Comparison of rheological properties of chosen elastomers used in production of bridge bearings

The paper presents the results of rheological testing performed with the use of DMA (Dynamic Mechanical Analyser) rheometer on specimens made of natural rubber (NR) and synthetic rubber (CR) elastomeric materials typically used for production of bridge bearings. The experiments provided the values of complex stiffness modulus and phase shift angles over a very wide temperature and frequency range, enabled determination of glass transition temperatures and plotting the master curves of the respective materials and, moreover, indentation tests were carried out with a spherical indenter pressed down with linearly increasing force. The test results can be used for both qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the materials and for determining certain mechanical parameters of linear viscoelastic constitutive models formulated for the infinitesimal strain theory. The indentation test was conducted to obtain values which can be used for indirect validation of constitutive hyperelastic and visco-hyperelastic models built up for continuum large deformation theory. Moreover, the paper partly evaluates the effect of long-term (natural) ageing of materials on their rheological properties.