A novel phenomenological model for predicting hysteresis loss of rubber compounds obtained from ultra-large off-the-road tires

The objective of this study was to develop a novel phenomenological model that can predict the hysteresis loss of rubber compounds obtained from ultra-large off-the-road (OTR) tires under typical operating conditions at mine sites. To achieve this, first, cyclic tensile tests were conducted on tire tread compounds to derive the experimental results of hysteresis curves, peak stress, residual strain, and hysteresis loss at 6 strain levels, 8 strain rates, and 14 rubber temperatures. Then, referring to these experimental results, a phenomenological model was developed – the HLSRT model (a hysteresis loss model considering strain levels, strain rates, and rubber temperatures). This HLSRT model was generated based on a novel strain energy function that was modified from the traditional Mooney-Rivlin (MR) function, and the model was used to predict the hysteresis loss of rubber compounds in OTR tires. The prediction results show that the HLSRT model estimated the hysteresis loss of tire tread compounds with average and maximum mean absolute percent errors (MAPEs) of 11.2% and 18.6%, respectively, at strain levels ranging from 10% to 100%, strain rates from 10% to 500% s−1, and rubber temperatures from −30°C to 100°C. These MAPEs were relatively low when compared with previous studies, showing that the HLSRT model has higher prediction accuracy. For the first time, the HLSRT model derived from this study has provided a new approach to predicting the hysteresis loss of OTR tire rubbers to guide the use of OTR tires in truck haulage at mine sites.

A generalized strain approach to anisotropic elasticity

This work proposes a generalized Lagrangian strain function $$f_\alpha$$ f α (that depends on modified stretches) and a volumetric strain function $$g_\alpha$$ g α (that depends on the determinant of the deformation tensor) to characterize isotropic/anisotropic strain energy functions. With the aid of a spectral approach, the single-variable strain functions enable the development of strain energy functions that are consistent with their infinitesimal counterparts, including the development of a strain energy function for the general anisotropic material that contains the general 4th order classical stiffness tensor. The generality of the single-variable strain functions sets a platform for future development of adequate specific forms of the isotropic/anisotropic strain energy function; future modellers only require to construct specific forms of the functions $$f_\alpha$$ f α and $$g_\alpha$$ g α to model their strain energy functions. The spectral invariants used in the constitutive equation have a clear physical interpretation, which is attractive, in aiding experiment design and the construction of specific forms of the strain energy. Some previous strain energy functions that appeared in the literature can be considered as special cases of the proposed generalized strain energy function. The resulting constitutive equations can be easily converted, to allow the mechanical influence of compressed fibres to be excluded or partial excluded and to model fibre dispersion in collagenous soft tissues. Implementation of the constitutive equations in Finite Element software is discussed. The suggested crude specific strain function forms are able to fit the theory well with experimental data and managed to predict several sets of experimental data.

Swelling Elastomers: Comparison of Material Models

Little data is available about the material properties and swelling response of the elsatomers used in swell packers. This information is necessary for modeling and simulation of these elastomers in different petroleum applications. An experimental setup was therefore designed and implemented at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) to investigate the material behavior of these elastomers under tension and compression, so that these properties could be used for different simulations. Before developing a finite element model (FEM) of elastomer seal performance, it was felt that a thorough evaluation needs to be carried out to decide which of the currently available material models is most suitable for swelling elastomers. This comparison translates into the selection of the correct strain energy function for accurate determination of material coefficients. Different hyperelastic material models are compared here. Experimental investigations under tensile and compressive loads, along with their numerical analysis are presented in detail in this chapter.

Biomechanical Constitutive Modeling of the Gastrointestinal Tissues: Where Are We?

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is a continuous channel through the body that consists of the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, the large intestine, and the rectum. Its primary functions are to move the intake of food for digestion before storing and ultimately expulsion of feces from the rectum through the anal sphincter. The mechanical behavior of GI tissues thus plays a crucial role for GI function in health and disease. The mechanical properties are typically characterized by a constitutive biomechanical model, which is a mathematical representation of the relation between load and deformation in a tissue. Hence, validated biomechanical constitutive models are essential to characterize and simulate the mechanical behavior of the GI tract under physiological and pathological conditions. Numerous constitutive models have consequently been proposed over the past three decades, mainly inspired by work done in cardiovascular tissues. Here, a comprehensive review of these constitutive models is provided. This review is limited to studies where a model of the strain energy function is proposed to characterize the stress-strain relation of a GI tissue. Several needs are identified for more advanced modeling of GI biomechanics including: 1) Microstructural models that provide actual structure-function relations; 2) Validation of coupled electro-mechanical models accounting for active muscle contractions; 3) Human data under physiological and pathological conditions to develop and validate models. The findings from this review provide guidelines for using existing constitutive models as well as perspective and directions for future studies aimed at establishing new constitutive models for GI tissues.

A Generalized Strain Approach to Anisotropic Elasticity

This work proposes a generalized Lagrangian strain function fα (that depends on modified stretches) and a volumetric strain function gα (that depends on the determinant of the deformation tensor) to characterize isotropic/anisotropic strain energy functions. With the aid of a spectral approach, the single-variable strain functions enable the development of strain energy functions that are consistent with their infinitesimal counterparts, including the development of a strain energy function for the general anisotropic material that contains the general 4th order classical stiffness tensor. The generality of the single-variable strain functions sets a platform for future development of adequate specific forms of the isotropic/anisotropic strain energy function; future modellers only require to construct specific forms of the functions fα and gα to model their strain energy functions. The spectral invariants used in the constitutive equation have a clear physical interpretation, which is attractive, in aiding experiment design and the construction of specific forms of the strain energy. Some previous strain energy functions that appeared in the literature can be considered as special cases of the proposed generalized strain energy function. The resulting constitutive equations can be easily converted, to allow the mechanical influence of compressed fibres to be excluded or partial excluded and to model fibre dispersion in collagenous soft tissues. Implementation of the constitutive equations in Finite Element software is discussed. The suggested crude specific strain function forms are able to fit the theory well with experimental data and managed to predict several sets of experimental data.

Determination of the spherical part of the couple-stress in a polar fibre-reinforced elastic plate subjected to pure bending

This communication provides initial information and understanding of the manner in which a newly developed theoretical mechanism (Soldatos in Int J Solids Struct 202:217–225, 2020) is applied in specific boundary value problems met in polar linear elasticity of fibrous composites and thus enables the determination of the spherical part of the couple-stress tensor. In this context, it tests the applicability of the implied mechanism/method in the case that a rectangular plate reinforced by a single family of unidirectional fibres is subjected to pure bending. The problem solution is obtained for either non-polar or polar material behaviour, where fibres are considered perfectly flexible or resistant in bending, respectively, and provides clear evidence of the correctness of the principal argument that underpins the proposed method. Namely, that the general rotation field of the plate deformation differs from the fibre rotation field. That newly discovered method enables an extra energy term that emerges in the strain energy function of the fibrous composite plate to relate with the spherical part of the couple-stress tensor outside conventional equilibrium conventions. It thus leads to the determination of the spherical part of the couple-stress and its distribution throughout the plate body in a complete and comprehensive manner.

Homogenized Balance Equations for Nonlinear Poroelastic Composites

Within this work, we upscale the equations that describe the pore-scale behaviour of nonlinear porous elastic composites, using the asymptotic homogenization technique in order to derive the macroscale effective governing equations. A porous hyperelastic composite can be thought of as being comprised of a matrix interacting with a number of subphases and percolated by a fluid flowing in the pores (which is chosen to be Newtonian and incompressible here). A general nonlinear macroscale model is derived and is then specified for a particular choice of strain energy function, namely the de Saint-Venant function. This leads to a macroscale system of PDEs, which is of poroelastic type with additional terms and transformations to account for the nonlinear behaviour of the material. Our new porohyperelastic-type model describes the effective behaviour of nonlinear porous composites by prescribing the stress balance equations, the conservation of mass and Darcy’s law. The coefficients of these macroscale equations encode the detailed microstructure of the material and are to be found by solving pore-scale differential problems. The model reduces to the following limit cases of (a) linear poroelastic composites when the deformation gradient approaches the identity, (b) nonlinear composites when there are no pores and (c) nonlinear poroelasticity when only the matrix–fluid interaction is considered. This model is applicable when the interactions between various hyperelastic solid phases occur at the pore-scale, as in biological tissues such as artery walls, the myocardium, lungs and liver.

The biaxial mechanics of thermally denaturing skin - Part II: Modeling

Understanding the response of skin to superphysiological temperatures is critical to the diagnosis and prognosis of thermal injuries, and to the development of temperature-based medical therapeutics. Unfortunately, this understanding has been hindered by our incomplete knowledge about the nonlinear coupling between skin temperature and its mechanics. In Part I of this study we experimentally demonstrated a complex interdependence of time, temperature, direction, and load in skin's response to superphysiological temperatures. In Part II of our study, we test two different models of skin's thermo-mechanics to explain our observations. In both models we assume that skin's response to superphysiological temperatures is governed by the denaturation of its highly collageneous microstructure. Thus, we capture skin's native mechanics via a microstructurally-motivated strain energy function which includes probability distributions for collagen fiber orientation and waviness. In the first model, we capture skin's response to superphysiological temperatures as a transition between two states that link the kinetics of collagen fiber denaturation to fiber coiling and to the transformation of each fiber's constitutive behavior from purely elastic to viscoelastic. In the second model, we capture skin's response to superphysiological temperatures instead via three states in which a sequence of two reactions link the kinetics of collagen fiber denaturation to fiber coiling, followed by a state of fiber damage. Given the success of both models in qualitatively capturing our observations, we expect that our work will provide guidance for future experiments that could probe each model's assumptions toward a better understanding of skin's coupled thermo-mechanics and that our work will be used to guide the engineering design of heat treatment therapies.