A general hyperelastic-time model for numerical prediction on rubber relaxation and experimental validation under different environments

All the methods developed for rubber creep and relaxation are validated to specific environments for now. In general, for each new loading case and new component, a data fitting procedure has to be performed to obtain different suitable parameters. This limitation has restricted developments of the theories and their applications. This article investigates a possibility to predict the time-dependent response from data of known conditions using the time-dependent hyperelastic approach. A number of hypotheses are proposed for considered conditions, i.e., loading, material hardness, and different components, and are validated with experimental data using a dumbbell specimen and a typical industrial anti-vibration product. It has been proved that the concept of effective strain is a good criterion to bridge two different rubber components for time-dependent predictions. Hence, the application restriction of the hyperelastic-time model is successfully lifted. For the first time, it is possible to predict, not to simulate only, rubber creep/relaxation based on known parameters. By combination with previous work on temperature effect, a general hyperelastic-time model with multiple capabilities can be established and used to predict time-dependent response of rubber components. It is desirable to apply this approach on more engineering cases for further verification. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2019. (c) 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers