On the Puncture Mechanics of Rubber

Abstract The mechanics of puncture have been studied experimentally and theoretically, by means of fracture mechanics. When a sharp cylindrical indentor penetrates rubber, a starter crack initiates as a ring on the rubber surface before puncture occurs. By treating this as militating puncture, an equation has been derived for the energy of puncture. The elastic energy stored in the rubber is considered in terms of the energy beneath and surrounding the indentor. An equation for the energy beneath the indentor is determined with the aid of a model experiment based on the biaxial stretching of rubber by inflation. The energy stored in the rubber surrounding the indentor is calculated using elasticity theory. The magnitude of these contributions is assessed for different indentor sizes and different rubber vulcanizates, The theoretical approach is shown to be verified by a series of experiment for sharp indentors. The values of puncture energy so obtained were found to agree well with the catastrophic tearing energy obtained from trouser tear tests. For blunt indentors which do not cause ring crack formation, other considerations are needed. These are discussed together with experimental results for hemispherical indentors.