Influence of Deformation Speed on the Tearing Energy of Carbon Black-Filled EPDM Rubber

This paper deals with the dependence of tearing energy T on the strain rate \(\dot{\varepsilon }\) $\dot{\epsilon }$ of carbon black-filled ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer rubber (EPDM). Investigations of crack growth studies on single-edge notched tensile (SENT) specimens clearly show that the strain rate \(\dot{\varepsilon }\) $\dot{\epsilon }$ has a significant effect on the level of critical tearing energy. T increases up to strain rates \(\dot{\varepsilon }\) $\dot{\epsilon }$ of 100 mm/min and then decreases. The evaluation of the nominal strain \(\varepsilon\) $\epsilon$ and nominal stress P of the cracked specimen during the beginning of crack growth is similar to the tearing energy T. This confirms a strong time-dependent material behaviour of the EPDM sample due to the viscoelastic nature of the elastomer.