New aspects in rubber elasticity: a challenge for theoretical physics and applied materials sciences.

Abstract

Various new aspects in the elasticity of rubbers and statistics of elastomers are discussed. The role of network topol. is crucial in the statistics of rubbers. This is seen mostly on the influence of heterogeneities of crosslink d. which det. ultimate properties as well as the elastic modulus. The filler problem is discussed. A localization model is adopted, where it can be shown that on a rough surface more polymer can be adsorbed compared to a flat surface with similar energetic properties. Various consequences for practical applications are discussed in detail. [on SciFinder(R)]