| Abstract: | ![]()
A survey of the present state of the science of polymer mechanics is presented with particular reference to the theory of linear and nonlinear viscoelasticity of homogeneous and heterogeneous polymers. Various approaches adopted in studies of this subject are discussed; these include methods based on the theory of creep of metals, on a statistical model composed of viscoelastic elements, and on the representation of functionals which, in a quite general sense, are sufficiently close to being linear.The second of these methods, which is approximate, yields results which always point to the nonlinearity of the properties of solids, even those that consist of linear elements. The third method is a natural generalization of the Boltzmann-Volterra theory.One of the fundamental tasks relating to the linear viscoelasticity of polymers is the application of the temperature-time analogy in studies of nonuniform and nonstationary problems of solids subjected to loading and heating-cooling cycles. The necessity of developing methods of modeling phenomena in solids of complex shape in nonuniform and nonstationary temperature and stress states (particularly in the nonlinear range) is discussed and a new method of solving problems of this type is described.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp 33–42, 1965 |
