Modeling of strain‐induced crystallization in natural rubbers

Abstract

Strain‐Induced Crystallization (SIC) is a phenomenon characterized by a considerable increase in stiffness of natural rubbers. In this contribution, this phenomenon is studied in filled natural rubbers and a constitutive model of SIC is proposed. The influence of SIC on the mechanical behavior is described by means of the entropic strain energy subjected to a change due the crystallization. The distribution of crystallines is formulated on the basis of a statistical approach. Their contribution to the partial immobilization of polymer chains is accounted for by assuming the crystalline phase and the amorphous phase to be two separate networks. Finally, the model is compared with available experimental results of uniaxial tension tests. (© 2011 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)