Open AccessTensile and Surface Mechanical Properties of Polyethersulphone (PES) and Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Membranes
Author(s) -
Rumiana Kotsilkova,
Irena Borovanska,
Petar Todorov,
Evgeni Ivanov,
Dzhihan Menseidov,
Sudip Chakraborty,
Chiranjib Bhattacharjee
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of theoretical and applied mechanics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.2
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1314-8710
pISSN - 0861-6663
DOI - 10.2478/jtam-2018-0018
Subject(s) - materials science , nanoindentation , polyvinylidene fluoride , membrane , ultimate tensile strength , composite material , surface roughness , polymer , nanoscopic scale , tensile testing , nanotechnology , genetics , biology
Mechanical properties of polymer membranes (strength, hardness and elasticity) are very important parameters for the application performance, e.g. water purification. We study the tensile and surface mechanical properties of hollow fiber and flat sheets mat membranes based on PES and PVDF polymers. Tensile test, nanoindentation and atom force microscopy are used for characterization at macro and nanoscale. Mechanical properties are correlated with pore structure of membranes. The reinforced PVDF HF hollow fiber membranes show 30-fold higher stiffness and 3-fold higher hardness compared to non-reinforced PES HF. Surface mechanical properties of flat sheet membranes are strongly improved by decreasing the pore size. The smoothest surface with 100–200 nm roughness has the best surface mechanical performance obtained by nanoindentation.