The role of stress softening in crack propagation of filler reinforced elastomers as evaluated by the J-Integral

A recently developed micromechanical model of stress softening and hysteresis of filled rubber is used to calculate the energy density- and stress distribution around the crack tip for a given displacement field, which is determined by digital image correlation. This allows for a quantitative evaluation of stress-softening influences on the J-Integral, J1. In addition, the gradients of stress, strain and energy close to the crack tip are...