Fatigue and Fracture

Behavior of a
Steel Cord/Rubber Composite

S. RAO,1,* I.M. DANIEL1 AND D. MCFARLANE2

1Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208

2Bandag, Inc., Muscatine, IA 52761

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to investigate the fatigue and fracture be-
havior of steel cord/rubber composites used in tire belts under constant cyclic strain load-
ing. The material was a specially made tire belt layer in the form of rubber sheets reinforced
with unidirectional cords consisting of two pairs of twisted steel wires. Failure mecha-
nisms, damage development, and fatigue life were determined for single belt layers with
different cord orientations. Tests were conducted at cord angles of 22, 72, and 90 de-
grees with a cyclic strain amplitude of 8.3% at a frequency of 10 Hz. Five different stages of
damage development were observed: microcrack initiation, microcrack multiplication,
macrocrack formation, slow macrocrack propagation, and fast macrocrack propagation
leading to final failure. In the case of the 22 cord specimens, where the in-plane shear com-
ponent was dominant, damage development consisted of microcrack initiation at the
cord/rubber interface, the formation of more microcracks and macrocracks, and finally the
formation of a major fatal macrocrack along the cord direction. In the case of 90 cord spec-
imens, dominated by transverse tension, initial microcracks occurred within the cord, they
propagated across the thickness of the specimen, and finally a major macrocrack propa-
gated across the entire width of the specimen. The final crack propagated in part along the
cord/rubber interface and in part within the cord. In the case of the 72 cord specimens,
where both in-plane shear and transverse tension are critical, the initial microcracks oc-
curred within the cord and the final macrocrack along the interface. For the same cyclic
strain amplitude, the 90 specimens had the shortest fatigue life, and the 72 specimens had
the longest. Additional tests were conducted at different strain amplitudes. The normalized
modulus decreases slowly and nearly linearly with normalized fatigue lifetime up to a cer-
tain value of the latter, approximately 80% of the normalized logarithmic lifetime, and then
it drops sharply. Cyclic strain amplitude also affects the failure mechanisms. High ampli-
tudes produce localized damage, whereas low amplitudes produce dispersed damage. A re-
sidual life model was proposed based on stiffness degradation.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Present address: 1 Mountain View Road, Ericsson,
Lynchburg, VA 24502.

Journal of THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE MATERIALS, Vol. 14May 2001 213

1530-7980/01/03 021312 $10.00/0 DOI: 10.1106/J0J6-CWY8-PQU9-XYLB
2001 Technomic Publishing Co., Inc.

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214 S. RAO, I. M. DANIEL AND D. MCFARLANE

INTRODUCTION

HE OVERALL OBJECTIVE of tire retreading is to produce an optimal product

T with predictable and reliable behavior in service. To achieve this, it is neces-
sary to identify and evaluate the effects of the various material, processing, and
design parameters. This process consists of identification of failure mechanisms,
stress analysis of critical areas, material characterization under quasi-static, fa-
tigue, and environmental loading conditions, and development of life prediction
models. The performance and reliability of a retreaded tire depend not only
on the quality of the retread materials and their adhesion to the casing, but also
on the critical components of the casing itself. The preponderance of failures
in new and retreaded tires originates in the belt area and takes many forms.
The predominant failure mode is belt delamination or separation, debonding of
the wedge stock, cracking originating at the belt ends, adhesive crack growth
between a belt and surrounding rubber, and cohesive crack growth in the rubber
between belts.
The tire belt is the basic and also the most important component in modern tires.
It is essential to fully characterize its mechanical properties, deformation behav-
ior, and failure mechanisms under both static and fatigue loading. The tire belt it-
self is a typical steel-cord-reinforced rubber composite. A single cord in cord/rub-
ber composites consists of several steel wires twisted together. Because of
this twisted structure, cords are heterogeneous and exhibit highly anisotropic
behavior. The rubber material is very nonlinear, and its mechanical behavior
is much different from that of the steel cord. The rubber/cord interface is an-
other important factor affecting the overall behavior of the belt. The interface
conditions and failure mechanisms also change during loading. These fac-
tors have made it very difficult to characterize and understand the behavior of
these materials.
The belt and interface characterization above is an essential step in the investi-
gation of the durability of the tire, i.e., damage development and life prediction.
Lee et al. [1,2] have done a great deal of research on fatigue of cord/rubber lami-
nates under constant cyclic stress amplitude. Their observations indicate that dam-
age initiation and eventual structural failure of angle-ply cord/rubber composite
laminates are a strain controlled process. This means that gross failure of the
composite under constant cyclic stress occurs when the total strain accumulation,
i.e., cumulative creep strain, reaches the static failure strain. They have proposed
an empirical model to predict the fatigue lifetime of angle-ply cord-rubber
composite laminates. The model was based on dynamic creep rate, static tensile
strain for gross failure, and static strain during unloading from the maximum cy-
clic stress.
Service conditions for tires are more complex. Tires are subjected not to
constant amplitude stress cycling but to a more complex spectrum loading under

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Fatigue and Fracture Behavior of a Steel Cord/Rubber Composite 215

nonisothermal conditions. In the present investigation, the fatigue behavior of

tire belts was studied under constant cyclic strain amplitude. The fatigue behav-
ior, such as failure mechanisms and fatigue life, was fully characterized for
single belts with different cord orientations. The effect of cyclic strain ampli-
tude was also studied. The failure behavior of the single belt is essential in
understanding and predicting the behavior and fatigue life of multidirectional
belt laminates.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE AND RESULTS

Material and Specimen Preparation

Unidirectional single belts were obtained. They consisted of a rubber sheet rein-
forced with one layer of unidirectional steel cords. The cord consisted of two pairs
of twisted steel wires. Single belt coupons were prepared by water jet cutting of
belt sheets sandwiched between two plastic sheets. Table 1 describes the charac-
teristics of the belt material tested.
The specimens were tabbed at both ends by pure rubber material to reduce the
stress concentration due to clamping. A fixture was designed to tab several speci-
mens at the same time. The length of tabs is 32 mm (1.25 in.) at one end and 38 mm
(1.5 in.) at the other end. Fatigue testing was carried out on Fatigue Mechanics Inc.
LFE-150 testing machines. These machines provide constant cyclic strain ampli-
tude at a preset stroke through a reciprocating platen connected to a variable ec-
centric throw crank. A fixture was designed to allow for fatiguing six specimens at
a time on one machine. The displacement range of these machines is from 0 to 12.7
mm (0.5 in.). The peak cyclic strain was obtained by setting the displacement in
the machine to its maximum.

Fatigue Damage Mechanisms of Single Belt

Fatigue failure mechanisms in single belts with different cord angles were

Table 1. Characteristics of single belt materials.

Cord construction (2 + 2) 0.28 mm (0.011 in.)
Cord diameter 0.66 mm (0.026 in.)
Cord spacing 18 EPI (ends per inch)
Cord angle 0, 22, 72, 90
Cord volume ratio 11.18%
Specimen thickness 1.27 mm (0.05 in.)
Specimen width 25.4 mm (1.0 in.)
Specimen length 228.6 mm (9.0 in)

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216 S. RAO, I. M. DANIEL AND D. MCFARLANE

observed and recorded. Five tests were conducted on 22 cord angle belts, with
cyclic strain amplitude of 8.3% with R-ratio of 0.1 and a frequency of 10.0 Hertz.
The maximum strain of 8.3% was chosen to be a typical strain found in
tire belts during field application. Figure 1 shows failure mechanisms and the
evolution of fatigue damage. There are five different stages of damage develop-
ment: microcrack initiation at the interface between cord and rubber, increase
in density of microcracks, macrocrack formation at the interface, slow macro-
crack propagation, and fast crack propagation to final shear failure. Micro-
cracks occurred only at the edges in free cords and only on one side of
the interface as in the case of static loading. Experimental results are
summarized in Table 2. Figure 2 shows the history of macrocrack initiation and
propagation.
Six tests were conducted on 90 cord angle belts with a cyclic strain amplitude
of 8.3% and a frequency of 10.0 Hertz. Figure 3 shows the failure mechanisms
and damage evolution. Damage development consists of several stages, includ-
ing crack initiation within the cord, increase in microcrack density, macro-
crack formation, slow macrocrack propagation, and fast crack propagation to
final failure. Final failure surfaces show that some failures occurred within the
cord, but some failures occur partly at the interface and partly within the cord.
Figure 4 shows the macrocrack initiation and propagation history of the 90 belts.
Corresponding experimental results are summarized in Table 3.
Six tests were performed on 72 cord angle belts with a cyclic strain of 8.3% and

Figure 1. Damage development under fatigue loading (22 cord angle, max = 8.3%).

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Fatigue and Fracture Behavior of a Steel Cord/Rubber Composite 217

Table 2. Fatigue damage development in belts with 22 cord angle.

Stage of Damage Development Fatigue Cycles, N (106)

1. Microcrack initiation at cord/rubber interface 0.5949

2. Macrocrack initiation 1.40
3. Start of fast crack propagation 2.08
4. Final failure 2.67

a frequency of 10.0 Hertz. Figure 5 shows the different failure stages of damage
evolution. They are microcrack initiation within the cord, increase in microcrack
density, macrocrack formation, slow macrocrack propagation, crack arrest at the
twisted wires of the cord, and fast crack propagation to final failure. The fracture
surfaces show that the initial failure occurred within the cord and the final failure
always occurred at the interface. Figure 6 shows the macrocrack initiation and
propagation history of 72 belts, and the corresponding experimental results are
summarized in Table 4.
The failure mechanisms in all fatigue tests look quite similar to those under
monotonic loading, except for two obvious differences. The static properties and
failure mechanisms of single belts with different cord angles can be found in Ref-
erence [3]. The first difference is that under monotonic loading, the edge with
all free cords is saturated with microcracks before the formation of a macro-
crack; however, under fatigue loading, the macrocrack can occur at any low

Figure 2. Crack initiation and propagation in single belt under fatigue loading (22 cord an-
gle, max = 8.3%) (numbers on this figure indicate the specimen numbers).

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218 S. RAO, I. M. DANIEL AND D. MCFARLANE

Figure 3. Damage development under fatigue loading (90 cord angle, max = 8.3%).

Figure 4. Crack initiation and propagation in single belt under fatigue loading (90 cord an-
gle, max = 8.3%) (numbers on this figure indicate the specimen numbers).

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Fatigue and Fracture Behavior of a Steel Cord/Rubber Composite 219

Table 3. Fatigue damage development in belts with 90 cord angle.

Stage of Damage Development Fatigue Cycles, N (106)

1. Microcrack initiation within cord 0.439

2. Macrocrack initiation 0.909
3. Start of fast crack propagation 1.24
4. Final failure 1.32

microcrack density. The second difference is that under monotonic loading, once a
macrocrack is formed, it propagates very fast to failure, but under fatigue loading,
there is a long stage of slow macrocrack propagation.
Results show that under the same cyclic strain amplitude, specimens with a
90-cord angle have a much shorter fatigue life than specimens with 22 and 72
cord angles. Specimens with a 72 cord angle have the longest life and largest
number of fatigue cycles to macrocrack formation. Specimens with a 22 cord an-
gle have the longest stage of crack propagation.

Stiffness Degradation and Effect of Cyclic Strain Amplitude

The fatigue behavior of belts under different strain amplitudes was investigated.
Material degradation was monitored by recording the stress-strain properties at
different fatigue cycles. A fixture was designed to test a single specimen. A small
load cell (50 lb.) and an LVDT were mounted to measure the load and displace-
ment, respectively. The signals acquired by the computer from the load cell and
LVDT were amplified and entered into the digitizer.
For specimens with a 22 cord angle, three strain amplitudes, 5.4%, 8.3%, and
13.0%, were applied; for 90 cord specimens, three strain amplitudes, 5.4%,
10.6%, and 14.0% were applied; and for specimens with a 72 cord angle, three
strain amplitudes, 8.3%, 10.6%, and 13.0%, were applied. There were six samples
in each group. Figure 7 shows typical stress-strain curves for 10.6% strain at dif-
ferent numbers of cycles.

Table 4. Fatigue damage development in belts with 72 cord angle.

Stage of Damage Development Fatigue Cycles, N (106)

1. Microcrack initiation within cord 0.78

2. Macrocrack initiation within cord 2.64
3. Arrest of macrocrack within cord and start
of fast crack propagation along the
cord/rubber interface 3.37
4. Final failure 4.01

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220 S. RAO, I. M. DANIEL AND D. MCFARLANE

Figure 5. Damage development under fatigue loading (72 cord angle, max = 8.3%).

Figure 6. Damage development under fatigue loading (72 cord angle, max = 8.3%) (num-
bers on this figure indicate the specimen numbers).

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Fatigue and Fracture Behavior of a Steel Cord/Rubber Composite 221
Figure 7. Stress-strain curves of single cord/rubber composite at different fatigue cycles (90 cord an-
gle).
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222 S. RAO, I. M. DANIEL AND D. MCFARLANE

The modulus at the intermediate stage (the linear portion) was obtained directly
from these curves [3]. The normalized modulus was plotted versus normalized
logarithmic lifetime in Figure 8. These curves show that the normalized modulus
decreases slowly and approximately linearly up to a fixed value of log(n)/log (N)
and then drops sharply (n is the number of cycles and N is the fatigue life, En is the
modulus at n fatigue cycles and Eo is the original modulus). The bigger the cyclic
strain amplitude, the faster the modulus decreases. The overall behavior is similar
to what has been observed before in carbon/epoxy composites [4]. Strain-life
(S-N) curves for the three belts tested can be fitted by the following equations:

log N = 8.56 2.45 log() (for 22)

log N = 10.68 4.19 log() (for 72) (1)

log N = 8.91 2.95 log() (for 90)

It was found that the cyclic strain amplitude not only affects the fatigue life, but
also has a big influence on the failure mechanisms, particularly for the stages be-
fore macrocrack propagation on the surface. When the microcrack density reaches
a critical value, a macrocrack is formed. For 90 cord specimens, this value
changes from 14 cracks/inch to 6 cracks/inch when the strain amplitude increases
from 5.4% to 14.0%. This indicates that the deformation under high strain ampli-
tude becomes much more localized. For 72 cord specimens, strain amplitude af-
fects not only the value of the critical microcrack density but also the density of
macrocracks. For 22 cord specimens, at high strain, only a single macrocrack was
formed when the density of microcracks reached the value of 9 cracks/inch. How-
ever, at a lower cyclic strain, both sides of the specimen were saturated with
microcracks before a major crack was formed. The overall behavior of damage lo-
calization at high cyclic loads and damage dispersion at low cyclic loads is consis-
tent with prior studies on carbon/epoxy composites [5].

Prediction of Residual Fatigue Life

Considering the stiffness degradation curves in Figure 8, the linear portions be-
fore the critical point A can be fitted by a general empirical equation

E
log n / log N = 1 /( f ( ) 1) (2)
Eo

The function f() takes the following forms for cord angles of 90, 72, and 22.
Figure 9 shows the log (S) log (N) curves.

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Fatigue and Fracture Behavior of a Steel Cord/Rubber Composite 223

Figure 8. Normalized modulus En/Eo vs. normalized fatigue cycle.

Figure 9. Log (S) vs. log (N) curves of single belts.

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224 S. RAO, I. M. DANIEL AND D. MCFARLANE

f () = 1.05 0.018 + 6.6 10 4 2 (for 22)

f () = 1.14 0.018 (for 72) (3)

f () = 1.056 0.018 + 6.0 10 4 2 (for 90)

When the modulus of the damaged single belt is known, its residual fatigue life
can be predicted as
E
(log N ) 1 ( f ( ) 1)
Eo
Nr = N 10 (4)

where Nr is the residual fatigue life, N the total life which can be calculated from
Equation (1), and E the modulus of the damaged belt.

CONCLUSIONS

Single belts with different cord angles and cord structures were tested under fa-
tigue loading. Failure mechanisms are very different for various cord angles. Gen-
eral mechanisms are microcrack initiation at the edges due to the edge effect,
macrocrack formation at the edges, slow macrocrack propagation on the front sur-
face, and fast crack propagation. The effect of cyclic strain amplitude on the fail-
ure mechanisms was investigated. The most obvious effect is that with an increase
of strain amplitude, the failure tends to be more localized. S-N curves were ob-
tained for belts with different cord angles. The normalized modulus vs. normal-
ized fatigue cycles curves are found to be non-linear. Based on this behavior, an
equation was proposed to predict the residual life of a damaged belt.

REFERENCES

1. B. L. Lee, D. S. Liu, M. Chawla, and P. C. Ulrich, 1994. Fatigue of Cord-Rubber Composites,

Rubber Chemistry and Technology, 67(5):761774.
2. D. S. Liu and B. L. Lee, 1996. Cumulative Fatigue Damage of Angle-Plied Fiber-Reinforced
Elastomer Composites and Its Dependence on Minimum Stress, ASTM STP 1292, pp. 6785.
3. S. Rao, I. M. Daniel and D. McFarlane, 1999. Mechanical Properties and Failure Behavior of
Cord/Rubber Composite, SEM Annual Conference on Theoretical, Experimental and Computa-
tional Mechanics, pp. 821824.
4. I. M. Daniel, J. -W. Lee and G. Yaniv, 1988 Damage Development and Property Degradation of
Composite Material, in Mechanics of Composite Materials, G. J. Dvorak and N. Laws eds.
ASME AMD-Vol. 92, pp. 148160.
5. I. M. Daniel and A. Charewicz, 1986. Fatigue Damage Mechanisms and Residual Properties of
Graphite/Epoxy Laminates, Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 25(5/6):793808.

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