Characterisation of elastomers fracture behavior by energetic parameters

The knowledge of fracture behavior of elastomers necessitates the comprehension of crack initiation and propagation phenomena which pose difficulties related to the deformation of elastorners. The reliability of elastomer materials is linked to their resistance to rupture. This resistance can be evaluated using the global approach of fracture mechanics. The objective of this work is to numerically analyze by finite element method the characterization of rupture behavior of these materials on the basis of energetic parameters. Consideration is given to the evolution of the deformation energy density to quantify the energy of tear of a real material identified by hyper-elastic material models. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.