Abstract
Acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) compounds filled with different concentrations of graphite nanoplatelets were experimentally investigated. The stressstrain curves of the nanocomposites were studied, which suggest good fillermatrix adhesion. The large reinforcement effect of the filler followed the Guth model for non-spherical particles. The effect of graphite nanoplatelets on the cyclic fatigue and hysteresis was also examined. The loading and unloading stressstrain relationships for any cycle were described by applying Ogden's model for rubber nanocomposites. With this model for incompressible materials, expressions may be developed to predict the stressstrain relationship for any given cycle. The dissipated energy increased with graphite nanoplatelets concentrations and decrease with number of cycles. The rate of damage accumulation becomes marginal after first ten cycles. The rate of damage increases as the amount of graphite nanoplatelets increase into the rubber matrix. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.