Thermo-mechanical large deformation responses of Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (HNBR): Experimental results

A comprehensive study on the large uniaxial deformation responses of two elastomers, Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubbers (HNBR A and HNBR B), over wide ranges of strain rates ( 10 - 4 ⩽ ε ˙ ⩽ 5 × 10 3 s - 1 ) and temperatures (348 ⩽ T ⩽ 450 K) are presented. The material is found to be non-linearly dependent on strain-rate and temperature. The large deformation responses of HNBR are determined to be almost purely viscoelastic. It is observed that, the instantaneous stress drop during the stress relaxation is dependent on the strain-rate. The relaxation and creep responses during the equilibrium state (a state where there is no drop in stress during relaxation and no increase in strain during creep) are dependent on strain/stress level at which the phenomenon is started.