Strength improvement design of engine rubber mount based on finite element method

To solve the rubber tearing problem at the rubber-metal interface of some vehicle engine rubber mount, the mount's finite element (FE) model was built. The simulation was carried out by ABAQUS. Material constants were gained from stress-strain test data. CATIA and Hypermesh were also applied during modeling process. The simulation results were consistent well with the test data on vertical stiffness. The results show that: most rubber stress extrema appear near rubber-metal interfaces; especially stress-raisers were at corners of supporting faces. Various improved structures of the mount model were carried out. It's found that increasing taper angle enhances the strength of rubber mount, while thickness influences its strength, too. The scheme with better stress state as well as meeting the stiffness and layout requirements was choozen as resolution. It has certain reference significance for research and development of the same kind rubber mount.