No abstract

No abstract

|Macromolecules 2011, 44, 4366-4381 Macromolecules ARTICLE 2.6. Tensile Testing. Tensile tests were done with a material testing machine (Zwick 1456, Z010, Ulm, Germany) with a crosshead speed of 200 mm min À1 (ISO 527) using optical strain control.

It is known that the application of fracture mechanics methods to rubbers generates some peculiarities. The first part of this paper deals with the simulation of tear fatigue analyzer (TFA) tests which are used to characterize crack propagation in rubber-like materials. With a combination of a mesoscopic model of self-similar crack propagation and a flow enhanced standard solid with nonlinear elastic and viscous elements it is possible to establish interconnections between mechanical fracturing tests and intrinsic material properties on the assumption of small elongations. In the second part we present a continuum mechanics approach based on the balance of the so-called pseudomomentum as the pull back of the balance of linear momentum onto the material manifold. Configurational forces appearing in this balance take into consideration anelastic behavior, thermal gradients and inhomogeneities. In this way fracture parameters similar to the well-known J-Integral can be established for rubber-like materials.