To Issue of Application of Method of Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) to Determine Viscoelastic Properties and Heat Generation in Rubber Elements of Solid Tires

Solid tires are widely used for the undercarriage of track vehicles. Intense dynamic loading of solid tires in the process of operation leads to substantial self-heating and subsequent thermo-mechanical destruction. Reduction in the level of heat generation in rubber is connected with viscoelastic properties of materials. Most often, this task is solved by testing structurally similar samples or full-scale structures using unique stands and equipment. In this paper, we suggest a technique that allows to determine characteristics of rubber using the method of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Rubber samples were tested in the temperature range from 25 to 60 °C and loading frequencies from 5 to 50 Hz. As a result of the carried experiments, we have obtained the dependences of the valid and imaginary moduli of elasticity of the material on the loading frequency and ambient temperature. On the basis of the obtained data, we have constructed the hysteresis loops, calculated the values of specific energy loss per loading cycle, and the power of the heat sources in rubber. The results have been compared with the data in the literature and they showed a good agreement, which enables to apply this methodology to estimate the intensity of heat generation in rubber elements of solid tires.