ASSESSMENT OF A NEW ISOTROPIC HYPERELASTIC CONSTITUTIVE MODEL FOR A RANGE OF RUBBERLIKE MATERIALS AND DEFORMATIONS

ABSTRACT The choice of an appropriate strain energy function W is key to accurate modeling and computational finite element analysis of the mechanical behavior of unfilled non-crystalizing rubberlike materials. Despite the existing variety of models, finding a suitable model that can capture many deformation modes of a rubber specimen with a single set of parameter values and satisfy the a priori mathematical and structural requirements remains a formidable task. Previous work proposed a new generalized neo-Hookean W (I1) function, showing a promising fitting capability and enjoying a structural basis. We now use two extended forms of that model that include an I1 term adjunct, W (I1, I2), for application to various boundary value problems commonly encountered in rubber mechanics applications. Specifically, two functional forms of the I2 invariant are considered: a linear function and a logarithmic function. The boundary value problems of interest include the in-plane uniaxial, equi-biaxial, and pure shear deformations and simple shear, inflation, and nonhomogeneous deformations such as torsion. By simultaneous fitting of each model to various deformation modes of rubber specimens, it is demonstrated that a single set of model parameter values favorably captures the mechanical response for all the considered deformations of each specimen. It is further shown that the model with a logarithmic I2 function provides better fits than the linear function. Given the functional simplicity of the considered W (I1, I2) models, the low number of model parameters (three in total), the structurally motivated bases of the models, and their capability to capture the mechanical response for various deformations of rubber specimens, the considered models are recommended as a powerful tool for practical applications and analysis of rubber elasticity.

Indentation of a prestretched strain-stiffening elastomer

Strain-stiffening behavior of materials such as rubberlike materials and biological soft tissues is an important phenomenon. In this paper, we proposed a surface Green’s function tensor to describe the strain-stiffening behavior of the stretchable elastomer based on the Gent constitutive model. The surface Green’s function tensor of the Gent constitutive model can be recovered to that of neo-Hookean model, and applied to the indentation problem with a flat-ended cylindrical indenter. The relation between the indentation force and strain-stiffening parameter is analytically derived for equi-biaxial prestretched elastomers. The study shows that the strain-stiffening of the elastomer has a great impact on indentation behaviors, especially for the cases of large prestretches. For a given indentation depth, the indentation force decreases with the increase of the strain-stiffening parameter. For a given stiffening parameter, the indentation force increases with the increase of the prestretches. The proposed surface Green’s function tensor has also potential applications in other fields, such as wetting, cell migration, self-assembly on strain-stiffening materials, etc.