Moulding is a common approach to protect components like electronic devices on circuit boards or coils in an electric engine from environmental influences and to increase their performance according to, e.g. heat transfer. To ensure the correct design of the multi-material structure for long-lasting operation, the impact of the indivdual material parameters and their interaction on aging and failure mechanisms under different loads in service have to be considered and – in the best case - fully characterized before the component’s final design. This creates demand for simple testing techniques that are able to map the multi-directional and multi-domain loads in a moulded hybrid part as accurately as possible. According to the current state of the art, different geometries and test strategies are suggested but seem to be limited in terms of  flexibility, intensity, reproducibilty, and the temporal distinctiveness between different materials.

The aim of this work is to present a test specimen together with a test strategy focusing on the comprehensive evaluation and characterization of moulding materials and the material combinations produced with them. For this purpose, a cylindrical test specimen using a specially shaped metal insert encased with the potting material was combined with different testing techniques. Mechanical stresses arising from exposure to temperature changes are concentrated and adjusted using different metal and geometry combinations. The amount of aging of the material combination as well as of the potting material are characterized in particular in the form of delamination phenomena as well as crack initiation and propagation on the test specimen. In addition, the results of suitable test methods to use with the specimen, like vibration-based measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, are presented. Hereby, it is not only possible to extensively characterize the potting material, but also the interface between polymer and metal.