Multiscale stress deconcentration amplifies fatigue resistance of rubber

Jason Steck, Junsoo Kim, Yakov Kutsovsky () and Zhigang Suo ()
Additional contact information
Jason Steck: Harvard University
Junsoo Kim: Harvard University
Yakov Kutsovsky: Harvard University
Zhigang Suo: Harvard University

Nature, 2023, vol. 624, issue 7991, 303-308

Abstract: Abstract Rubbers reinforced with rigid particles are used in high-volume applications, including tyres, dampers, belts and hoses1. Many applications require high modulus to resist excessive deformation and high fatigue threshold to resist crack growth under cyclic load. The particles are known to greatly increase modulus but not fatigue threshold. For example, adding carbon particles to natural rubber increases its modulus by one to two orders of magnitude1–3, but its fatigue threshold, reinforced or not, has remained approximately 100 J m−2 for decades4–7. Here we amplify the fatigue threshold of particle-reinforced rubbers by multiscale stress deconcentration. We synthesize a rubber in which highly entangled long polymers strongly adhere with rigid particles. At a crack tip, stress deconcentrates across two length scales: first through polymers and then through particles. This rubber achieves a fatigue threshold of approximately 1,000 J m−2. Mounts and grippers made of this rubber bear high loads and resist crack growth over repeated operation. Multiscale stress deconcentration expands the space of materials properties, opening doors to curtailing polymer pollution and building high-performance soft machines.

Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06782-2 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:624:y:2023:i:7991:d:10.1038_s41586-023-06782-2

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06782-2

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().