Rate-Dependent Tensile Properties of Aluminum-Hydroxide-Enhanced Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Coatings for Solid Rocket Motors

Abstract

Quasi-static and dynamic tensile tests on aluminum-hydroxide-enhanced ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) coatings were conducted using a universal testing machine and a Split Hopkinson Tension Bar (SHTB) over a strain rate range of 10−3 to 103 s−1. This comprehensive study explored the tensile performance of enhanced EPDM coatings in solid rocket motors. The results demonstrated a significant impact of strain rate on the mechanical properties of EPDM coatings. To capture the hyperelastic and viscoelastic characteristics of EPDM coatings at large strains, the Ogden hyperelastic model was used to replace the standard elastic component to develop an enhanced Zhu–Wang–Tang (ZWT) nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive model. The model parameters were fitted using a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The improved constitutive model’s predictions closely matched the experimental data, accurately capturing stress–strain responses and inflection points. It effectively predicts the tensile behavior of aluminum-hydroxide-enhanced EPDM coatings within a 20% strain range and a wide strain rate range.