ABSTRACT
The mechanical properties of elastomer materials over the lifetime are outstandingly conditioned by heterogeneous thermo-oxidative ageing. In this work, an experimental and numerical methodology, that couples thermo-mechanical and oxygen diffusion-reaction finite-element-related models, is implemented and evaluated. Results suggest how thermo-oxidative ageing is strongly driven by diffusion limited effects (DLO) and impact the long-term mechanical properties. Based on that, the exploitation of elastomer thermo-oxidative ageing knowledge obtained at discrete combinations is achieved through the implementation of an automated workflow, based on Design of Experiment (DoE) techniques. Eventually, a tailored digital engineering tool, based on the Reduced Order Modelling (ROM) technique, is developed. This friendly tool supports the understanding and analysis of the thermo-oxidative ageing in an industrial EPDM-based component beyond the reasonable capabilities offered by traditional experimental and computational techniques.
