A study of the mechanical behavior of particle filled elastomers

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.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

1999

Author dc:creator

• Montalvo, Lizabeth A. (Lizabeth Ann), 1977-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• M.C. Boyce.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9349

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/9349