An extended eight-chain model for hyperelastic and finite viscoelastic response of rubberlike materials: Theory, experiments and numerical aspects

Abstract

Rubberlike materials exhibit strong rate-dependent mechanical response which manifests itself in creep and relaxation tests as well as in the hysteresis curves under cyclic loading. Unlike linear viscoelasticity, creep and relaxation response of rubber is nonlinear and amplitude-dependent. Within this context, the contribution of this work is three fold. (i) On the experimental side, the characterization of equilibrium and non-equilibrium responses are carried out by means of uniaxial and equibiaxial extension tests. Also performed are the creep and relaxation experiments at various stress and strain levels. (ii) On the theoretical side, we extend the well-known eight-chain model via incorporating a simple yet instrumental tube-constraint term composed of the second invariant into the non-affine network contribution reflecting the ground state equilibrium response. For the non-equilibrium response, we propose a new evolution equation for the creep/relaxation behavior of rubberlike materials based on a relaxation kinetics of a single polymer chain. The geometric non-linearity is incorporated via the finite deformation kinematics based on the multiplicative split of the deformation gradient into elastic and viscous parts, whereas the volumetric and isochoric split of the deformation gradient is entirely discarded. The rheology uses a nonlinear spring responsible for equilibrium elastic response in parallel to n number of Maxwell elements, leading to a generalized Maxwell-Wiechert viscoelastic solid. (iii) The algorithmic implementation of the model features the spectral decomposition of the respective terms and is demonstrated within the context of the finite element method. The developed model is validated by fitting both the elastic and viscoelastic model responses with respect to the experimental data in the sense of uniaxial, (equi)biaxial extensions, and pure shear tests. Relaxation and creep behavior of the model are thoroughly assessed. Also presented in the manuscript is the capability and the performance of the model in the face of a relevant non-homogeneous boundary value problem. The quality of the findings earns the model vast utilization areas from an engineering perspective.