ABSTRACT
Exposure of rubber materials to high-pressure diffusive gases and decompression can lead to cavitation and cracking depending on the exposure conditions. This decompression failure phenomenon has almost only been studied at a global scale so far. A double difficulty to handle the problem at the cavity scale is to access the complex loading of the cavity, due to full diffuso-mechanical couplings, and to track the kinetics of cavity inflation. A precise tridimensional and time-resolved tracking of cavities is needed. It was the aim of the reported work in unfilled Ethylene-Propylene Di-Monomer (EPDM), based on an in-situ X-ray tomography experiment initially developed under synchrotron environment (SOLEIL, France). The gain in spatial and temporal resolution made it possible to access the very first stages of growth, to properly quantify anisotropy and to detect residual damage. These different elements showed the existence of a first rapid spherical growth regime which then evolved into an anisotropic regime which reflected an underlying fracture process.
