Shape design of rubber part using FEM

This paper presents a novel solution for shape optimization of compressed rubber parts. The procedure is based on the finite element method (FEM). A special purpose FEM code written in FORTRAN has been developed for the analysis of nearly incompressible axi-symmetric rubber parts. Numerical stability of the code and sensitivity analysis of the FEM input parameters are investigated. The aim of the parameter optimization is to reduce the time consuming FEM computations for the optimization process. The objective of the optimization is to find the optimal shape of the investigated rubber parts with a specified load-displacement curve. A regression model is used to determine the connection between the input and output data calculated by the FEM.