EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF HYPERELASTIC BEHAVIOR OF TIRE RUBBERS UNDER MODERATE FINITE DEFORMATION

Abstract

Abstract The hyperelastic behavior of unfilled natural rubber and some kinds of filled rubbers used in tire industry is tested by applying automated grid method. More accurate stress–strain data of tested rubber specimens at different temperatures are obtained. Test results show that different from the unfilled natural rubber whose stiffness increases linearly with temperature rising, the filled tire rubber has a tendency first to become soft and then to become stiff through its “critical temperature.” And this trend shift could be qualitatively interpreted by the joint action of two kinds of mechanisms, namely, the “energy elasticity” and the “entropy elasticity” effect. Besides, based on consideration of the relationship between model parameters and environmental temperature, the modified Arruda–Boyce model is extended to its explicit temperature-dependent form. Fitting results illustrate that this new model could take the temperature effect on hyperelastic behavior of tire rubbers into account well, and with an easy form, it is of convenient and practical usefulness in some relevant engineering application.