Compressive modulus of adhesive bonded rubber block

Abstract

The present study examined the effect of a thin adhesive layer on the modulus of an elastic rubber block bonded between two plates. The plates were assumed to be rigid, both in extension and flexure, and subjected to vertical compression loading. The Gent’s approach was used to obtain the analytic deformations of the rubber and adhesive. The analytic deformations were then validated with the finite element model. There was a good agreement between both methods. The modulus of the bonded rubber block, defined as effective modulus, was then studied. The effective modulus was increased by the factor (1+ (a/2t)2(6Grh/Gat+1)-1), which is composed of the shape factor of the rubber block (a/2t, ratio of the bonded and unbonded areas), and the shear stiffness factor (Grh/Gat, ratio of modulus and thickness of rubber and adhesive). The effective modulus does not depend on either factors, when the shear stiffness of the joint is high or Grh/Gat >10.

Keywords

• bonded rubber block
• plates
• mechanical properties
• analytical modeling
• finite element analysis