ABSTRACT
General thermomechanical analyses of elastomers require both thermoelastic and thermophysical properties over a whole range of temperatures and finite deformations. In this paper, a device is described that can measure three components of thermal diffusivity of elastomers that are subject to the biaxial loads, causing finite strains of up to 100 percent, and temperatures from 20 to 100°C. Data analysis is accomplished by a Marquardt parameter estimation using a finite difference solution of the diffusion equation. Reported here are preliminary measurements of the out-of-plane spatial thermal diffusivity in natural gum rubber specimens subjected to uniaxial and equal biaxial loading.
