| The interphase in an epoxy-aluminum adhesive system has been characterized using acoustic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, ion etching, energy-dispersive x-ray analysis, and nano-indentation, with particular attention to micromechanical characterization.;A systematic search method was proposed for locating an acoustic coupling fluid which had a sufficiently low velocity of sound and attenuation factor for the acoustic microscopy of polymers. A new acoustic microscope system was developed, which operated at a frequency of 250 MHz, and utilized an ultrasonic probe designed specifically for the characteristics of the new couplant. This acoustic microscope system is the first one being able to induce Rayleigh waves on the surface of plastics.;A new angular spectrum formulation was introduced for a type-II acoustic microscope probe. No prior assumption, regarding the field on the aperture plane of the transducer, is needed in this new formulation. The angular spectrum model was extended to the case of a type-I probe in the presence of deviations of the lens shape from the ideal sphere as long as it remains axisymmetric.;A multiple curve fitting procedure was used to infer the interphase property profiles by simultaneously fitting a large number of calculated V (z) curves to the experimental ones.;The interphase was between 2 and 6 mum thick, and corresponded to a region of greater resistance to ion etching and a marked absence of the silica particles used in the epoxy adhesive. The acoustic microscope V(z) scans showed that the interphase had, on average, 20% larger values of tensile and shear moduli than the bulk, and smaller values of the shear attenuation factor and density than the bulk adhesive. Nano-indentation tests, traversing various sections of the interphase from the aluminum to the bulk adhesive, showed that the interphase region had, on average, a reduced elastic modulus (E/(1 - nu2)) that was 13% greater than that of the bulk adhesive. The interphase was approximately 4% harder than the bulk adhesive. |
