A study of the mechanical behavior of particle filled elastomers

Abstract

The ability of elastomeric materials to undergo relatively large deformations in an elastic manner makes them the material of choice for a wide range of applications. Filler particles, such as carbon black, can be added to the elastomer to alter the mechanical behavior of the material when subjected to various loading conditions. The size, shape, and amount of filler particle added to the elastomer effects the mechanical properties. In this study, the micromechanics of filled elastomers are studied. We use the simple two dimensional axisymmetric Voronoi - Body Centered Cubic model, created by Socrate and Boyce [4], to aid in predicting the mechanical behavior of filled elastomers by means of a finite element program, ABAQUS. The effect of filler particles with 10%, 15%, and 20% volume fractions on the macroscopic axial stress vs. strain behavior and the microscopic strain and stretch of the matrix material are studied when the composite material is subjected to tensile and compressive uniaxial loading. The matrix material is taken to be chloroprene rubber. The study finds that the filler particles act to amplify the stretch incurred locally in the matrix material thus resulting in stiffer macroscopic behavior of the composite material as the volume fraction of filler particles is increased.