Finite element method for thermomechanical response of near-incompressible elastomers (Q1384807)

The study addresses finite element analysis of the coupled thermomechanical response of near-incompressible elastomers such as natural rubber. We give a compact expression for the tangent stiffness matrix under coupled thermal and mechanical behavior, including pressure interpolation to accommodate near-incompressibility. The matrix is seen to have a computationally convenient structure and to serve as a Jacobian matrix in a Newton iteration scheme. The formulation makes use of a thermoelastic constitutive model for near-incompressible elastomers. The resulting relations are illustrated using a near-incompressible thermohyperelastic counterpart of the conventional Mooney-Rivlin model. As an application, an element is formulated to model the response of a rubber rod subjected to force and heat.