In this blog I thought we could do a small dive into hyper- and viscoelastic materials and how to model these in Abaqus. Many elastomers, rubbers and biological soft tissues exhibit such behaviors.  

January’s webinar is entitled ‘Characterizing materials and calibrating material models in Abaqus’. It will be held on the 29th of January.

In this month’s webinar we will be looking at characterizing materials and calibrating material models in Abaqus. 
Contents:
• The material calibration tool that allows you to import stress vs strain data into Abaqus to create elastic plastic materials
• Metal hardening models
• Elastomer characterization and behaviour
• How to define hyperelastic materials

To model the behaviour of rubbers and rubber-like materials, typically hyperelastic material models are used. A hyperelastic material is elastic: after unloading, the material returns to its original shape. The material state therefore does not depend on the history or the rate of deformation, but only on the current loading. The model is based on a strain energy potential, which is a function of the (invariants of the) current strain.

In this month’s webinar we will discuss how we can use Abaqus to accurately model hyperelasticity. This will take place on Friday 26th October.

Elastomers are used extensively within the world from cars to keyboards and shoes to ships. It is impossible to go about your day without interacting with a product that has a rubber component that is critical to its function.

However, for something so common it is surprisingly difficult to model accurately with FEA. We shall address this complexity and show how Abaqus can provide you with the tools needed to model your elastomeric components.

In this blog, the hyperelastic behaviour modelling in Abaqus will be discussed.  This will be implemented by fitting relevant experimental data with appropriate strain potential energy functions that are built-in in Abaqus and deciding on the function that best models the rubber materials behaviour. Additionally a finite element model will be demonstrated, wherein the designated material behaviour will be show cased.

Last but not least, in the process of explaining relevant aspects  of hyperelastic material modelling with Abaqus, various suggestions and good practices will be shared.