Influence of the Formulation of Elastomers On Their Fatigue Properties in Crack Growth

Elastomers exhibit complex fracture mechanical properties. The crack growth rate depends on polymers, fillers, curing state... For numerous applications, elastomeric parts often work under complex periodic loadings. The new Fatigue Test Analysers of Metravib ACOEM allows to perform fatigue crack growth tests at controlled tearing energy on pure shear samples. This method of loading is strongly recommended to compare dynamic fatigue properties of elastomers.

This presentation deals with crack growth rate measurements and comparison of several rubber compounds. The influence of several parameters of formulation and mixing would be presented on an SBR compound: the dispersion of filler, the antioxidant quantity, the curing system. All compounds are characterized with normalized mechanical tests such as uniaxial tensile, monotonic tearing, hardness; one is also tested with normalized fatigue tests as FTFT (Fatigue To Failure Tensile), DeMattia Flexing Fatigue Tester (in initiation and propagation).