A viscoelastic constitutive model of rubber under small oscillatory load superimposed on large static deformation considering the Payne effect

The viscoelastic behavior of carbon-black-filled rubber under small oscillatory loads superimposed on large static deformation is dealt with. In this class of problems, as the strain amplitudes of the load increase, the dynamic stiffness decreases, and this phenomenon is known as the Payne effect. Besides the effects of the static deformation and the frequencies of the superimposed dynamic load, the Payne effect is considered in this study. Influence factors are introduced in this model in order to consider the influence of static predeformation, the dynamic-strain-dependent properties, and frequency-dependent properties. For simplicity, separation of the three dominant variables, frequency, prestatic deformation, and dynamic amplitude of strain, is assumed. The Kraus model is used for describing the Payne effect. Dynamic tension tests are executed to obtain the model parameters and also for the verification of the proposed model. The suggested constitutive equation shows reasonable agreement with test data.     

Nonlinear dependence of viscosity in modeling the rate-dependent response of natural and high damping rubbers in compression and shear: Experimental identification and numerical verification

The rate-dependent behavior of filled natural rubber (NR) and high damping rubber (HDR) is investigated in compression and shear regimes. In order to describe the viscosity-induced rate-dependent effects, a constitutive model of finite strain viscoelasticity founded on the basis of the multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient tensor into elastic and inelastic parts is proposed. The total stress is decomposed into an equilibrium stress and a viscosity-induced overstress by following the concept of the Zener model. To identify the constitutive equation for the viscosity from direct experimental observations, an analytical scheme that ascertains the fundamental relation between the inelastic strain rate and the overstress tensor of the Mandel type by evaluating simple relaxation test results is proposed. Evaluation of the experimental results using the proposed analytical scheme confirms the necessity of considering both the current overstress and the current deformation as variables to describe the evolution of the rate-dependent phenomena. Based on this experimentally based motivation, an evolution equation using power laws is proposed to represent the effects of internal variables on viscosity phenomena. The proposed evolution equation has been incorporated in the finite strain viscoelasticity model in a thermodynamically consistent way. Simulation results for simple relaxation tests, multi-step relaxation tests and monotonic tests at different strain rates using the developed model show an encouraging correlation with the experiments conducted on HDR and NR in both compression and shear regimes. Finally, an approach to extend the proposed evolution equation for rate-dependent cyclic processes is proposed. The simulation results are critically compared with the experiments.     

Amplitude dependence of filler-reinforced rubber: Experiments,constitutive modelling and FEM – Implementation

The focus of the present paper is the experimental investigation, the constitutive representation and the numerical simulation of the amplitude dependence of filler-reinforced elastomers. A standard way to investigate the dynamic properties of viscoelastic materials is via the dynamic modulus which is obtained from stress signals due to harmonic strain excitations. Based on comprehensive experimental data, an amplitude-dependent constitutive model of finite viscoelasticity is developed. The model is based on a modified Maxwell chain with process-dependent viscosities which depend on additional internal state variables. The evaluation of this thermodynamically consistent model is possible in both the time domain, via stress-time signals, and in the frequency domain, via the dynamic modulus. This property is very profitable for the parameter identification process. The implementation of the constitutive model into the commercial finite element code ANSYS with the user-programmable feature (UPF) USERMAT for large deformations in updated Lagrange formulation is presented. This implementation allows simulating the time-dependent behaviour of rubber components under arbitrary transient loading histories. Due to physical and geometrical nonlinearities, these simulations are not possible in the frequency domain. But, transient FEM computations of large loading histories are sometimes not possible in an acceptable time. In the context of the parameter identification the fundamental ideas are presented, how this problem has been solved. Transient FEM simulations of real rubber components are also shown to visualize the properties of the model in the context of the transient material behaviour.     

Modelling of frequency- and amplitude-dependent material properties of filler-reinforced rubber

Filler-reinforced elastomers are extremely complicated materials with pronounced deformation and temperature history-dependent material properties. In the current paper, the dynamic material behaviour is investigated and modelled. To this end, a carbon black-filled rubber compound is loaded with harmonic deformations under different frequencies and amplitudes and the stationary stress response is evaluated in terms of the storage and the loss modulus or, equivalently, in terms of the dynamic modulus and the loss angle. In this essay, detailed experimental investigations of the dynamic material properties of carbon black-filled elastomers are provided and a new three-dimensional constitutive approach of finite nonlinear viscoelasticity to represent the observed material behaviour is developed.     

A constitutive model in finite viscoelasticity

A new constitutive model is suggested for the viscoelastic behavior of rubber-like materials at finite strains. The model treats a viscoelastic medium as a system with a variable number of purely elastic links, which can arise and collapse due to micro-Brownian motion of molecules.Assuming that the processes of birth and death for elastic links are independent of stresses, we obtain operator linear constitutive equations in finite viscoelasticity. According to this model, elastic and viscous effects may be distinguished and described independently of each other by a relaxation measure and a strain energy density.The potential energy of deformations is assumed to depend on the principal invariants of the relative Finger tensor of strains. Unlike the standard approach, we do not suggest any expression for the strain energy densitya priori, but suppose that this function is presented as a sum of two functions of one variable which are found by fitting experimental data.The proposed approach allows results of several experiments (uniaxial tension, biaxial tension, and torsion) for styrene butadiene rubber and butyl rubber to be predicted correctly.     

Finite strain––isotropic hyperelasticity

This paper presents a strain energy density for isotropic hyperelastic materials. The strain energy density is decomposed into a compressible and incompressible component. The incompressible component is the same as the generalized Mooney expression while the compressible component is shown to be a function of the volume invariant J only. The strain energy density proposed is used to investigate problems involving incompressible isotropic materials such as rubber under homogeneous strain, compressible isotropic materials under high hydrostatic pressure and volume change under uniaxial tension. Comparison with experimental data is good. The formulation is also used to derive a strain energy density expression for compressible isotropic neo-Hookean materials. The constitutive relationship for the second Piola–Kirchhoff stress tensor and its physical counterpart, involves the contravariant Almansi strain tensor. The stress stretch relationship comprises of a component associated with volume constrained distortion and a hydrostatic pressure which results in volumetric dilation. An important property of this constitutive relationship is that the hydrostatic pressure component of the stress vector which is associated with volumetric dilation will have no shear component on any surface in any configuration. This same property is not true for a neo-Hookean Green’s strain–second Piola–Kirchhoff stress tensor formulation.     

A constitutive equation for filled rubber under cyclic loading

This paper describes experiments and the development of constitutive equations to predict the steady-state response of filled rubber under cyclic loading. An MTS servo-hydraulic machine was used to obtain the dynamic hysteresis curves for a filled rubber compound in uniaxial tension-compression. The material tests were performed with mean strains from −0.1 to 0.1, strain amplitudes ranging from 0.02 to 0.1, and strain rates between 0.01 and 10 s⁻¹. Temporary material set, the Payne effect and rate-dependence were observed from the experimental results. A hyper-viscoelastic constitutive model was developed to characterize the dynamic response of the rubber. A cornerstone of this constitutive modeling was to devise a scheme to evaluate material set and a finite strain, non-linear viscoelastic law from the test data. Predictions of the dynamic hysteresis curves using the proposed constitutive equation were found to be in good agreement with the uniaxial test results.     

Visco-hyperelastic model with internal state variable coupled with discontinuous damage concept under total Lagrangian formulation

The silica-filled rubber material presented in this paper exhibits nonlinear elasticity, nonlinear rate dependence and stress-softening effect under cyclic loading. In order to model the material behavior in a finite element code, the internal state variable concept is considered for finite deformation viscoelasticity. Moreover, the so-called Mullins' effect is taken into account by using a discontinuous damage concept. A total Lagrangian formulation with incompressibility constraint is adopted in the finite element code. The constitutive equations with their optimized set of parameters are validated by comparing the simulated results with experimental data. This result is very useful for the fatigue lifetime analysis of the investigated silica-filled rubber material.     

Anisotropic Mullins stress softening of a deformed silicone holey plate

Rubber like materials parts are designed using finite element code in which more and more precise and robust constitutive equations are implemented. In general, constitutive equations developed in literature to represent the anisotropy induced by the Mullins effect present analytical forms that are not adapted to finite element implementation. The present paper deals with the development of a constitutive equation that represents the anisotropy of the Mullins effect using only strain invariants. The efficiency of the modeling is first compared to classical homogeneous experimental tests on a filled silicone rubber. Second, the model is tested on a complex structure. In this aim, a silicone holey plate is molded and tested in tension, its local strain fields are evaluated by means of digital image correlation. The experimental results are compared to the simulations from the constitutive equation implemented in a finite element code. Global measurements (i.e. force and displacement) and local strain fields are successfully compared to experimental measurements to validate the model.     

Dynamic stiffness of chemically and physically ageing rubber vibration isolators in the audible frequency range: Part 2—waveguide solution

The dynamic stiffness of a chemically and physically ageing rubber vibration isolator in the audible frequency range is modelled as a function of ageing temperature, ageing time, actual temperature, time, frequency and isolator dimension. In particular, the dynamic stiffness for an axially symmetric, homogeneously aged rubber vibration isolator is derived by waveguides where the eigenmodes given by the dispersion relation for an infinite cylinder satisfying traction free radial surface boundary condition are matched to satisfy the displacement boundary conditions at the lateral surface ends of the finite rubber cylinder. The constitutive equations are derived in a companion paper (Part 1). The dynamic stiffness is calculated over the whole audible frequency range 20–20,000 Hz at several physical ageing times for a temperature history starting at thermodynamic equilibrium at \(+25\,^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) and exposed by a sudden temperature step down to \(-60\,^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) and at several chemical ageing times at temperature \(+25\,^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) with simultaneous molecular network scission and reformation. The dynamic stiffness results are displaying a strong frequency dependence at a short physical ageing time, showing stiffness magnitude peaks and troughs, and a strong physical ageing time dependence, showing a large stiffness magnitude increase with the increased physical ageing time, while the peaks and troughs are smoothed out. Likewise, stiffness magnitude peaks and troughs are frequency-shifted with increased chemical ageing time. The developed model is possible to apply for dynamic stiffness prediction of rubber vibration isolator over a broad audible frequency range under realistic environmental condition of chemical ageing, mainly attributed to oxygen exposure from outside and of physical ageing, primarily perceived at low-temperature steps.     

橡胶弹性支座动态承载特性及其影响因素分析

基于复刚度理论,采用正交实验法,对风力发电机橡胶弹性支座进行动态性能实验,研究载荷频率、载荷幅值、预载荷诸因素对弹性支座动态性能的影响规律. 实验结果表明,橡胶材料的动态性能与载荷频率和幅值具有显著的相关性. 频率增加,橡胶弹性元件的弹性刚度和阻尼因子明显增大;幅值增加,弹性刚度减小,阻尼因子却逐渐增大. 对实验数据进行方差分析,表明载荷频率对动态性能的影响最大,其次是载荷幅值,预加载因素影响非常有限.     

Stretch-induced wrinkling of polyethylene thin sheets: Experiments and modeling

This paper presents a study on stretch-induced wrinkling of thin polyethylene sheets when subjected to uniaxial stretch with two clamped ends. Three-dimensional digital image correlation was used to measure the wrinkling deformation. It was observed that the wrinkle amplitude increased as the nominal strain increased up to around 10%, but then decreased at larger strain levels. This behavior is consistent with results of finite element simulations for a hyperelastic thin sheet reported previously (Nayyar et al., 2011). However, wrinkles in the polyethylene sheet were not fully flattened out at large strains (>30%) as predicted for the hyperelastic sheet, but exhibited a residual wrinkle whose amplitude depended on the loading rate. This is attributed to the viscoelastic response of the material. Two different viscoelastic models were adopted in finite element simulations to study the effects of viscoelasticity on wrinkling and to improve the agreement with the experiments, including residual wrinkles and rate dependence. It is found that a parallel network model of nonlinear viscoelasticity is suitable for simulating the constitutive behavior and stretch-induced wrinkling of the polyethylene sheets.     

聚脲弹性体力学性能与本构关系研究进展

聚脲是一种由异氰酸酯组分和氨基组分反应生成的新型弹性体高聚物.由于聚脲具有断裂伸长率高、应变率强化、高耗能等一系列优异的力学性能,其在国防、能源、交通等领域显示出广阔的应用前景.目前,国内外学者针对聚脲在不同温度、不同应变率下的静动态力学性能开展了大量研究,在此基础上提出了多种本构模型,对温度、应变率等因素相关的力学行为进行了描述和预测.这些工作为深刻理解聚脲抗冲击机理及材料的进一步应用奠定了基础.文章首先简要介绍了聚脲弹性体的微相分离结构及特点;然后从小变形线性黏弹性和大变形非线性黏弹性两个方面概述了关于聚脲力学性能的研究,包括相应测试技术的发展和聚脲黏弹性影响因素的研究;进一步从变形梯度乘法分解法、遗传积分法、应变-时间解耦法等不同建模方法出发对已建立的聚脲本构模型进行综述,并从应变率范围、温度范围、压力相关性、软化行为表征及模型参数数量的角度对比了不同类型模型的区别;最后针对聚脲力学性能与本构关系下一步研究值得重点关注的问题提出了几点建议.     

混凝土率型内时损伤本构模型

混凝土是一种典型的率敏感材料,为了更好地描述混凝土结构在动力、冲击荷载作用下的强度和变形特征,本文结合内时理论和损伤理论建立了一种考虑混凝土率效应的内时损伤本构模型。该模型的特点:将混凝土材料的受力软化效应分解为密实状态的塑性效应和由微裂缝扩展引起的刚度退化效应。前者由内时理论来描述,这使该模型摆脱了一般弹塑性模型中屈服面的概念,从而更符合混凝土的变形特性,并且简化了非线性计算过程;后者由损伤理论来描述,根据混凝土的动力试验结果建立了增量型的损伤演变方程,从而使该模型能够较好地反映混凝土的动力特性。最后,应用本文建议的模型对一钢筋混凝土简支梁进行了非线性分析,结果表明:当结构承受快速荷载作用时,应变率对结构的受力性能影响较大,在进行结构分析时必须予以考虑。     

Influence of excitation amplitude on the characteristics of nonlinear butyl rubber isolators

The purpose of this study is to explore the advantages and characteristics of nonlinear butyl rubber (type IIR) isolators in vibratory shear by comparison with linear isolators. It is known that the mechanical properties of viscoelastic materials exhibit significant frequency and temperature dependence, and in some cases, nonlinear dynamic behavior as well. Nonlinear characteristics in shear deformation are reflected in mechanical properties such as stiffness and damping. Furthermore, even when the excitation amplitude is small the response amplitude may often be large enough that nonlinearities cannot be ignored. The treatment involves developing phenomenological models of the effective storage modulus and effective loss factor of a rubber isolator material as a function of excitation amplitude. The transmissibility of a nonlinear viscoelastic isolator is compared with that of a linear isolator using an equivalent linear damping coefficient. Forced resonance vibration and impedance tests are used to characterize nonlinear parameters and to measure the normalized transmissibility. It is found that as the excitation amplitude of the nonlinear viscoelastic isolator increases, the response amplitude decreases and the transmissibility is improved over that of the linear isolator for excitation frequency that exceeds a particular value governed by the temperature and excitation amplitude. The method of multiple scales and numerical simulations are used to predict the response characteristics of the isolator based on the phenomenological modeling under different values of system parameters.     

Perturbation approach to elastic constitutive relations of polycrystals

Herein we obtain a formula for the effective elastic stiffness tensor C^eff of an orthorhombic aggregate of cubic crystallites by the perturbation method. The effective elastic stiffness tensor of the polycrystal gives the relationship between volume average stress and volume average strain. Under Voigt's model, Reuss’ model and Man's theory, the elastic constitutive relation accounts for the effect of the orientation distribution function (ODF) up to terms linear in the texture coefficients. However, the formula derived in this paper delineates the effect of crystallographic texture on elastic response and shows quadratic texture dependence. The formula is very simple. We also consider the influence of grain shape to elastic constitutive relations of polycrystals. Some examples are given to compare computational results of the formula with those given by Voigt's model, Reuss's model, the finite element method, and the self-consistent method. In Section 3, we also present an expression of the perturbation displacement field, in which Green's function for an orthorhombic aggregate of cubic crystallites is included.     

On the representation of chemical ageing of rubber in continuum mechanics

In order to represent the chemical ageing behaviour of rubber under finite deformations a three-dimensional theory is proposed. The fundamentals of this approach are different decompositions of the deformation gradient in combination with an additive split of the Helmholtz free energy into three parts. Its first part belongs to the volumetric material behaviour. The second part is a temperature-dependent hyperelasticity model which depends on an additional internal variable to consider the long-term degradation of the primary rubber network. The third contribution is a functional of the deformation history and a further internal variable; it describes the creation of a new network which remains free of stress when the deformation is constant in time. The constitutive relations for the stress tensor and the internal variables are deduced using the Clausius–Duhem inequality. In order to sketch the main properties of the model, expressions in closed form are derived with respect to continuous and intermittent relaxation tests as well as for the compression set test. Under the assumption of near incompressible material behaviour, the theory can also represent ageing-induced changes in volume and their effect on the stress relaxation. The simulations are in accordance with experimental data from literature.     

Viscoelastic properties of MR elastomers under harmonic loading

This paper presents both experimental and modeling studies of viscoelastic properties of MR elastomers under harmonic loadings. Magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) samples were fabricated by mixing carbonyl iron power, silicone oil, and silicone rubber and cured under a magnetic field. Its steady-state and dynamic properties were measured by using a parallel-plate rheometer. Various sinusoidal loadings, with different strain amplitude and frequencies, were applied to study the stress responses. The stress–strain results demonstrated that MR elastomers behave as linear visocoelastic properties. Microstructures of MRE samples were observed with a scanning electron microscope. A four-parameter linear viscoelatic model was proposed to predict MRE performances. The four parameters under various working conditions (magnetic field, strain amplitude, and frequency) were identified with the MATLAB optimization algorithm. The comparisons between the experimental results and the model predictions demonstrate that the four-parameter viscoelastic model can predict MRE performances very well. In addition, dynamic properties of MRE performances were alternatively represented with equivalent stiffness and damping coefficients.     

Thermomechanical material modelling based on a hybrid free energy density depending on pressure,isochoric deformation and temperature

In order to represent temperature-dependent mechanical material properties in a thermomechanical consistent manner it is common practice to start with the definition of a model for the specific Helmholtz free energy. Its canonical independent variables are the Green strain tensor and the temperature. But to represent calorimetric material properties under isobaric conditions, for example the exothermal behaviour of a curing process or the dependence of the specific heat on the temperature history, the temperature and the pressure should be taken as independent variables. Thus, in the field of calorimetry the Gibbs free energy is usually used as thermodynamic potential whereas in continuum mechanics the Helmholtz free energy is normally applied. In order to simplify the representation of calorimetric phenomena in continuum mechanics a hybrid free energy density is introduced. Its canonical independent variables are the isochoric Green strain tensor, the pressure and the temperature. It is related to the Helmholtz free energy density by a Legendre transformation. In combination with the additive split of the stress power into the sum of isochoric and volumetric terms this approach leads to thermomechanical consistent constitutive models for large deformations. The article closes with applications of this approach to finite thermoelasticity, curing adhesives and the glass transition.     

Micromechanics-based constitutive modeling for unidirectional laminated composites

A micromechanics-based constitutive model is developed to predict the effective mechanical behavior of unidirectional laminated composites. A newly developed Eshelby’s tensor for an infinite circular cylindrical inclusion [Cheng, Z.Q., Batra, R.C., 1999. Exact Eshelby tensor for a dynamic circular cylindrical inclusion. J. Appl. Mech. 66, 563–565] is adopted to model the unidirectional fibers and is incorporated into the micromechanical framework. The progressive loss of strength resulting from the partial fiber debonding and the nucleation of microcracks is incorporated into the constitutive model. To validate the proposed model, the predicted effective stiffness of transversely isotropic composites under far field loading conditions is compared with analytical solutions. The constitutive model incorporating the damage models is then implemented into a finite element code to numerically characterize the elastic behavior of laminated composites. Finally, the present predictions on the stress–strain behavior of laminated composite plate containing an open hole is compared with experimental data to verify the predictive capability of the model.