ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Twisted polymeric cords are crucial to reinforce important industrial rubber components like tyres, driving belts, and air springs. Standard cords, consisting of multifilament yarns of only one material, are not always suitable to meet the component’s demands. To this end, yarns of different materials like aramid and nylon are combined, yielding a so-called hybrid cord. In this contribution, a Finite Element (FE) model of a hybrid cord including its geometry and filament structure is presented. In addition, a shell-like Representative Volume Element (RVE) is proposed, which enables the analysis of the stresses and strains at the highly loaded parts of a hybrid cord-rubber component like the rolling lobe of an air spring. The FE models are implemented in Abaqus utilizing several of its user subroutines. Further, the particular simulations are coupled by means of MATLAB to carry out parameter identifications, parameter studies, and optimizations. To demonstrate the opportunities emerging from these models, the optimization of a hybrid cord concerning its fracture force and the optimization of a cross ply-reinforced composite concerning the maximum strain of the rubber are presented.
