Cut growth and fatigue of rubbers. I. The relationship between cut growth and fatigue

Abstract The relationship between the cut growth and fatigue failure of natural rubber vulcanizates under repeated loading is examined. The cut growth behavior has been investigated using several types of test piece, and the results are shown to be consistent when interpreted in terms of the tearing energy concept developed previously. The most comprehensive data have been obtained by measuring the growth of a small cut in the edge of a strip cycled in simple extension. It is found that the cut growth per cycle is approximately proportional to the square of the maximum tearing energy attained during the cycle. Using this relation, the fatigue life of a specimen containing a small cut is deduced from elasticity theory as a function of initial cut size and maximum strain. Experimental results give good agreement with theory. A similar strain dependence is found for the fatigue life of die‐stamped dumbbell test pieces with no intentionally produced flaws; this is consistent with the mechanism of failure being cut growth from small flaws present in the specimens. Their effective size is estimated to be about 2 × 10 −3 cm, which is compatible with the observed superficial imperfections of the cut edges.