Search results for "filled rubber"

Softening of Silica Filled Styrene-Butadiene Rubber under Uniaxial Cyclic Loading

2016

Stress-strain behaviour of silica filled styrene-butadiene rubber showed strong hysteresis and cyclic softening, while these effects were almost negligible for the neat rubber. Significant Mullins effect occurs between the first and second loading cycles, whereupon samples reach their steady state after four repeated cycles. The degree of softening increases with volume content of silica characterizing the softening effect as a breakdown of the filler-formed microstructure defined by both, specific interactions in the filler associations and between the filler and rubber matrix. Contribution of different damage mechanisms to the total energy losses on different stages of extension was estim…