In-plane orthotropic property characterization of a polymeric battery separator

The in-plane characterization of an orthotropic porous polymer thin film used as separators in lithium-ion batteries was investigated. The mechanical behavior of an orthotropic material is described by the stress-strain relationships in the principal material directions and shear, and the Poisson's ratios. The measurements of the shear properties and the Poisson's ratio for polymer films with a thickness of tens micrometers has not been well established. In this work, these measurements were attempted for a separator of 25 μm thickness. The mechanical testing was performed with a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). Digital image correlation (DIC) was used for strain measurements. The measured major Poisson's ratio was at a constant value whereas the minor Poisson's ratio increased linearly with strain. The symmetry condition for the elastic orthotropic relation was found to be valid up to 1% strain under transverse tension. The shear properties were measured with an off-axis tensile experiment. The shear modulus determined from the DIC strain measurement agreed well with that from the off-axis modulus and elastic constants. Based on the analogy for anisotropy between the elastic and linear viscoelastic domains, the shear creep response was measured with the off-axis tensile creep experiments. The creep compliances in shear and in the principal material directions were determined. This work laid the foundation for the development of orthotropic elastic and viscoelastic models for battery separators. •Orthotropic characterization for a thin polymer film was performed with DMA.•Digital image correlation was used successfully for strain measurements.•The major and minor Poisson's ratios follow different trends with strain.•The shear property was measured with the off-axis tensile experiment.•At small strains, the PP battery separator follows the orthotropic elasticity.