Estimation of the Compression Modulus of a Technical Rubber via Cyclic Volumetric Compression Tests

Abstract

In many applications for finite element (FE) simulations rubber materials are assumed to be nearly incompressible by applying a high ratio between compression modulus and shear modulus. The compression modulus is commonly given as a constant value in FE analysis. In reality this assumption is not fully correct. Influencing factors like the compressibility of the included filler can lead to a notably change of the compression modulus during mechanical loading. The focus of this work is on the estimation of the cyclic evolution of the compression modulus for a technical ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) by using cyclic volumetric compression tests.