Testing and Analysis

Capturing Set and Plastic Behavior in Thermo-

plastic Elastomers and Elastomers used Near Tg
Objective
A material model is needed to describe the stress distribution and the set in an elastomeric part during use.

Introduction
At Axel, we fit material models based on the needs of the simulation, the capabilities 1.5

of the finite element software being used and the behavior of the material. In this Uniaxial Tension

case, the material will be compressed and somewhat confined in a metal housing. A 1.0

hyperelastic model is selected to capture the incompressible material behavior during

Stress
use to describe the complex strain field and predict the performance of the part. In 0.5

addition, the application requires that we predict the plastic set in the part as well.
In this case, the material does have significant set during in-use operations and the 0.0

simulation software Abaqus supports the combination of plastic and hyperelastic

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Strain
material descriptions. Uniaxial Tension Data with fit
(magenta).
Testing and Modeling Effort
Physical experiments are performed in multiple strain states so that the calibrated 1.5
Planar Tension

hyperelastic model describes the material behavior during its complex deformation.
Multiple models are reviewed and the simplest math model with the best fit is 1.0

selected. The experiments run are the three classic experiments: uniaxial tension,
Stress
planar tension (pure shear), and equal biaxial extension. Because the part will 0.5

experience significant confinement, a volumetric experiment is performed to capture

the bulk behavior. Uniaxial compression is avoided because of adverse friction effects
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Strain
during the experiment.
Planar Tension Data with fit
(magenta).
The experiments were run using a slow cyclic time-strain loading-unloading pattern.
The test specimens were stretched from zero stress to 20% strain and unloaded to 2.5
Equal Biaxial
zero stress 5 times and then strained to 40% strain and unloaded to zero stress 5 2.0

times and on to 60% and 100% strain levels in the same way. This loading pattern 1.5

allows us to observe the effects of Mullins softening on the material stiffness and
Stress

also allows us to observe any plastic strain accumulation. The 20%, 40%, 60%, and
1.0

100% strain levels were selected because these strains are typical of the strains in the 0.5

part during use. 0.0

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Strain

We approach this by separating the plastic, the hyperelastic, and Mullins softening Equal Biaxial Extension Data
with fit (magenta).
parts of the material model. The plastic behavior is first extracted by using the
loading-unloading data to identify the plastic strain resulting from the total stress
at each of the 20%, 40%, 60%, and 100% strain maximums. A first pass isotropic

Axel Products, Inc. www.axelproducts.com

plastic material model can be identified and the remaining elastic behavior can be separated. At Axel, we have an
in-house software tool to do this. The tools to perform this operation also exist in CAE and are well documented in
the Simulia Learning Community material modeling page.

After the plastic behavior is separated, hyperelastic and Mullins models may be constructed for the modified data
sets. To do this, an “envelope” curve is first constructed from the data set to represent what would be similar to a
first-time loading. The uniaxial tension, planar tension, and equal biaxial extension data are first fitted to a suitable
hyper-elastic model. The complete data sets are then prepared for the Mullins fitting. We do this by extracting the
first and last loadings to each strain level. This is preferred over trying to fit the entire data set because the number
of data points is large and because the Mullins can only describe the final condition. Having the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
loading-unloading curves in the fitting process doesn’t help. Finally, the Mullins terms are fitted by using the all of
the data in one operation.

We used a commercial fitting tool, Hyperfit, to do the fitting operation. The same data handling tasks would be
applicable using other fitting tools.

The last step is to run single element models to verify that the material model performs as expected in the simulation
software under the loading conditions of the experiments. This step must happen. In this case, we ran Abaqus single
element simulations in uniaxial tension, planar tension, and equal biaxial extension and compared these results to
the experimental data. This is a complex material model and verification is critical.

Using the math from Simulia Support Note QA00000041611, the plastic (upper
right) and elastic (lower left) are separated from the total data set (upper left).

Test Plan Summary: Analysis Tools Summary:

Uniaxial Tension Test, Slow Cyclic Loading, 23C Axel Internal Data Handling Tools
Planar Tension Test, Slow Cyclic Loading, 23C Hyperfit fitting utility
Uniaxial Tension Test, Slow Cyclic Loading, 23C Simulia Abaqus for Single Element Verification
Volumetric Compression, 23C

Axel Products, Inc. 2 www.axelproducts.com

 Hyperelastic-
Typical Specimen Test Test Data Mullins Curves Plastic Separation
Uniaxial Tension
Uniaxial Tension
2.0 2.0 1.5
Uniaxial Tension

Uniaxial Plastic

Tensile
1.5 1.5

1.0

Stress

Stress
Stress
1.0 1.0

0.5
0.5 0.5 Elastic

0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6

Strain Strain Strain

3.0
4.0
Equal Biaxial Extension
4.0
Equal Biaxial Extension
Equal Biaxial

Equal Biaxial
3.5 3.5 2.5

3.0 3.0

Extension
2.0 Plastic
2.5 2.5

Stress
Stress
Stress
1.5
2.0 2.0

1.5 1.5
1.0

1.0 1.0
0.5 Elastic
0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6

Strain Strain Strain

2.5 2.5
Planar Tension
Planar Tension (Pure Shear) Planar Tension (Pure Shear)

Planar
1.5
2.0 2.0

Plastic

Tension 1.5 1.5

1.0
Stress

Stress

Stress
1.0 1.0

0.5

0.5 0.5 Elastic

0.0 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6

Strain Strain Strain

Volumetric Compression
Directly
Measure Plunger

Volumetric
300

Compression 200
Stress

100

Specimen

0
Bulk Modulus

0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08

Strain
Removable Base to Extract Specimen

For more information, visit www.axelproducts.com.

Axel Products provides physical testing services for engineers and analysts. The focus is
on the characterization of nonlinear materials such as elastomers and plastics.

Axel Products, Inc.

2255 S Industrial
Ann Arbor MI 48104
Tel: 734 994 8308
Fax: 734 994 8309
info@axelproducts.com