) is proposed based on the descriptions for the nanostructure of PFSA membranes available in the literature. On the basis of mechanics model, we estimate Young’s modulus in tension of PFSA membranes as a function of water volume fraction for various temperatures. The results show that …