Measuring and Modeling the Fatigue

Performance of Elastomers for

Applications with Complex Loading
Requirements

W. V. Mars
Endurica LLC
Energy Rubber Group
16 January 2014
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Agenda

About Endurica
Solution Overview
Case study: Wellhead sealing element
Geometry
Load History
Materials
Brief fe-safe/rubber tour
Results

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About Endurica LLC
Mission: Pre-prototype solutions for managing elastomer durability
Founded in 2008
100% focus - elastomers and durability

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Case Study: Wellhead Sealing Element
Isometric

Top View
Wellhead

Segment

Side View
Pipe
Rubber

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Sealing Element Operation

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Sealing Element Operation

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Sealing Element Development Challenges

Technical
How many repeats of the operating history can be endured?
Where will part fail?
What compound will give best life?
Diagnostics what specific features, loads, times are critical?
Optimal operating procedures (ie seal ID vs pipe OD) for seal
life?
Management
Prototyping / Manufacturing Resources
Testing Resources
Accurate evaluation vs. limited development time and budget
Consequences of failure at prototype or production stages
Communication about complex problems

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Characterization
Know Your Material

Core Fatigue Test

Fully Relaxing Behavior from
both nucleation and fracture
mechanical perspectives Courtesy Axel
Products

Hyperelastic Option Thermal Option

Nonrelaxing Option
Simple, Planar, and Quantify dissipative properties,
Quantify Strain Crystallization,
Equibiaxial tension, Mullins thermal properties,
Min and Mean Strain Effects
Effect temperature dependence
Strain Amplitude

Infinite Life

Mean Strain

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Material Definition Stress-strain

*Hyperelastic, arruda-boyce
209.6, 3.17, 6.67e-06

W G ( I 1i 3i )
5

2mi 2
Ci
i 1

C1 , C2 , C3 , C4 , C5
1 1 11 19 519
,
2 20 1050 7000 673750

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 Observed and Fitted Crack Growth

54

52

50 measured
fitted
48
Crack Length, mm

46

44

42

40

38

36

34
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Cycles 5
x 10

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Material Definition: Fatigue Behavior

1.E-01
c0=0.100 mm
1.E-02 Rc=0.01 mm/cyc
cf=1.00 mm
Crack Growth Rate, mm/cyc

1.E-03

A(Tmax To )
1.E-04
dc
1.E-05
F0 dN
1.E-06

A F
Tc=65500 J/m^2 rcTt F
Tc (Tt To )
1.E-07
1.E-08

T
rc max
1.E-09 F
dc
Tc
1.E-10
100 1000 10000 100000
dN
Energy Release Rate, J/m^2

Tc=100 J/m^2

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Material Definition Crack Precursor Size

1.00E+07
Calculated
N f ( , )
cf
1.00E+06 Tested 1
dc
c0
f (T , R)
Life, cycles

1.00E+05

1.00E+04

1.00E+03

1.00E+02
1.00E-02 1.00E-01 1.00E+00
Precursor Size, mm

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Solution Overview
powered by

Elastomer Durability Software for Finite Element Models

Analysis Pre-defined
Documentation
Software Materials

Training Support / Consulting

Characterization
Principles and World Leading Validation Case
Know Your Material
Practices Expertise

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Fe-safe/Rubber fatigue analysis software

Material Properties
Fatigue
Database
Analysis Setup

FE Model Results

Execution Log

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FE Analysis of sealing element

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Strain History: worst element 6085

closure insertion

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Technology: Critical Plane Analysis

For every material

point

For every plane

1

0.8

Loading History on 0.6

1

plane 0.4
0.5

0
0.2
Identification of -0.5

Events via 0
-1
1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -0.8 -1
Rainflow count

Continuum / nucleation
Integration of viewpoint
Accounts for finite straining
damage law

Crack closure in

compression

N f ( , )
Failure plane identification
cf
1 Identification of material

Crack precursor loading

dc point and plane with
c0
f (T , R) minimum life
experience
US Patent No. 6,634,236 B1

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Technology: Damage accumulation

Rainflow counting
Experienced by Crack
Based on numerical
Crack Driving Force

integration of crack growth

rate law
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Arbitrary multiaxial, variable

Fraction of Mission Profile

r fi (Tmax , R)
M
Crack growth rate per application of
amplitude loading history

Time-domain scheme enables

given duty cycle
i 1

N ,
af 1 Number of repeats of duty cycle
da required to develop a crack direct identification of
a0 r (T (a , t ))
damaging events

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Crack Precursor Driving Energy Density, worst
element

2.5
Crack Precursor Driving Energy Density,

1.5
mJ/mm^3

0.5

0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time, min

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Fatigue Life of Sealing Element

N=5870

Forward paths:
- Materials A vs B
- Pipe diameter effects
- Control
recommendations for
control on ID

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Forward Paths

Learn More about Characterize

Evaluate fe-safe/Rubber
Principles and Practices Your Material

18-20 Feb : Characterizing elastomer

fatigue behavior for analysis &
engineering, (Ann Arbor, USA)
22 24 July: Theory & Application of
Rubber Fatigue Analysis (Houston, TX,
USA)
Mark Wyatt
North American Sales, 3DS
Office: 781 810 3759
mark.wyatt@3ds.com

Henry Gonzalez
Senior Sales Representative
3DS
endurica.com 281 827 8745

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