Thermomechanical Coupling Behavior of Rubber and Its Influence on Fatigue Life: Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation

Rubber materials generate heat under cyclic loading due to viscoelastic energy dissipation. The resulting temperature rise further affects their mechanical response and fatigue life. To clarify the heat generation mechanism and to develop a fatigue prediction approach accounting for temperature effects, viscous heat generation experiments were conducted under various loading frequencies and load ratios. A thermomechanically coupled finite element model was established to simulate and analyze the temperature rise behavior. Based on the observed temperature evolution, an exponential temperature rise history equation was proposed. The relationship between the temperature rise coefficient and loading frequency was explicitly identified. Furthermore, a room‐temperature stress number of cycles to failure model were constructed using effective stress as the governing parameter. By introducing a temperature correction function, a new temperature‐sensitive S‐N model was developed.