FATIGUE DAMAGE ACCUMULATION OF STEEL/RUBBER COMPOSITE

The fatigue damage accumulation of laminated steel-cord reinforced rubber composite under T-T loading is studied in this paper. The results indicate that the increase in the maximum strain exhibits a three-stage tendency in the process of fatigue. The macroscopic fatigue damage initiates from the ends of steel cords in the form of a cylindrical crack. Damage propagates along with the increase of crack numbers, the cord/matrix debonding and the growth of interply cracks. By using dynamic creep as the parameter, a linear dynamic creep fatigue damage accumulation model is established. This model can be used in the two-step loading condition to estimate the residual fatigue life of the specimen.