ABSTRACT

In the present work, a finite strain thermo-viscoelastic-damage model is used to predict the cyclic thermo-mechanical response of bulk rubber samples during fatigue. The model parameters were identified and verified using experimental observations on stress-softening, hysteresis and dissipative heating obtained in thin rubber samples containing different amounts of carbon-black and cyclically loaded under different minimum stretch levels. Predicted evolutions of the heat build-up temperature and damage fields in bulk rubber samples during fatigue are discussed.