ABSTRACT
Rubber is a living material of high complexity. Todays applications however demand for high accuracy in the estimation of the behavior of elastomeric components by numerical simulation through the whole life-cycle. Therefore, a large number of models deals with the description of the mechanical behavior of rubber under different loading conditions, and their change in time due to fatigue and ageing. Even when the focus is set on the mechanical properties, it must not be forgotten, that the underlying mechanisms are driven by physical as well as chemical processes. This is why all properties of rubber are highly temperature dependent and constitutive models for rubber are either temperature dependent, or only valid for certain constant temperatures. Therefore, the knowledge of the temperature and its distribution throughout the volume of a component is essential for a highly accurate prediction of its behavior. Examples of test specimen have shown, that the self-heating can change from un critical to destructive in the same experimental setup, when the rubber hardness is changed by only 5 ShA.
