ABSTRACT
The Filler-reinforced vulcanized rubber and its blends are frequently-used for engineering applications, e.g. tires, base isolation bearings, air springs, acoustic coatings, tunnel linings for over a century (cf. Morawetz 2000, Amin et al. 2002, 2006). To shape the geometry of these products, geometric nonlinearities need to be considered together with the mechanical properties. The application of a numerical procedure which considers an adequate constitutive model founded on nonlinear continuum mechanics and the principles of thermodynamics (c.f. Haupt 2000) can bring realistic sophistication to a computer aided design and manufacturing process.
