MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR AND FATIGUE STUDIES OF RUBBER COMPONENTS USED IN TRACKED VEHICLES

In this study, a styrene butadiene rubber, which is similar to the rubber used in road wheel backer pads of tracked vehicles, was investigated experimentally under monotonic and fatigue loading conditions. The monotonic loading response of the material was obtained under different stress states (compression and tension), strain rates (0.001/s to 3000/s), and temperatures (-5C to 50C). The experimental data showed that the material exhibited stress state, strain rate and temperature dependence. Fatigue loading behavior of the rubber was determined using a strain-life approach for R=0.5 loading conditions with varying strain amplitudes (25 to 43.75 percent) at a frequency of 2 Hz. Microstructural analysis of specimen fracture surfaces was performed using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy to determine the failure mechanisms of the material. The primary failure mechanisms for both loading conditions were found to be the debonding of particles on the order of 50 to 200 μm.