On the determination of the critical J-integral in rubber-like materials by the single specimen test method

The applicability of SENT and PS specimen geometries for single-specimen determination of J-integral in rubber-like materials based upon η factor is numerically and experimentally investigated. Both η and η∗ are shown to be strongly material- and load level-dependent. So, a unique constant value for these parameters could not be presented. For the PS specimen, it is shown that the previously reported unit value for the η factor is not correct. However, compared to the multiple-specimen results, reliable single-specimen estimations of Jc could still be obtained using the numerically calculated η values if appropriate constitutive parameters have been already provided.