ABSTRACT
A phenomenological model for the Mullins effect due to microstructural damage in rubberlike materials is presented. An approximate full-network constitutive equation is obtained from a general, but formidable constitutive relation based on the strain energy function for a uniform, non-Gaussian distribution of molecular chains. The constitutive model is applied to investigate the effect of stress-softening in the easy problem of small transverse vibration of a rubber cord. The results are illustrated graphically in comparison with experimental data for a few varieties of rubber materials, for each of which only three experimentally determined material constants are needed. The theoretical predictions stand in very good agreement with these data.
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