The Mullins' effect remains a major challenge in order to provide good mechanical modeling of the complex behavior of industrial rubber materials. It's been forty years since Mullins [1] wrote his review on the phenomenon and still no general agreement has been found either on the physical source or on the mechanical modeling of this effect. Therefore, we reviewed the literature dedicated to this topic over the past six decades. We present the experimental evidences, which characterize the Mullins' softening. The phenomenon is observed in filled and crystallizing rubbers. Then, the phenomenological models dedicated to fit the mechanical behavior of rubbers undergoing some Mullins' softening are studied. To overcome the limit of a descriptive phenomenological modeling, several authors looked for a physical understanding of the phenomenon. Various theories have been exposed, but none of them has been supported unanimously. Nonetheless, these theories favor the emergence of physically based mechanical behavior laws. We tested some of these laws, which show little predictive abilities since the values of their parameters do not compare well with the physical quantities they are linked to.

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is an open access repository that collects the work of Arts et Métiers ParisTech researchers and makes it freely available over the web where possible. AbstractAn acrylate polymer network was submitted to thermomechanical shape memory cycles. The set of experiments characterized the material stress-free strain recovery and the strain-constrained stress recovery in uniaxial tension. Experimental parameters like temperature of strain fixation, amount of strain and heating rate, were varied in order to provide a relatively complete set of experimental data. A model combining the amorphous polymer viscoelasticity and its time-temperature superposition property was used to predict the shape memory behavior of the acrylate polymer network. All the model parameters were characterized using classical tests for mechanical characterization of polymers, which do not include shape memory tests. Model predictions obtained by finite element simulations compared very well to the experimental data and therefore the model relevance for computer assisted application design was assessed.

Today, chitosan (CS) is probably considered as a biofunctional polysaccharide with the most notable growth and potential for applications in various fields. The progress in chitin chemistry and the need to replace additives and non-natural polymers with functional natural-based polymers have opened many new opportunities for CS and its derivatives. Thanks to the specific reactive groups of CS and easy chemical modifications, a wide range of physico-chemical and biological properties can be obtained from this ubiquitous polysaccharide that is composed of β-(1,4)-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-d-glucose repeating units. This review is presented to share insights into multiple native/modified CSs and chitooligosaccharides (COS) associated with their functional properties. An overview will be given on bioadhesive applications, antimicrobial activities, adsorption, and chelation in the wine industry, as well as developments in medical fields or biodegradability.