ABSTRACT
The crack growth approach considers the stored energy surrounding pre-existing flaws in the material and was first applied to rubber by Rivlin and Thomas (Rivlin and Thomas 1953). The critical energy at the flaw (tearing energy) is then used to predict the end of life. Breidenbach and Lake (Breidenbach and Lake 1979) extend the energetic approach presented by Rivlin and Thomas to crack growth in cord-rubber laminates. The specimens consist of a sheet of rubber containing two layers of symmetrically arranged and equally spaced
1 INTRODUCTION
Cord-rubber composites are used in tires, hoses, conveyor belts and air-springs, for example. They consist of multifilament yarns twisted to cords which are embedded in a rubber matrix. Due to their composition, cord-rubber composites are characterized by a high tensile stiffness and flexibility to shear loading and bending. The widespread use of cord-rubber composites in industries has lead to a considerable interest of the detailed fatigue behaviour.
