abstract:The Mullins effect is a particular aspect of the mechanical response in filled rubbers in which the stress-strain curve depends on the maximum loading previously encountered. The phenomenon, named for rubber scientist Leonard Mullins, working at the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre in Hertford, can be idealized for many purposes as an instantaneous and irreversible softening of the stress-strain curve that occurs whenever the load increases beyond its prior all-time maximum value.