Influence of operating temperature on the measured and predicted lifetime of carbon black-filled hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber

This work analyses the influence of the operating temperature on the lifetime of carbon black filled elastomers. The crack growth properties and the lifetime of elastomers are temperature dependent. The increase of temperature at the same nominal stress leads to an increase of crack growth rate and consequently to a decrease of the lifetime. The lifetime prediction is performed using the Monte Carlo principle. Carbon black agglomerate are randomly distributed in the investigated test volume. By combining the crack growth properties, agglomerate distribution and the local deformation in the component, the lifetime prediction can be performed. The prediction curves show good agreement with the measured lifetime at different operating temperatures and different loading levels.