The Calculation of the Tear Energy of Elastomers from Their Viscoelastic Behavior

The creep behavior and the rate dependence of the tear energy have been determined on nine elastomers with widely varying structures. When compared at their glass temperatures the short-time creep compliances, J(t), were located at the same positions on the time scale. Therefore, the terminal zones of response were widely spaced depending on the breadth of the viscoelastic spectra. The positions of the tear energy curves were similarly positioned on the reciprocal rate scale. An equation is proposed for the calculation of tear energy curves from the viscoelastic retardation spectrum.