The Thermodynamics of a Strained Elastomer. I. General Analysis

The thermodynamic functions of principal interest in a strained elastomer are the entropy and energy of deformation. The volume is of secondary importance, and it can be assumed, with sufficient accuracy for most purposes, that the volume is linear in the temperature and the mean pressure. The basic partial differential equations of thermodynamics can then be integrated, yielding expressions for the energy and entropy of deformation in terms of observable quantities. In the present analysis the volume effects caused by changes in mean pressure and crystallinity are taken into account, and the effects associated with change in shape are sharply separated from those associated with change in volume. It is shown that the superelastic functions of deformation previously published (M. Mooney, J. App. Phys. 11, 582–92 (1940)) have a very general validity.