Fracture Mechanical Investigation of Elastomeric Material

The increasing use of elastomeric components in advanced engineering applications requires a thorough understanding of the complex material properties and a reliable assessment of the quality and durability of the products. This contribution concentrates on the computational determination of fracture mechanical parameters for rubber material using the material force method. For dissipative, inelastic material, a distinction between two fracture mechanical parameters is presented. The time-dependent behaviour of these fracture mechanical parameters is illustrated by an application to the dwell-effect. (© 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)