Elastic misfit in two-phase polymer

The present work presents a model to evaluate the average inclusion strain in the matrix of a bulk polymer. The new model considers a two-phase polymer (matrix and inclusions), where the bulk sample is partitioned in small elementary cubes. Taking a large enough number of partitions, each element can be considered to be composed of a single phase, where adjacent elements may be composed by different phases. Moreover, the size of the elementary cubes of the partition is chosen to allow for the accurate representation of the material properties. The model takes into account the interaction between inclusions, and therefore, for different amount of volume fractions of inclusions within the matrix. Experimental results show that the model gives an accurate representation of the average strain in the rubber matrix caused by the crystallites in a two-phase polymer as EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene M-class rubber).

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