Nanoscopic Mechanical Simulation of Elastomers with Finite Element Analysis

Mechanical simulation technique for elastomers in nano-scopic scale range was reviewed. Combination of 3 dimensional transmission electron micro tomography (3D-TEMT) and 3 dimensional finite element analysis enables to investigate the deformation of elastomers in nano-scopic scale. The strain concentration over 200% can be seen between carbon black aggregates, even if the overall strain was only 15%. This is due to the fact that the occluded rubber can behave as a hard domain as if the volume fraction of filler is increased. It was found that the strain concentration between carbon black aggregates behaved as an important part of the reinforcement.