Hyperelasticity with rate-independent microsphere hysteresis model for rubberlike materials

T Rey,G Chagnon,D Favier,J.-B Le Cam

doi:10.1016/j.commatsci.2014.03.068

Abstract

The mechanical behavior of elastomers strongly differs from one to another. Among these differences, hysteresis upon cyclic load can take place, and can be either rate-dependent or rate-independent. In the present paper, a microsphere model taking into account rate-independent hysteresis is proposed and applied to model filled silicone rubbers behavior. The hysteresis model is based on a combination of monodimensional constitutive equations distributed in space. The behavior of each direction is described by a collection of parallel spring slider elements. The sliders are Coulomb dampers with non-zero break-free force in tension. This model is tested on a filled silicone rubber by the way of uniaxial tensile and pure shear tests. The mechanical response of the material is well predicted for such tests. Finally, the constitutive equations are implemented in the finite element software ABAQUS. Calculation results highlight good performances of the proposed model.

Highlights

The study and modeling of the mechanical behavior of rubberlike materials have been widely studied in last decades due to the increasing number of industrial applications, such as vibration isolators, tires or shock absorbers, non exhaustively
A more complete constitutive equation could be used to obtain best predictions of the hyperelastic behavior of the material, but the aim of this paper is to show that the hysteresis part can be adapted for all the existing hyperelastic constitutive equations, so the Biderman model is kept as it gives reasonable predictions
A microsphere model was proposed to take into account rate-independent hysteresis

Summary

Introduction

The study and modeling of the mechanical behavior of rubberlike materials have been widely studied in last decades due to the increasing number of industrial applications, such as vibration isolators, tires or shock absorbers, non exhaustively. The addition of fillers typically implies an increase of stiffness and a reinforcement of crack growth resistance [1,2]. The load and unload responses of filled rubber differ during cyclic tests Even if this evolution is mainly due to the Mullins effect during the first cycle, a difference between load and unload responses is still observed once the material is softened, i.e. after the first cycle. This phenomenon, so-called hysteresis, can depend on the strain rate [5], the crosslinks density [6] or the temperature [7]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion