Mechanical response of a soft rubber compound compressed at various strain rates

Rate-dependent material constitutive behavior models are needed in numerical simulations of shock-mitigation structures. In this research, compressive stress–strain response of a soft rubber compound is obtained experimentally at quasi-static, intermediate and high strain rates under uniaxial-stress and uniaxial-strain loading states. Kolsky bars with modifications for characterizing soft materials and a long Kolsky bar are used to conduct the dynamic experiments, while an MTS load frame is used for conducting experiments at quasi-static rates. Compression experiments are conducted at each decade in the strain-rate scale without any gap typically seen in the intermediate range. The experimental results show significant strain-rate effects on the mechanical behavior of this soft material, which are summarized via a rate-dependent constitutive model.