Investigation of the mechanical properties of acrylics under conditions of creep,stress relaxation,and harmonic vibration

The dynamic and static (creep, stress relaxation) mechanical properties of various acrylics have been investigated. A relation is established between the structure and the macroscopic mechanical properties. The previous thermal history and the characteristics of the state of stress are shown to affect the nature of the relaxation processes and the mechanical properties of the acrylics. Generalized stress relaxation curves are constructed. The mechanical glass transition temperatures of the acrylics investigated are determined.Lenin Moscow State Pedagogic Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 157–159, January–February, 1973.     

Modeling of primary and secondary creep for a wide stress range

Many materials exhibit a stress range dependent creep behavior. The power–law creep observed for a certain stress range changes to the viscous type creep if the stress value decreases. Recently published experimental data for advanced heat resistant steels indicate that the high creep exponent (in the range 5–12 for power–law behaviour) may decrease to the low value of approximately 1 within the stress range relevant for engineering structures. The aim of this paper is to confirm the necessity of the assumption of the stress range dependent power–law–viscous creep transition for the solution of stress relaxation problems affected by creep behavior at elevated temperatures. A constitutive model for the minimum creep rate is introduced to describe both the linear and the power law creep depending upon the stress level. The proposed constitutive model includes a strain hardening function to describe the primary creep stage. To demonstrate the existence of the linear creep behaviour in the low stress range of application area and the influence of the primary creep behaviour on relaxation, several solutions of a uniaxial stress relaxation problem are presented for the loading values relevant to engineering applications. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effect of supermolecular structure on the relaxation properties of polyformaldehyde in tension and compression

An experimental investigation of the stress relaxation at various strain values in polyformaldehyde blocks has revealed two regions with different stress relaxation mechanisms. The effect of the supermolecular structure on each of these regions is discussed.Scientific Research Institute of Plastics, Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 787–792, September–October, 1969.     

Modeling of stress relaxation associated with an electrically-induced phase transformation

Stress relaxation due to an electrically-induced phase transformation in a ferroelectric crystal bar stretched by a hard-loading device is studied in the one-dimensional setting of electromechanics. According to the proposed model, the stress relaxation rate is governed by a nonlinear ordinary differential equation which resulted from the kinetic relation that controls the evolution of the phase transformation. A numerical analysis basing on simplifying approximation indicates that the stress starts to decrease when the intensity of the applied electric field reaches a critical value and that a stronger electric field results in a quicker stress reduction.     

Stress relaxation in a polymer disk

The stress relaxation in a polymer disk with a central hole, into which a rigid metal rod is press-fitted, is considered. The progressive redistribution of the stresses in the disk has been observed by a photoelastic method. In the theoretical solution of the problem the relaxation properties of the polymer are taken into account by means of a generalized nonlinear Maxwell equation with two terms of the relaxation spectrum. It is shown that the linear, as distinct from the nonlinear, theory is not capable of conveying the characteristics of the stress relaxation process in a rigid polymer disk.Institute of Chemical Physics, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 1064–1070, November–December, 1971.     

The effect of ultraviolet radiation on the stress relaxation rate of polymers

The effect of UV radiation on the stress relaxation rate for four different polymers was investigated. A reversible increase in the stress relaxation rate was noted: the rate increased during irradiation and declined after its termination. It is assumed that this effect involves the rupture of stressed polymer macromolecules by the action of UV rays.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 615–618, 1967     

Effect of temperature on stress changes in PTFE seals

Problems relating to temperature transitions that take place in a restricted time are considered on the assumption that fast relaxation is complete, and that the temperature transitions do not accelerate the stress relaxation process. Uniaxial and three-dimensional loading of PTFE specimens are considered. The derived theoretical relations between stress and temperature for both types of loading do not differ essentially from those obtained experimentally. Recommendations are given for reducing the drop in seal stress resulting from temperature decreases.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 2, No. 5, pp. 693–699, 1966     

Fundamental solution of generalized thermo-viscoelasticity using the finite element method

The present paper is aimed at an investigation of the temperature, displacement, and stress in a viscoelastic half space of Kelven–Voigt type. The formulation is applied according to three theories of generalized thermoelasticity: Lord–Shulman with one relaxation time, Green–Lindsay with two relaxation times, as well as the coupled theory. The nondimensional governing equations are solved by the finite element method. Numerical results for the temperature distribution, displacement, and thermal stress are represented graphically. Comparisons are made with the results predicted by the CD, L-S, and G-L theories in the presence and absence of the viscoelastic relaxation time.     

Fractional Burgers models in creep and stress relaxation tests

Classical and thermodynamically consistent fractional Burgers models are examined in creep and stress relaxation tests. Using the Laplace transform method, the creep compliance and relaxation modulus are obtained in integral form, that yielded, when compared to the thermodynamical requirements, the narrower range of model parameters in which the creep compliance is a Bernstein function while the relaxation modulus is completely monotonic. Moreover, the relaxation modulus may even be oscillatory function with decreasing amplitude. The asymptotic analysis of the creep compliance and relaxation modulus is performed near the initial time-instant and for large time as well.     

A new method of describing bottom stress in two-dimensional hydrodynamical models of shallow homogeneous seas, estuaries, and lakes

A new expression for bottom friction is developed for use in two-dimensional hydrodynamical models of shallow homogeneous seas, estuaries, and lakes. Bottom stress is provided by a single relaxation approximation which can be used to replace the conventional parametrization in any existing explicit time-stepping model. The method produces the correct steady state flow for wind-driven circulation in shallow systems. It derives the bottom stress from the vertical eddy viscosity which can have any prescribed variation through the water column. The single relaxation approximation uses a recursive relation for bottom stress involving only values at the previous time step and a pair of precomputed coefficients at each grid point.     

Vibrorelaxation of stresses in rubbers

Stress relaxation which occurs on applying a periodic deformation at constant amplitude and infrasonic frequencies to a uniaxially compressed rubber sample is studied experimentally. The application of vibrations during stress relaxation leads to an additional reduction in the relaxing stress. This process is called vibrorelaxation. The extent of the additional reduction in stress during vibrorelaxation increases substantially on raising the content of activating filler in the rubber.Leningrad Branch, Scientific-Research Institute of the Rubber Industry. V. I. Lenin Moscow State Pedagogic Institute, Problem Laboratory of Polymer Physics. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 720–723, July–August, 1972.     

Thermodynamic determination of the shift factor

The methods of the thermodynamics of nonequilibrium processes are used to examine the creep stain-relaxation time; a transition is made from the relaxation time of the degree of advancement of the relaxation process to the strain-relaxation time. Expressions for the temperature and stress shift factors containing experimentally measurable quantities are found starting from the strain-relaxation time.     

Effect of nanofiller aspect ratio on the stress relaxation and creep response of toughened pom composites

Ternary composites composed of polyoxymethylene (POM), polyurethane (PU), and sodium fluorohectorite (FH) or sodium bentonite (BN) were produced by the melt compounding masterbatch (MB) technique. The related MB was produced by mixing the PU latex with water-swellable FH or BN. The dispersion of the nanofillers in the composites was studied by X-ray diffraction techniques. The crystallization of the POM-based systems was inspected by polarized optical microscopy (PLM). The stress relaxation and creep properties of the composites were determined in short-time stress relaxation and creep tests (creep at various temperatures), respectively. The POM/PU/FH composites produced by the MB technique outperformed the POM/PU blend and the POM/PU/BN system in respect to most of the stress relaxation and creep characteristics. This fact was attributed to the higher aspect ratio of FH compared with that of BN. The master curves (creep compliance vs. time) constructed by employing the time-temperature superposition principle showed that the Findley power law was fully applicable to the experimental results obtained.     

Relaxation dynamics of the rheological properties of ferrofluids

We studied experimentally the shear stress relaxation of two different ferrofluids under the action of an external magnetic field by stepwise changes of shear rate. It has been found that ferrofluids able to form significant structures under the influence of an applied magnetic field show a slow relaxation phenomenon. (© 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Prediction of the Stress-Relaxation Behavior of Thermoshrinkable Radiation-Modified Polymer Materials

The results of investigating nonirradiated and gamma-irradiated (to an absorbed dose of 150 kGy) specimens of an ethylene-octene copolymer are presented. The thermal properties (melting endotherm and crystallization exotherm) are determined by the method of differential scanning calorimetry. The behavior of the material in short-term tension is discussed. The primary attention is given to the temperature-time dependence of the mechanical properties of the materials under creep and stress relaxation. The long-term stress relaxation is predicted from short-term creep tests at elevated temperatures using the temperature-time correspondence principle. The results obtained indicate that the material investigated may be used for thermoshrinkable polymer products with long-term serviceability.     

Generalized thermoelastic infinite medium with spherical cavity subjected to moving heat source

This paper deals with a problem of thermoelastic interactions in an isotropic unbounded medium with spherical cavity due to the presence of moving heat sources in the context of the linear theory of generalized thermoelasticity with one relaxation time. The governing equations are expressed in the Laplace transform domain and solved in that domain. The inversion of the Laplace transform is done numerically using the Riemann-sum approximation method. The numerical estimates of the displacement, temperature, stress, and strain are obtained for a hypothetical material. The results obtained are presented graphically to show the effect of the heat source velocity and the relaxation time parameters on displacement, temperature, stress, and strain.     

Jump conditions in stress relaxation and creep experiments of Burgers type fluids: a study in the application of Colombeau algebra of generalized functions

We discuss stress relaxation and creep experiments of fluids that are generalizations of the classical model due to Burgers by allowing the material moduli such as the viscosities and relaxation and retardation times to depend on the stress. The physical problem, which is cast within the context of one dimension, leads to an ordinary differential equation that involves nonlinear terms like product of a function with a jump discontinuity and the derivative of a function with a jump discontinuity. As the equations are nonlinear, standard techniques that are used to study problems concerning linear viscoelastic fluids such as Laplace transforms and the theory of distributions are not applicable. We find it necessary to seek the solution in a more general setting. We discuss the mathematical and physical issues concerning the jump discontinuities and nonlinearity of the governing equation, and we show that the solution to the governing equation can be found in the sense of the generalized functions introduced by Colombeau. In the framework of Colombeau algebra we, under certain assumptions, derive jump conditions that shall be used in stress relaxation and creep experiments of fluids of the Burgers type. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the physical relevance of these assumptions.     

Estimation of limit strains in disk-type flywheels made of a compliant elastomeric matrix composite undergoing radial creep

Fiber reinforced elastomeric matrix composites (EMCs) offer several potential advantages for construction of rotors for flywheel energy storage systems. One potential advantage, for safety considerations, is the existence of maximum stresses near the outside radius of thick circumferentially wound EMC disks, which could lead to a desirable self-arresting failure mode at ultimate speeds. Certain unidirectionally reinforced EMCs, however, have been noted to creep readily under the influence of stress transverse to the fibers. In this paper, stress redistribution in a spinning thick disk made of a circumferentially filament wound EMC material on a small rigid hub has been analyzed with the assumption of total radial stress relaxation due to radial creep. It is shown that, following complete relaxation, the circumferential strains and stresses are maximized at the outside radius of the disk. Importantly, the radial tensile strains are three times greater than the circumferential strains at any given radius. Therefore, a unidirectional EMC material system that can safely endure transverse tensile creep strains of at least three times the elastic longitudinal strain capacity of the same material is likely to maintain the theoretically safe failure mode despite complete radial stress relaxation. Submitted to the 11th International Conference on Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, June 11–15, 2000). Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 87–94, January–February, 2000.