Modeling Ground Rubber as a Deformable Spherical Inclusion

Many attempts have been made to show how ground rubber affects the properties of rubber compositions containing them. In most of those works, there are many unknowns
including particle composition and properties, particle geometry and matrix changes due to chemical migration effects. In this work, the response of single particles modeled as
spheres in a natural rubber truck tread composition in tension are illustrated. It will be shown sphere debonding from the matrix depends greatly on the modulus of the particle
as well as particle size. A model equation will be constructed explaining this behavior. However, due to the ability of this Natural Rubber composition to withstand flaws, the
tensile strength and ultimate elongation remain high.