Impact of filler composition on mechanical and dynamic response of 3-D printed silicone-based nanocomposite elastomers

Cellular silicone reinforced with silica filler prepared using additive manufacturing (AM) have been used widely for vibrational damping and shockwave mitigation. The two most commonly printed cellular silicone structures, simple cubic (SC) and face-centered tetragonal (FCT) display distinctly different static and dynamic mechanical responses dependent upon structure. In this work, the relationship between filler size and composition with mechanical response is investigated using polydimethylsiloxane-based silicones filled with aluminum oxide, graphite, or titanium dioxide. SC and FCT structures of porous, periodic silicone pads were printed using new direct ink write (DIW) resin formulations containing up to 25 wt% of functional filler (TiO2, Al2O3, or graphite). All AM pads were characterized using mechanical techniques (DMA, compression). Dynamic compression experiments coupled with time-resolved X-ray phase contrast imaging were performed to obtain insights into role of filler interactions in the in situ evolution of shockwave coupling in these functional, periodic porous polymers.