Ceramic-rubber hybrid materials – A knowledge-based design concept

Many industrial applications require transportation of raw materials - a process which is generally highly abrasive. At certain occasions, e.g. transfer between conveyer belts, additional impact cannot be avoided. Rubber-ceramic hybrid materials are a sustainable solution for such applications, as they combine the wear resistance of ceramics and the impact resistance of rubber. Here we present an approach to design an optimal ceramic-rubber hybrid for a given application. Thereto, mechanical characterisation at high strain rates – similar to parameters during impact incidents - were done by tension, compression and bending tests up to strain rates of 100 s−1. On this basis numerical simulations were done by a time-explicit FEM-Code (LS-Dyna). In the simulation the ceramic size (shape, area, thickness) and the rubber (type and thickness) were varied. Thereafter, prototypes were built and impacted to confirm results of the numerical simulations. A purpose optimized impact resistance could be calculated with the simulation model and verified by the prototype tests. The area of the ceramic showed the largest influence on the stresses, but also the rubber thickness and type can substantially affect the occurring stresses. On this basis we give mathematical relations and practical recommendations to design ceramic-rubber hybrid plates for a given load. •We present a knowledge-based design for optimized ceramic-rubber hybrids•High strain rate mechanical tests were done to parametrize numerical simulations•Softer rubbers with increasing thickness enhance the impact resistance•Reducing the ceramic area increases impact resistance dramatically: σmax∝A.•Thicker ceramics increase the impact resistance: σmax∝1tC2.