Tension responses of carbon black filled rubbers at intermediate and high strain rates: Experimental investigation and modeling

Abstract The uniaxial tensile stress – strain responses of carbon black filled rubbers were experimentally investigated at various strain rates of 0.001, 0.05, 2.5 and 400 s −1 . A conventional hydraulically driven material testing system, an intermediate strain‐rate testing system and a split‐Hopkinson tension bar were respectively utilized to carry out the monotonic tensile loadings at quasi‐static, intermediate and high strain rates. A complete experimental strategy for intermediate strain‐rate testing of rubber‐like materials with low modulus and low strength was proposed including constant strain‐rate loading, sample clamping and dynamic force measuring methods. The experimentally obtained engineering stress ‐ strain results show that the tensile properties of carbon black filled rubbers are highly nonlinear and rate‐dependent. A visco‐hyperelastic constitutive model based on the modified eight‐chain model parallel with three linear Maxwell elements was developed to describe the tensile responses of carbon black filled rubbers. Especially, the relationship between the number of Maxwell elements used in the model and the tested strain rate range was discussed.