Constitutive behaviors and mechanical characterizations of fabric reinforced rubber composites

In this paper, the constitutive behaviors and mechanical performance of the reticulated fiber fabric reinforced rubber composites are investigated. Based on the theory of continuum mechanics, the anisotropic constitutive model is proposed to characterize the mechanical properties of the reticulated fabric reinforced rubber composites; then the influences of the reticulated fiber fabric on the mechanical behaviors of the rubber composites and the tubular fabric rubber seals are studied by experiments. Further, both the macroscopic and the microscopic finite element model are built to simulate their mechanical properties, which show a good agreement with the experimental results. The study will provide a theoretical basis and scientific guidance for the optimal design and the properties evaluation of fabric rubber seals. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.