An improved direct shear characterisation technique for soft gelatinous and elastomeric materials

Soft materials such as hydrogels and elastomers exhibit very low stiffness and strength as well as large deformations, which makes their mechanical characterisation extremely difficult through conventional methods. This paper presents a novel experimental technique for the mechanical shear property characterisation of these materials. Agarose hydrogels were chosen as a model material for this study. The new in‐plane shear test method incorporates 3‐D‐printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) grips for specimen mounting and digital image correlation (DIC) for full‐field strain measurement on both sides of the specimen gauge section. These grips utilise barb‐like pegs to secure the specimen while load is applied. In order to evaluate the methodology, four concentrations of agarose hydrogel (4.0%, 2.5%, 1.5%, and 0.5% wt./solvent volume) were tested. Results for the agarose hydrogel demonstrated excellent repeatability. The obtained shear moduli show a monotonic increase with gel concentration. Furthermore, the range of shear moduli applicable to the novel testing method was determined.