Analysis of rolling on steel and rubber-covered rollers using viscoelasticity

Abstract

In this article, a series of analysis were performed on a two-dimensional structure of steel and rubber-covered rollers. First, a hyperelastic–viscoelastic composite constitutive model based on a dynamic mechanical experiment of rubber was formulated to accurately describe rubber properties. Meanwhile, a hyperelastic constitutive model not considering viscoelasticity was set as the control group. The material used in this article was the nitrile rubber with the Shore hardness of 40. Then, the effects of viscoelasticity on the von Mises stress were analyzed by comparing results of two models. The influences of working conditions (roller speeds/compression displacement) on the von Mises stress and the area of hysteresis loop were also studied. Next, the contact characteristics under different working conditions and constitutive models were analyzed combining viscoelasticity. A verification experiment of contact width was carried out, and the theoretical and simulated values were calculated and compared. Finally, the relation of “low peak” phenomenon with viscoelasticity was studied, and the effects of working conditions and rubber viscoelasticity on contact feature of rollers were summarized. The conclusions of the article can help engineers to better optimize dynamic working conditions and judge the working state of the structure.