Characteristic time of strain induced crystallization of crosslinked natural rubber

Real time Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) measurements during cyclic tensile tests at high strain rates (from 8 s(-1)-280 s(-1)) and at room temperature on crosslinked Natural Rubber (NR) are performed thanks to a specific homemade device. From the observed influence of the frequency on the crystallization index at the maximum sample elongation, a characteristic crystallization time is deduced. This is done taking into account the material self-heating during such unusually high strain rates. Two regimes for the dynamic process of strain induced crystallization are evidenced. For the NR tested, the obtained characteristic time is around 20 ms when the material average elongation during the cyclic test is above a critical elongation value lambda(c). lambda(c) is the minimum elongation needed to induce crystallization during low strain rate tensile tests. Moreover, a rapid increase of this characteristic time is found when the average elongation decreases below this critical value. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.