ABSTRACT
Of course if we want to ask why rubber is elastic, then the first thing to do is to investigate how elastic it actually is. This can be done by making a stress-strain diagram. A qualitative representation of a typical stress-strain diagram for rubber is shown in Figure 8.2 and can be divided into three major parts, namely:
When the stress is small, the corresponding strain is a linear function of the stress and well described by Hooke’s law. In this region (labeled A in the figure), the deformation is fully elastic and recoverable.
