When a panel of an elastomeric material, such as polyurethane, is subject to large cyclic in-plane displacements which result in cyclic compressive buckling, cracks will be observed to form at the center and edges of the panel. These cracks tend to propagate across the panel in the region of maximum deflection. If the magnitude of the applied cyclic deflection is held constant, the crack growth rate is observed to be nearly a constant over much of the width of the panel. This paper will present a method for evaluating the strain energy release rate in compressively flexed elastomeric panels and present results showing the influence of basic geometric parameters on the strain energy release rate.
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