Control of Mullins stress softening in silicone elastomer composites by rational design of fumed silica fillers

The influence of fumed silica as reinforcement filler is investigated on the Mullins stress softening in composite silicone elastomers. Especially, the impact of surface area, loading level, surface chemistry, and structure modification of fumed silica is evaluated on the fatigue behavior of high consistency silicone rubber. It is observed that high loading level and large surface area of fumed silica increase the energy loss during initial...