Uniaxial Stress-Strain Characteristics of Elastomeric Membranes: Theoretical Considerations, Computational Simulations, and Experimental Validation

Abstract

This study presents an experimental methodology for the uniaxial stress-strain characterization of urethane and polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) samples, and compares elicited results with an image-based methodology, simulations, and theory. Elicited results at 40% strain yield error differences between the experimentally measured and the simulated strain of −10 and −20% for the urethane and PVA samples, respectively. The corresponding stress differences were −22 and 11%. Experimental stress-strain responses were fitted using a piecewise linear model (urethane) and using a two-parameter Ogden constitutive model (PVA), based on the over-parameterization criterion. This work directly compares experimental and computational methodologies for the characterization of bio-materials and quantifies the elicited errors.