Modelling of frequency- and amplitude-dependent material properties of filler-reinforced rubber

Filler-reinforced elastomers are extremely complicated materials with pronounced deformation and temperature history-dependent material properties. In the current paper, the dynamic material behaviour is investigated and modelled. To this end. a carbon black-filled rubber compound is loaded with harmonic deformations under different frequencies and amplitudes and the stationary stress response is evaluated in terms of the storage and the loss modulus or, equivalently, in terms of the dynamic modulus and the loss angle. In this essay, detailed experimental investigations of the dynamic material properties of carbon black-filled elastomers are provided and a new three-dimensional constitutive approach of finite nonlinear viscoelasticity to represent the observed material behaviour is developed. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.