ABSTRACT
The local mechanical response of fluoroelastomer rubber is presented through nanoindentation results. The investigated property is the elastic reduced modulus also called indentation modulus. It is well known that this modulus (as the indentation hardness) is dependent on the applied experimental protocol with variables such as the maximum load and loading rates. This dependence is expected to be extensively observed on elastomers whose mechanical behavior is viscoelastic and time-dependent. This paper describes the methodology of nanoindentation on such materials and discusses the results which clearly present behavior variations depending on the protocol being used and on the sample morphology. These results are then used for a practical application in which vulcanization gradients are observed.
