Integrated Dynamic Characterization of Thermorheologically Simple Viscoelastic Materials Accounting for Frequency, Temperature, and Preload Effects

In vibration insulation projects, a parameter affecting the dynamic properties of the viscoelastic materials is the previous static load acting on the supports, denominated here as the ‘preload’. Most of the currently-used methodologies obtain the dynamic properties by considering only the effects of temperature and frequency. The additional effect of preload can be added to the usual methodologies by employing the hyperelastic theory developed by Mooney–Rivlin. The current work proposes an integrated approach to characterize thermorheologically simple viscoelastic materials, including the preload effect along with the influence of temperature and frequency. The proposed method uses a hybrid optimization process, combining a genetic algorithm (GA) and a non-linear optimization technique—named ‘simplex’—in an inverse problem structure applied to all experimental data at hand. A set of samples of elastomer BT-806 55 (butyl rubber) was tested at various temperatures, frequencies, and preloads. The comparison between the results of the present methodology and traditional approaches to a variation in the dynamic properties at all frequencies and temperatures for a constant vibration amplitude. The present results prove that the proposed methodology is a viable alternative to represent the dynamic properties of materials used in vibration isolation.