Micro-Level of Polymer-Filler Interaction

A challenging task for future developments in the rubber industry is a virtual material design based on computer simulations. In this paper, we are presenting a basic study of polymer-filler interaction by modeling adhesion behavior through constitutive-like assumptions for the interface. We treat EPDM with glass spheres as a filler and examine agglomerates consisting of various aggregates as the smallest objects within our model. The experimental result of increasing stiffness due to a better dispersion of such spheres at a given filling degree of 1 phr is modeled in a 3D FE analysis. The assumption of an interphase layer allows the introduction of an additional length in order to establish the given effect of dispersion.