In situ synchrotron wide-angle X-ray diffraction investigation of fatigue cracks in natural rubber

J Synchrotron Radiat. 2013 Jan;20(Pt 1):105-9. doi: 10.1107/S0909049512044457. Epub 2012 Nov 29.

Abstract

Natural rubber exhibits remarkable mechanical fatigue properties usually attributed to strain-induced crystallization. To investigate this phenomenon, an original experimental set-up that couples synchrotron radiation with a homemade fatigue machine has been developed. Diffraction-pattern recording is synchronized with cyclic loading in order to obtain spatial distributions of crystallinity in the sample at prescribed times of the mechanical cycles. Then, real-time measurement of crystallinity is permitted during uninterrupted fatigue experiments. First results demonstrate the relevance of the method: the set-up is successfully used to measure the crystallinity distribution around a fatigue crack tip in a carbon black filled natural rubber for different loading conditions.