STRESS CONCENTRATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH RUBBER TO METAL BONDS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Hot-bonded metal inserts, used to modify the stiffnesses of rubber components and to provide a means of attaching the rubber component to other parts of an overall system, can result in high local stresses. Detailed design is called for to reduce the tendency for initiation of failure in their vicinity. Results are presented for energy release rates for short cracks obtained by finite element analysis for a range of geometries, mostly near bond but also within fillets introduced to reduce the likelihood of failure initiation at bond edges.