The simple extension tear test-piece also referred to as the trousers sample is widely used to study crack propagation in rubber. The corresponding energy release rate, called tearing energy for rubber materials, was first established by Rivlin and Thomas (Rupture of rubber. I. Characteristic energy for tearing. J. Polym. Sci., 10:291–318, 1953); a second derivation was proposed later by Eshelby (The calculation of energy release rates. In G. C. Sih, H. C. van Elst, and D. Broek, editors, Prospects of Fracture Mechanics, 69–84, Leyden, Noordhoff, 1975).
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