Temperature dependent tensile fracture strength model of rubber materials based on Mooney-Rivlin model

Abstract

With the increasingly widespread application of rubber in many fields, the demand for quantitative characterization of temperature dependent mechanical properties in service environments over a wide temperature range is increasing. Tensile fracture strength is one of the most important mechanical properties of rubber materials, but its temperature dependent model without fitting parameters is still rarely reported. In this work, based on Mooney-Rivlin hyperelastic constitutive model, a strain energy expression that explicitly includes tensile fracture strength is derived, and a temperature dependent tensile fracture strength model for rubber materials without fitting parameters is further developed in combination with the Force-Heat Equivalence Energy Density Principle. The prediction results of the model in a wide temperature range are in good agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, a quantitative analysis of the effect of elastic modulus on tensile fracture strength at different temperatures is conducted. Finally, based on the above conclusions, some useful suggestions on the selection of rubber materials for service in a wide temperature range are proposed.