Journal of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of Gazi University 35:4 (2020) 2113-2123 Determination of mechanical behavior of metal-rubber compound pulley part, finite element analysis and verification with tests Agâh Uğuz 1 , Ufuk Penekli 2* 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Science and Technology, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey 2 FE-TECH İleri Mühendislik Hizmetleri Araştırma ve Geliştirme San.Tic.Ltd.Şti., Bursa, Turkey Highlights: Graphical/Tabular Abstract  Obtaining Mooney- Rivlin hyperelastic material constants by performing uniaxial tension and simple shear tests  Validation of finite element analysis, and metal-rubber pulley test results  Design optimization, and product development Figure A. Flow chart of the study Purpose: The purpose of this study is to reduce or eliminate conventional physical testing, trial & error methods, and to improve product designs for hyperelastic materials by using numerical methods. Theory and Methods: Uniaxial tension test, and simple shear test methods are used to obtain material behavior of rubber samples. Mooney-Rivlin hyperelastic material model is used in finite element analysis. Results: Mooney-Rivlin hyperelastic material constants are calculated for physical uniaxial tension and simple shear tests. Servomotor driven pulley torsion test machine is designed and manufactured, then torsional test results are compared with finite element analysis for pulley part. It is proven that the results are quite similar, and reliable. Finally, design parameters of pulley cross section are optimized, and mechanical improvement are achieved for rubber part of pulley. Conclusion: In this study, the mechanical behavior of a metal-rubber compound engine pulley part under torsional loading condition is examined and it is demonstrated that it can be expressed by numerical methods. Then, pulley cross section is optimized by using optimization tools. It is seen that 28% improvement in stress level is achieved. By using this method, any other products with rubber material can be examined at the design stage without need for physical tests, and design improvement studies can be completed in simulation environment. Keywords:  finite element analysis  rubber  Mooney-Rivlin  hyperelastic material  testing Article Info: Research Article Received: 23.01.2020 Accepted: 20.05.2020 DOI: 10.17341/gazimmfd.679206 Correspondence: Author: Ufuk Penekli e-mail: ufuk.penekli@fe- tech.com.tr phone: +90 533 737 5813