Modeling Approach to Capture Hyperelasticity and Temporary Bonds in Soft Polymer Networks

Hyperelastic
models developed by Gent, Ogden, and Dobrynin are
modified to include a strain rate-dependent element. This strain rate
dependence accounts for the breaking of temporary bonds in materials
as opposed to the stretching of polymer chains. Accounting for the
strain rate dependence in a material’s mechanical response
gives the ability to extract the modulus due to temporary and permanent
bonds, strain hardening, and the relaxation time of dynamic materials.
These modified models were tested against a wide range of elastomeric
materials. The models were applicable across many network polymers,
showing clear effects of temporary bonds in the material. Template
spreadsheets for the developed models will be publicly and freely
available, facilitating the application of these models to a range
of complex soft materials.