Fatigue Life Estimation for an NBR Rubber and an Expanded Polyurethane

International audienceIn this paper, we deal with the mechanical behavior of elastomeric materials subjected to high cyclic loading in cases of high strain. First, a methodology for material parameter identification is used for a constitutive visco-hyperelastic law with discontinuous damage, modeling the Mullins effect. Then a fatigue model characterized by a strain energy density-based criterion is proposed and implemented in the finite element code, Code-Aster [1]. Two kinds of elastomer are considered, an incompressible rubber and an expanded compressible polyurethane. Cyclic tensile tests were performed to identify material fatigue parameters. Finally, a numerical application using a finite element model is presented. This model is a plate perforated by a ∅6 mm hole for the first sample and a ∅10 mm hole for the second one. The results obtained from the finite element model are compared to experimental results

Erasable and reversible wrinkling of halogenated rubber surfaces

International audienceFew surfaces can exist at rest in either wrinkled or unwrinkled states and switch reversibly between these states. Here, we report a new approach to creating reversibly wrinkling systems using the halogenation of rubber to induce a local increase in the glass-transition temperature within a thin layer at the surface. Such systems are obtained by the bromination of molded rubber films. By means of thermomechanical experiments and in situ observations, we show that microscopic wrinkles are produced by unstretching a stretched film below the glass-transition temperature of the brominated layer. These surface patterns are erased within seconds when the wrinkled layer is heated to above its glass transition and recovers its initial equilibrium dimensions. New wrinkles can be produced and erased repeatedly on the same surface. A model is proposed that takes into account the existence of a gradient in bromine content along the thickness of the modified layer. It describes the viscoelastic behavior of these brominated films and captures the temperature dependencies of the thickness of the glassy layer and of the wrinkle wavelength