ABSTRACT
Elastomeric parts in trains and cars like layer springs, cone springs or engine mounts are often loaded by static preloads resulting from the mass of vehicle's body or engine. Depending on the material this loads can result in creep that changes the length and stiffness of the rubber part. To predict the creep performance of a static loaded rubber part about a long lifetime under service temperature a combination of experiments and calculation can be applied. In a law described by Stevenson and Campion the creep is divided into the physical and chemical creep. The change in height of a loaded part is a process which includes the physical creep, the chemical creep and some thermal expansion effects. The temperature dependence of the chemic creep is described by the Arrhenius equation. The Arrhenius-exponent end a reference creep at a reference temperature has to be identified by at least two creep tests.
