Energy dissipation characteristics of polyurea and polyurea/carbon black composites

The energy dissipation characteristics of polyurea and polyurea/carbon black composites are determined under cycling loading at different amplitudes and excitation frequencies. These characteristics are measured experimentally and validated against the predictions of finite element models (FEM). Further validation of the energy dissipated is carried out by comparisons with the product of the storage modulus and the loss factor of the polymer as obtained from the measurement of the complex moduli using the Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analyzer (DMTA). The obtained results indicate an excellent agreement between the experiments and the predictions of the FEM. Furthermore, it is observed that the energy dissipated per unit volume of pristine polyurea is, on average, about 10% higher than that of polyurea/carbon black composites.