Heat Built Up During Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) Testing of Rubber Specimens

The viscoelastic properties of rubbers play an important role in dynamic applications and are commonly measured and quantified by means of Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) tests. The rubber properties including the static and dynamic moduli are a function of temperature; and an increase in the temperature leads to a decrease in both moduli of the rubber. Due to the heat generation inside the rubber during the DMA test and the possible change of the rubber properties it is important to quantify the amount of temperature rise in the rubber specimen during the test. In this study, a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model is used to predict the heat generation and temperature rise during the rubber DMA tests. This model is used to identify the best shape of the specimen to achieve the minimum increase in temperature during the test. The double sandwich shear test and the cyclic compression tests are considered in this study because these two tests are mostly used in industry to predict the rubber viscoelastic properties.