EXPERIMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION AND MODELLING OF LARGE-STRAIN VISCOELASTIC BEHAVIOR OF A THERMOPLASTIC POLYURETHANE ELASTOMER

Abstract

ABSTRACT Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers (TPUs) are a kind of elastomer that can be processed as thermoplastics. These elastomers exhibit a highly nonlinear behavior characterized by hyper-elastic deformability. Furthermore, the mechanical behavior of these elastomers is time-dependent, that is, they exhibit a viscoelastic behavior. We describe the material response of a TPU under moderate strains (ɛ < 1) by using an overlay visco-hyperelastic model assuming separation of time dependence from nonlinear stress–strain behavior. To achieve this goal, cyclic loading–unloading experimental tests are carried out for two homogeneous deformation states, uniaxial tension and pure shear, and the strain–stress data are then analyzed to fit a hyperelastic model. Conversely, a viscoelastic model is obtained from relaxation tests. Finally, the visco-hyperelastic model is implemented in a finite element calculation tool (ABAQUS), and the numerical results show a reasonable correlation with experimental data. As a result, a overlay visco-hyperelastic model depending on maximum strain is proposed.