An analogy between radially-loaded rubber bush mountings and axially-loaded bonded rubber blocks

The validity of the widely-quoted experimental data for the reduced radial stiffness of a cylindrical rubber bush mounting of finite length is discussed by proposing an analogy between such a bush and two tandem cylindrical rubber blocks of circular cross-section which are axially loaded. Previously-derived expressions for the radial stiffness of a finite-length cylindrical bush and the apparent Young’s modulus of an axially-loaded bonded rubber block of circular cross-section are exploited. This leads to an adaptation of the data that incorporates the possible failure of the bushes due to internal rupture. The analytically-derived values of this stiffness are demonstrated to have improved agreement with these appropriately modified data. Representative numerical results are presented for a range of bushes in tabular and graphical forms.