Numerical studies on the heat dissipation process in elastomers under rotating loading direction

Abstract

AbstractElastomeric components such as car bearings and vibration dampers are subjected to dynamic loads with various amplitudes and loading directions during operation. To better understand the lifetime expectancy of these components it is required to implement a material model that sufficiently accounts for the material thermo-mechanical behaviour. This paper implements a finite viscoelastic model which includes heat dissipation and addresses the effect of inelasticity on the self-heating and the applied loading conditions. The material model is implemented in a user subroutine and finite element calculations are carried out on a simple shear loading with rotating directions. The self-heating effect and the resulting variation of the dissipation induced forces are shown and discussed. With the aid of the presented material model, thermo-mechanically coupled simulations can be performed. Based on the results, the required loading limits and boundary conditions for the mechanical fatigue tests can be defined to minimise the thermal fatigue effects.