Predicting failure in rubber membranes: An experimental-numerical approach

A material model to predict tearing of a rubber membrane in finite element analysis was developed. Using experimental data from uniaxial tension test and tearing of rubber sheets, we combined a cohesive traction law with a hyper-viscoelastic constitutive equation to create this material model. The resulting material model described hyper-viscoelastic behavior before damage, damage initiation, and damage evolution and consequent crack growth through a finite element mesh. The numerical simulations of tearing rubber sheets were found to be in good agreement with test data in terms of force-displacement response, onset of fracture and crack growth path. A key advantage of using this proposed material model is that there was no need to pre-define crack paths in the finite element analysis. Crack paths were controlled by the damage initiation and evolution laws as well as the tearing energy of the rubber.