Constitutive model effects on finite element modeling of elastomer behavior in radial interference seal configurations

Abstract

Elastomers are becoming more prevalent in everyday products, and it is very important to be able to describe their behavior. Particularly, with advancements in computer hardware and software, the use of finite element analysis in design and analysis is becoming more prevalent. However, there is no accepted and agreed upon method to generally describe elastomer behavior in the finite element codes. Evaluation of two existing material models found in most FEA packages was conducted using experimental data gathered and fit to each model's strain energy function. The effects of using various combinations of material model and experimental data have been studied. The modeling started with simple stress states and progressed to some more general in nature. The two strain energy fimctions used were the Mooney-Rivlin and a 5 term expansion of the Rivlin series called the Polynomial (N=2) function.