ABSTRACT
Significant softening of the elastomers occurs at the first few loading cycles. After that, the material properties remain constant. This phenomenon is called the Mullins effect. The Mullins effect happens only to the elastomers and elastomer-like materials. From the aspect of the molecular structure, the damage is caused by either a break of molecular chains at the interface of filler particles or a breakdown of filler particle clusters. A few models have been developed to predict the Mullins effect such as the Ogden–Roxburgh Mullins effect model and Qi–Boyce Mullins effect model. A tire compressed on a rigid road was modeled in ANSYS accompanying the Mullins effect. The damage during the rotation of the tire should be helpful for understanding the physical meaning of the Mullins effect. A 3D finite element model of a tire compressed on a rigid road was developed to simulate the Mullins effect of the tire.
