An Interval Prediction of Chloroprene Rubber Crack Propagation Characteristics Based on Thermal Accelerated Aging

Abstract

Thermo-oxidative aging plays an important role in changing the properties of rubber materials; it significantly decreases the fatigue life of air spring bags and further causes safety hazards. However, due to the great uncertainty of rubber material properties, an effective interval prediction model has not been established considering the effect of aging on airbag rubber properties. To solve the problem, this study proposes an interval parameter correlation model that can more accurately describe rubber crack propagation characteristics by considering material uncertainty. Furthermore, an aging prediction model of the rubber crack propagation characteristic region is established based on the Arrhenius equation. The effectiveness and accuracy of the method are verified by comparing the test and prediction results under the temperature spectrum. The method can be used to determine the variations in the interval change of the fatigue crack propagation parameters during rubber aging and can guide fatigue reliability analyses of air spring bags.