Lifetime prediction of simple shear loaded filled elastomers based on the probability distribution of particles

Abstract

A new method of the end-of-life prediction for filled elastomers has been introduced and applied on fatigue under uniaxial deformations in [1]. The method considers measured inhomogeneity size frequencies. The dimension of these inhomogeneities is assumed to be equal to the sizes of the initial cracks responsible for the final end-of-life of the elastomer. For an end-of-life prediction, the initial crack size information is inserted into a standard fracture mechanic law. Within a Monte Carlo simulation, several spatial realization steps of statistical initial crack size distributions over the deformation field of the investigated component or specimen are performed. Within each realization step, the minimum number of cycles until end-of-life is extracted and supplies a failure probability plot. Performing a large number of realizations provides the complete failure probability information. In this work, that concept is applied on fatigue under simple shear. The predicted failure probability values match the experimental findings from dynamic fatigue tests for the considered Styrene Rubber.