Effect of the Mullins softening on mode I fracture of carbon-black filled rubbers

The effect of the Mullins softening on mode I fracture of carbon-black filled rubbers was investigated experimentally. Large specimen of NR and SBR filled with the same amount and nature of carbon-black were submitted to uniaxial tension. Then, single edge notch tension samples were cut along various directions with respect to the direction of preconditioning, and submitted to tension until break. The fracture energy was estimated and compared according to the intensity of Mullins softening already undergone in the direction of crack opening and according to the softening undergone in other directions. The NR shows significantly improved resistance to crack propagation compared to the SBR due to its crystallization ability. For both materials, it was observed that a moderate prestrain has a positive impact increasing the material fracture toughness and that material softening and anisotropy induced by Mullins effect does not show on resistance to mode I crack propagation.