Seong-In Moon*, Il-Je Cho, Chang-Su Woo and Wan-Doo Kim
The Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 25, no. 5, pp.1159-1165, 2011

Abstract : Rubber components, which have been widely used in the automotive industry as anti-vibration components for many years, are subjected to fluctuating loads, often failing due to the nucleation and growth of defects or cracks. To prevent such failures, it is necessary to understand the fatigue failure mechanism for rubber materials and to evaluate the fatigue life for rubber components. The objective of this study is to develop a durability analysis process for vulcanized rubber components, that can predict fatigue life at the initial product design step. The determination method of nonlinear material constants for FE analysis was proposed. Also, to investigate the applicability of the commonly used damage parameters, fatigue tests and corresponding finite element analyses were carried out and normal and shear strain was proposed as the fatigue damage parameter for rubber components. Fatigue analysis for automotive rubber components was performed and the durability analysis process was reviewed.

Keyword : Fatigue life; Fatigue damage parameter; Rubber component; Suspension bush