Methods to Study Viscoelastic Characteristics of Rubber-Metal Hinges

Rubber-metal hinges are widely used in tracked vehicle chassis. Intense dynamic load during hinge operation leads to substantial heating and subsequent thermo-mechanical destruction. A decrease in rubber heat release is associated with the viscoelastic properties of rubber. Most often this problem can be solved by testing full-scale structures using unique stands and equipment. In this paper, we compare various methods of determining viscoelastic characteristics of rubber hinges: calorimetry method, hysteresis method, and dynamic mechanical analysis method (DMA). Rubber hinge samples and full-scale designs were tested in the 25, …, 60 °C temperature range and 5, …, 50 Hz load frequencies. As a result, dependencies for specific energy loss per load cycle and the rubber absorption coefficient based on SKI-3 rubber were obtained. The results obtained by using calorimetry, hysteresis, and DMA methods showed a good correlation. This allows us to recommend an optimal combination of the methods used to select perspective grades of rubber and designs of rubber-metal hinges.