EFFECT OF COMPRESSION ON THE

SHEAR MODULUS OF RUBBER

A. R . PAYNE
Rubber and Plastics Research Association of Great Britain, Shawbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England

When a cylinder of small diameter-height ratio is compressed, it buckles. A theory has been developed by
Haringx to describe this, based on the Euler theory of struts. This paper shows how Haringx‘s theory is
applicable to the compression of rubber and to cylinders of moderate shape factor, which do not visibly
buckle, and relates the changes in the shear modulus of a rubber which is compressed, to the degree of com-
pression and the shape factor of the cylinder.

HEN a heavy machine such as a hammer is supported free mountings,” we find Haringx’s work ( 2 ) based on the
on rubber mountings, considerable compression of the stress-strain relationship :
rubber occurs and this alters the stiffness and stability in shear
of the mounting. Shock and vibration isolation is achieved f = E(?) (3)
by using rubber mountings having a small ratio of diameter
to height to obtain a sufficiently low natural frequency for the Even though the bracketed terms which are functions of X in
system. The instability in the shear plane to which this small Equations 1, 2, and 3 are not formally identical, in practice
diameter-height ratio leads has been corrected by the empirical they are nearly so. Consider the ratio of Equations 2 and 3,
insertion of stabilizing pads ( 7 ) . -l/3 (X-X-2)/(l-X)X-1; its value would be unity if the
I t would be of value to designers of mountings for heavy functions were identical. As is seen in Table I, its value varies
machinery if data were available showing the effect of com- with increasing compression (decreasing value of A), but even
pression on the shear modulus for a range of shape factors. with 50% compression the departure from unity is less than
Recent reference to this phenomenon ( 3 ) emphasizes the need 20%. For X <0.5 the ratio becomes very large, so the ap-
for data and demonstrates that the relevance of the theoret- proximation can be considered reasonable only over the range
ical work of Haringx (2) has not been appreciated (or, prob- of X = 0.5 to 1, which of course is the range of practical in-
ably, is not known) in the rubber-engineering industry. This terest.
article draws attention to the analysis by Haringx of the be- Table I may be held to justify the use of the Haringx function
havior of highly compressible helical springs and rubber rods (1-Ax) X-l in place of that given in Equation 2, even though
and, combined with the shape-factor investigations of the the latter has theoretical justification arising from the kinetic
present author ( d ) , shows its application to the problem con- theory of elasticity, whereas Haringx’s expression is based on
sidered. classical, small-deformation, theory.
Using this stress-strain relationship, Haringx derived Equa-
Theory tion 4 for the shear or lateral stiffness of a rubber cylinder
Following the procedure and symbolism adopted in the under compression. This expression is applicable to metal as
author’s textbook (5), the stress-strain relation of bonded well as rubber springs.
rubber cylinders in compression is given by :
f = -G(A- A-)( 1 + BP) (1) (4)
wheref = stress
G = shear modulus
X = strain ratio-i.e., strained length-initial length
B = empirical factor which varies with the modulus of
the rubber and values for which are quoted below Table I. Ratio of Functions of X
S = shape factor-Le., diameter-height ratio Ratio of Fumtions
For rubber cylinders compressed between lubricated sur- Compression of Equations 2 and 3
faces, Equation 1 reduces to : 1.0 1.ooo
-E 0.9 1.003
f -GO, - A--2) = -3
( A - A--2) (2)
0.8 1.017
0.7 1.042
where E = Young’s modulus. 0.6 1.090
Turning now to the analysis of “highly compressible helical 0.5 1.167
springs and rubber rods, and their application for vibration

86 I L E C P R O D U C T RESEARCH A N D D E V E L O P M E N T
where C1 = shear stiffness
I = compressed length (and I , = original length)
P = load
q = factor given by
KO = principal ratio of gyration = d/4
d = diameter of cylinder
If we take the effective modulus-i.e., the modulus calculated
by dividing the stress by the strain irrespective of any buckling
or bendi ng-then
where
F , = original cross-sectional area
and for cylinders the value of G, as X + 1 is
from Equations 1, 3, and 4.
As Haringx’s derivation has not been repeated here, it should
be noted that as X tends to unity, Equation 5a can be reduced
to Equation 5b, which is a more familiar form given by Rivlin
(6) and Rivlin and Saunders (7) as is shown below.
Provided the true shear modulus, G, has been obtained from
compression measurements using perfectly lubricated plates,
the effective shear modulus, G,, can be calculated for any given
compression and shape factor by means of Equation 5. The
experimental results quoted below demonstrate the validity
of this statement.
Comparison of Experiment and Theory
A range of cylinders with varying shape factors was prepared
with a pure gum natural rubber compound. The shear
modulus, G, was measured with perfectly lubricated ends and a
value 01 1.13 X 106 dyne cm.? was found. The same value was
also obtained using Equation 1 with bonded ends to the cyl-
inders. With this value inserted in Equation 5, the expected
shear modulus, G, is plotted against the compression ratio. A,
in Figure 1 using full lines. The reciprocal shape factors, vary-
ing from 0.115 to 3.0, are indicated against the appropriate
curves. The shear modulus-compression ratio curves are
indicated as passing over the compression ratio axis. This is a
real effect, showing that force must be exerted to maintain a
given shear without increase-i.e., the force needs to be in the
sense opposite to the usual one. The experimentally measured
points are shown connected by broken lines for the same shape
factors.
The zero strain values of G, are derived from Equation 5b and
are used to give the full line in Figure 2 which plots them against
the shape factor (diameter-height). The points added to
Figure 2 are the observed values of the shear modulus in the
uncompressed state. The full line of Figure 2 is also that
given by Equation 6 from the Rivlin-Saunders theory.
Figure 2 shows Equation 5 to be reasonably accurate in
predicting the form of the relation between shear modulus and
degree of compression. T h e absolute values obtained from
the theory deviate from those observed by amounts which
can be read from Figure 1. The deviation shows most seriously
a t compressions where the shear modulus approaches zero and
for a shape factor of 1.25 the degree of compression for zero
shear modulus is given as 28.5% instead of 33.2% observed.
Measurement errors may easily account for most of this dis-
crepancy. O n the other hand, Equation 5b predicts very
accurately the shear modulus at zero compression as a func-
tion of shape factor.
Empirical Shape Functions, S
The author (5) has shown that for the shapes of rubber com-
monly used under compression, and with bonded end faces,
the compressive force, f , is given by
f = -G(A - A-’)S (6)
where S is a shape function which for cylinders results in Equa-
tion l . In Equation 6 the minus sign is introduced, for in com-
pression X is less than 1, and hence the quantity in the bracket
is negative. The term G(X- is the compressive stress for
the case where there is no constraint at the end faces; the
quantity S thus represents the correction for such restraint.
The value of the shape function, S, depends primarily on
the dimensions of the rubber, though it has been found also
to vary with the modulus. Expressions for S for the more com-
mon shapes are as follows, but a more complete list has been
published ( 5 ) .
Cross Section Shape Function, S
Square of side a
Circle of diameter d
1 + B ( a / h ) 2where h is height
Rectangle, long side 1, $3”:dloh.’~6 ( w / l ) + C ( w / h ) 2
short side w 1 fwll

Table 11. Values of Constants in Shape Functions

Shear Modulus, P.S.I.(Kg. Cm.-2)
100-150 750-200 200-300
L
100 (7.03- (10.5- (14.0- >300
1.O 07 08 07 06 Comtant (7.03) 70.5) 74.0) 21.7) (>21.1)
x B 0.120 0.103 0.080 0.063 0.056
c 0.160 0.225 0.175 0,140 0,120
Figure 1 . Relation of shear modulus to strain ratio for a D 0.065 0.056 0,044 0.035 0,030
range of cylinders with different shape factors

VOL. 1 NO. 2 JUNE 1962 87


Figure 2. Relation of shear modulus to height-radius ratio
of cylinders
0 Experimental values of shear modulus a t X = 1
Figure 3. Rubber in shear
Showing bending and shearing action
The constants required in the shape functions vary with
shear modulus and the appropriate values are given in Table
11.
Alternative Equation for G, at X =1
Rivlin (6) has pointed out that a simple shear cannot be
maintained by the application of constraints merely to the
end faces of the rubber being deformed. If constraints are
applied to the end faces of a rubber so that one face can move
relative to the other, but only in a plane parallel to it (as in
88 l & E C P R O D U C T RESEARCH A N D DEVELOPMENT
normal shear mountings), then the resulting deformation is
not simple shear but a combination of shearing and bending.
This problem is similar to that encountered in the bending of
a beam loaded a t one end, and has been solved by Rivlin and
Saunders (7), who treated the deformation at any cross section
as the superposition of the displacements due to simple shear
and to bending under the action of the bending moment at that
cross section. Figure 3 shows the condition found in the de-
formation of a cylindrical shear mounting of length l, and
radius r . The displacement of the end of the sample perpen-
dicular to its length is d,.
This deflection results from the combination of bending and
shearing where the bending component, X,, is given by (8;
Xb = SIo3/12E,FoR2 (7)
and the shearing component by
X, = Sl,/F,G (8)
where S is the shear load. K is the radius of gyration of the
cross section about the neutral axis of bending. Thus
d, = X, + Xb = SI,( 1 + Io2/36 K 2 ) (9)
The relation of the shearing stress, S/F,, to the apparent shear
modulus is given by Equation 10
S/F, = G, X d a / l o (10)
and, sincr K = d/4 for circular cross-sectioned rods, from
Equations 9 and 10, the relation between the true arid the
effective shear moduli is
G, = G/(1 + 4 12/9 d 2 ) (11)
Compariscn of this function with that of Equation 5b shows
them to be thr same.
Conclusions
When a cylinder of small diameter-height iatio is compressed,
it buckles. In classical metals theory this phenomenon is as-
sociated with Euler’s theory of struts and such a cylinder is
known as an Euler strut. Haringx’s theory is based on the
Euler strut, but is obviously applicable when a cylinder of
rubber of moderate shape factor is greatly compressed, even
though it does not visibly buckle. The agreement between
experiment and theory which this paper shows enables the
change in shear modules to be estimated for rubber mountings
which are compressed by static load. The appropriate shape
functions for mountings other than cylinders and the neces-
sary values of constants are discussed above to enable actual
design problems to be solved.
literature Cited
(1) Crockett, J. H. A., O’Neill, D. B., Proc. Zirst. Civil Engrs.
(London) 13, 133 (1959).
(2) Haringx, J. A,, Philips Research Repts. 3, 401-99 (1948).
(3) Hint, A. J., “Applied Science of Rubber,” i V . J. S. Naunton,
p. 510, Arnold, London, 1961.
I4) Payne, A. R., Engineer 207, 328, 368 (1959).
5) Payne, .4.R., Scott, J. R., “Engineering Design with Rubber,”
p. 142, McLaren, London, Interscience, New York, 1960.
(6) Rivlin, R. S., Proc. 2nd Rubber Technol. Conf., p. 204,
Heffer, London, 1948.
(7) Rivlin, R. S., Saunders, D. W., Trans. Inst. Rubber Ind. 24,
296 (1949).
( 8 ) Southwell, R. V., “Introduction to the Theory of Elasticity,”
p. 161, Oxford University Press, London, 1944.
RECEIVED for review December 4, 1961
ACCEPI’ED February 16, 1962