Force-deformation behaviour of filled and unfilled elastomers down to very small strains

The use of filler to reinforce elastomers dates back to 1904. The effects of such filler on the mechanical behaviour of elastomers at small strains and the underlying causes of these effects have been a subject of interest over many decades. In this paper previously-published experimental data is considered alongside new data. The new data is for sinusoidal strains in the range ~0.01%–100% and for the following elastomer-filler combinations: Natural rubber ( NR ) , styrene butadiene rubber ( SBR ) , ethylene propylene diene ( EPDM ) and acrylonitrile butadiene ( NBR ) filled with 40 and 75 parts by weight of N330, N550 and N990 carbon black per hundred of rubber ( pphr ) and filled with 40 and 75 pphr of silica ( VN3 and silane-treated VN2 ) ; unfilled NR and SBR. Summary plots are interpreted with reference to physically-based models leading to insights on the behaviour.