Material characterization and constitutive modelling of elastomers subject to strain rate

在汽车、航空航天和医疗领域的重要弹性体工程产品设计中，使用寿命预测和保修考虑是两个重要参数。橡胶构件在不同载荷和环境条件下的性能取决于弹性体在这些条件下的表现。橡胶的高度非线性行为是由其潜在的分子结构引起的，它由盘绕的长链聚合物组成。当材料被拉伸时，这些链条会变直，并在卸下负载后反冲到原来的形状。这一基本现象有助于观察到橡胶的复杂力学行为，使其成为一种依赖载荷的材料。虽然金属和塑料等材料的力学行为和预测已经得到了很好的研究，但很少有针对弹性体的分析和预测模型。这些模型大多只包括几个参数，并且依赖于应变水平和/或应变能密度。****提出的研究计划将侧重于为弹性体开发一种新的本构模型，以考虑应变率效应和温度效应，从而更好地预测橡胶组分的性能。我们将进行一项全面的测试计划，其中将进行简单拉伸，纯剪切，双轴拉伸和体积压缩试验，以确定弹性体在不同环境下的准静态和动态载荷下的粘弹性性能。该研究项目的研究成果将对汽车工业的先进材料和设计领域做出重大贡献。此外，拟议的工作将导致开发一种方法来表征具有独特性能的弹性体，特别是用于工业应用，最重要的是，橡胶材料的开发和创新工程

Service life prediction and warranty consideration are two important parameters in the design of vital elastomeric engineering products for the automotive, aerospace, and medical sectors. The performance of rubber components under different loading and environmental conditions is dictated by the elastomer's behaviour under these conditions. The highly nonlinear behaviour of rubber is caused by its underlying molecular structure, which consists of coiled long-chain polymers. These chains straighten when the material is stretched and recoil to their original shape upon removal of the load. This fundamental phenomenon contributes to the observed complex mechanical behaviour of rubber, making it a load-dependent material. Although mechanical behaviour and predictions for materials such as metals and plastics are well researched, very few analyses and prediction models have been carried out for elastomers. Most of these models include only a few parameters and are dependent on strain levels and/or strain energy density.****The proposed research program will focus on developing a new constitutive model for elastomers to account for strain rate effects and temperature effects, leading to better performance prediction of rubber components. We will undertake a comprehensive testing program in which simple tension, pure shear, biaxial extension, and volumetric compression tests will be performed to determine the viscoelastic properties of elastomers under quasi-static and dynamic loadings in different environments. The findings of this research program will represent a major contribution to the area of advanced materials and design in the automotive industry. In addition, the proposed work will result in the development of a methodology to characterize elastomers with unique properties specifically for industrial applications and, most importantly, the development and innovative engineering of rubber materials.**