Fatigue Life of

Rubber Components

Presented by: Abdul Hakim Abdullah

Presentation Outline
Introduction
Literature Review
Research Methodology
Project Expectation
Project Milestone

Introduction

Introduction
Elastomeric materials is mainly used for

vibration isolation, as a electrical insulator

Can absorb energy better than most material
Ex: 40,000+ times grey cast iron, 100+ times more than wood

Elastomeric materials normally exhibit a

hyperelasticity behaviour
This project primarily focused on the life-

prediction of elastomeric material

Typical Elastomeric Component In

Automotive
Engine Rubber Mount
Tyres
Conventional suspension component and

system
Mounting for large internal combustion engine
in ship
Mounting of Instrument Packages in Aircraft

Example of Rubber in Automotive

A car suspension bump rubber

Engine mount

Problem Statement
Currently, there are no finite element software

that can predict the life cycle of rubber

Lack of experimental data
Depend on the hyperelasticity model
The model determine the accuracy of stress strain
relationship

Currently rubber component, the life is

determined using experiment of an actual

condition
Time consuming
High cost of testing and experiment

Objective
To create subroutine/post-process
Calculate the number of cycles before the
component fails
To compare the result of simulation of rubber

component and the experimental data

Literature Review

Advantages and Disadvantage

Using Subroutine
(D) Required a compiler (usually written in

Fortran) *If it is precompiled, it is not required.

(A) The calculation of fatigue for each material
point is done on the fly.
(A) Suitable for industries since it is
incorporated in the FEA software itself.
(A) Provide better graphical interpretation of the
weakest point of any geometry
* This method will be used
(A) Advantage (D) - Disadvantage

Previous and Current Research

Mars and Fatemi suggest there is 2 ways of

predicting fatigue
Crack nucleation
Crack growth

C.S. Woo, W.D. Kim and J.D. Kwon, S.K. Koh

studied the material properties of natural

rubber component
Based on Crack Nucleation

N. Sainter, G. Cailletaud, R. Piques also has

conducted studies the fatigue due to

multiaxial load

Research
Methodology
Flow Diagram

Start
Choose Constitutive Law:
Hyperelastic Model: Ogden,
Mooney-Rivlin, Neo
Hookean, Arruda-Boyce

Conduct Tensile Test

Select existing material

constant if available. If not
available, obtain from
experimental result

Tensile
Test on
Specim
en

Conduct Fatigue Test

Fatigue
Test on
Specim
en

Run Simulation

Simulation Result

Not Satisfy
Squared Error
>5%

Use the
Hyperelasticity
Model

Fatigue
Test on
Rubber
Compone
nt

Experimental
Result

Compare

Experimental
Result
Squared Error
<5%
Create Fatigue
Law

Program a Subroutine
Compare
Squared Error >5%

END

Experimental
Result
Squared
Error>5%

Example of Specimen

Fatigue life estimation of an engine rubber mount, W.D. Kim, H.J. Lee, J.Y. Kim, S.-K. Koh, International Journal of Fatigue 26 (2004) 553560

Project
Expectation
Graph/Figure

Example of the Output In ABAQUS

UVARM (USER VARIABLE AT MATERIAL
POINT)

Shows the Number of

Cycle

Minimum N of Cycle

: UVARM1, UVARM2, UVARM3 fatigue cycle is calculated using min, med, max principal strain respectiv

Project Milestone
Gantt Chart

Activities\Date

Jan
Feb Mac April May June July Aug Sep
Oct Nov Dec
123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

Literature Reviews, Studies

Learning ANSYS, ABAQUS

Learning FORTRAN
Running a Hyperelastic Model Simulation Using
Constant in Published Paper

Neo Hookean

Mooney Rivlin

Ogden

Arruda-Boyce
Tensile Test Experimental on Stress-Strain
Relationship for Rubber

Comparison of hyperelasticity model between

Experimental Data and Simulation

Tweaking the hyperelasticity constant, choose

suitable model
Experimental Life Determination of Rubber
Specimen
Experimental Life Determination of Rubber
Component
Developing Fatigue Law Based on the
Experimental Data
Write the Subroutine

Conclusion
The project worthy to be carried out -

outcome of this project

Able to predict life of rubber subjected to cyclic

loading
The research proved to be valuable to
industries

Cost/Time Saving

Reference