A Rheologist^|^rsquo;s View of Mechanical Properties of Rubbers

Abstract

Some thoughts concerning rubber elasticity by a rheologist are described. The author raises some rheologically important issues that seem to be largely neglected for the non-rheologists in the field of rubber science and technology. One is that the network strands of rubbers undergo micro-Brownian thermal motion, and the rubbery network is much denser than that conceived generally. The second is that the mechanical data of rubbers involving finite vis-coelastic effects are often analyzed by the theories for purely elastic solids. The third is the risk of the analysis relying on the mechanical data of only uniaxial deformation as well as the significance of various types of deformation in mechanical tests.