Strength and invalidation analysis of elastomeric barrier reinforced by short-staple fiber

An uniaxial tensile test of the EPDM material reinforced by short-staple fiber was performed. Digital-image method was used to process the test data and obtain the accurate material stress-strain curve. According to the structure characteristics of elastomeric barrier in rocket engine, the finite element model of the barrier was established by finite element analysis software ABAQUS, the calculation was greatly simplified by using the axisymmetric structure. By fitting the tensile test data with ABAQUS, an accurate model of the hyperlasticity was obtained. The model was used to simulate the working situation of the barrier and the actual strain of interlayer was obtained. The result shows that under the working situation, the loading on the barrier does not exceed the strength limit of the material, and still has a high degree of safety, hence the current safety criterion is unavailable. The strain of barrier was calculated while changing the stiffness and the gap between barrier and grain. Comparing with the results before, the methods is put forward to reduce the barrier strain, and a method which can reduce the barrier strain effectively was put forward, which provide the basis for the optimization of the barrier.