The Test Frequency Dependence of the Fatigue Behavior of Elastomers

In engineering applications elastomers are frequently exposed to complex combinations of mechanical loads (monotonic, static, intermittent and cyclic loads). A better understanding of the material resistance against crack initiation and propagation becomes of increasing practical importance. Real elastomer parts and components are loaded over a very wide range of loading frequency (1 to 10

5

Hz) [

1

]. It is also a well known phenomenon that viscoelastic materials may reveal a hysteretic type heating during cyclic loading [

2

]. Furthermore, this temperature increase is influenced by various factors, i.e., loading frequency, amplitude, the viscoelastic loss and the heat capacity and conductivity of the elastomer type [

3

and

4

].