Rubber wear mechanism discussion based on the relationship between the wear resistance and the tear resistance with consideration of the strain rate effect

Abstract

Rubber is an industrially useful material because of its high grip, sealing, and cushioning performance. To maintain these performances in practical use, it is important to prevent wear. It is considered that the wear resistance is related to the tear resistance. However, it is difficult to clarify the relationship between the wear resistance and the tear resistance because the physical properties of rubber can be drastically changed by the strain rate. The purpose of this study is to establish a wear model based on stress (σ)–strain (ε) and σ–number of cycles to failure (N) curve estimation at high strain rate. By applying the time–temperature superposition principle to the σ–ε and ε–N curves, σ–ε and ε–N curves at a specific strain rate can be estimated, at least experientially. With consideration of the tangent stress distribution in the rubber bulk during friction, the crack growth rate was calculated based on the estimated σ–ε and ε–N curves at high strain rate. The estimated crack growth rate has a positive correlation with the crack growth rate measured in a wear test.