VISCOELASTICITY AND VISCOELASTIC MODELS IN

POLYMERS

PREPAED BY
SOURABH SURYAWANSHI
ROLL No. SC21M022
INTRODUCTION:
• Viscoelastic materials are those materials which exhibits both viscous
and elastic behavior. Viscoelasticity is also known as anelasticity,
which is present in a system when undergoing deformation .
• Viscoelasticity is a time dependent mechanical response to
deformation.
The question arises here what is the need to study viscoelasticity for
polymers ?
answer to the question is because polymer behaves like a solid up to a
particular temperature beyond that it starts to behave like a viscous
fluid .
Viscosity:
• It is the internal resistance force applied by one layer of the fluid to the adjacent
layer of the fluid
• The main reason of viscosity in case of liquids is molecular bonding ;whereas the
main reason of viscosity in gases is molecular collision
• Viscosity basically represents easiness of flow
• If the viscosity is high then the resistance to flow will be more correspondingly
deformation will be less and hence the flow of fluid would be difficult
• In case of liquids with increase in temperature viscosity decreases due to
breaking of bonds
• While in the case of gases due to increase in temperature the viscosity will
increase due to increase in randomness
• The variation of Viscosity with respect to pressure is Negligible.
 Newton’s Law of Viscosity:
• According to Newton’s law of viscosity all those fluids known as Newtonian
Fluid for which Shear Stress is directly proportional to Rate of Shear Strain
• All those fluids are known as Newtonian Fluid for which Viscosity is constant
with respect to rate of deformation
• H2O,Hg,Petrol,Diesel,Kerosene etc. are Newtonian Fluid
• It can be represented as follows:
Where:
ⅆ𝜽
𝜏=Shear Stress 𝝉∝
ⅆ𝒕
ⅆ𝜃 ⅆ𝜽 ⅆ𝒖
=Rate of Deformation =
ⅆ𝑡 ⅆ𝒕 ⅆ𝒚
μ = Dynamic Viscosity
ⅆ𝑢
= Velocity Gradient
ⅆ𝑦
Non-Newtonian Fluid:
• The study of Non-Newtonian Fluid is known as Rheology
• Non-Newtonian Fluids do not obey the Newton’s Law of Viscosity
• Non-Newtonian Fluids follow the following equation
𝑛
ⅆ𝑢
𝜏=𝐴 +𝐵
ⅆ𝑦

ⅆ𝑢
Non-Linear Relationship between 𝜏 &
ⅆ𝑦
Where:
𝜏=Shear Stress
A=Flow Consistency Index
B = Yield Stress
n= Flow Behaviour Index
ⅆ𝑢
= Velocity Gradient
ⅆ𝑦
 𝑛−1
ⅆ𝑢 ⅆ𝑢
𝜏=𝐴 +𝐵
ⅆ𝑦 ⅆ𝑦
If; n=1 ,B=0 ;Newtonian Fluid
ⅆ𝑢 𝑛−1
𝐴 = Apparent Viscosity = 𝜂
ⅆ𝑦
Types of Non-Newtonian Fluid:
1.Dilatent Fluid (B=0;n>1)
2.Pseudoplastic Fluid (B=0;n<1) ⅆ𝑢
𝑛−1
ⅆ𝑢
𝜏=𝐴 +𝐵
ⅆ𝑦 ⅆ𝑦
3.Bingham Fluid(n=1;B≠ 0)
4.Rheopectic Fluid(B>0,n>1)
5.Thixotropic Fluid(B>0;n<1)
1.Dilatant- This fluid is shear-thickening, increasing its resistance with
increasing strain rate. Examples are suspensions of corn starch or sand
in water.
2.Pseudoplastic- shear thinning is the non-Newtonian behaviour of
fluids whose viscosity decreases as strain rate increases. Examples are
polymer solutions, colloidal suspensions, paper pulp in water, latex
paint, blood plasma.
3.Bingham plastic- Fluids that have a linear shear stress/shear strain
relationship and require a finite yield stress before they begin to flow are
called bingham plastic. Examples are clay suspensions, toothpaste,
mayonnaise, chocolate.
4.Rheopectic- Fluids that require a gradually increasing shear stress to
maintain a constant strain rate are referred to as rheopectic. Examples
are gypsum pastes and printer inks.
5.Thixotropic-Fluids that thins out with time and requires a decreasing
stress to maintain a constant strain rate are known as thixotropic.
Examples are bentonite, asphalts, epoxies and adhesives. Many gels and
colloids are thixotropic materials, exhibiting a stable form at rest but
becoming fluid when agitated.
Elasticity:
• Elasticity is the property of material by virtue of which material can
retain its original shape and size on removal of stress.
• Elastic deformation in thermoplastics is the result of two
mechanisms. An applied stress causes the covalent bonds within the
chain to stretch and distort, allowing the chains to elongate elastically.
When the stress is removed, recovery from this distortion is almost
instantaneous.
Hooke’s Law
• Hooke’s law states that when a plastic specimen pulled at constant
strain rate the applied stress or load is directly proportional to the
observed strain or elongation . The maximum stress up to which
stress and strain remain proportional is called the proportional limit.
• If a plastic material is loaded beyond its elastic limit , it does not
return to its original shape and size
● It is represented by following relationship:

𝜏 = Ƴ𝐺
𝝈 = 𝐄𝜺

where:
𝝈=Stress
E=Young’s Modulus of Elasticity
𝜺=Strain
𝜏=Shear stress
Ƴ=Shear Strain
G=Modulus of Rigidity
Stress:
• When a material is subjected to an external influence(Force ,Moment
,Torque );a resistance force set up within a body.
• The Internal Resistance force per unit area acting in a particular plane is
known as Stress.
• It is independent of material’s property
• It is a Second order Tensor ,which means three things are required to
define the stress at a point i.e. magnitude , direction and plane on which it
is acting
Where:
𝜎 = Stress
P =Internal Resistance force
A =Cross Sectional Area
𝑃
𝜎=
𝐴
Strain:
• When a material is subjected to external force it undergoes
deformation and this deformation per unit length is known as strain
• Strain is a measurable quantity
• Strain depends upon material property.

Δ𝐿 𝑝
𝜖= =
𝐿 𝐴𝐸
Where:
𝜖=Strain
Shear Stress:
• Shear stress, force tending to cause deformation of a
material by slippage along a plane or planes parallel to the
imposed stress. Shear stress may occur in solids or liquids; in
the latter it is related to fluid viscosity.
Shear Strain:
Shear strain is the ratio of displacement to an object's
original dimensions due to stress, and is the amount of
deformation perpendicular to a given line rather than parallel to it.
Shear strain measures how much a given deformation differs
from a rigid deformation.
Stress-Strain diagram for Polymers:
Observations from curve:
• This behavior is similar to that in metals and ceramics, which also
deform elastically by the stretching of metallic, ionic, or covalent
bonds. In addition, entire segments of the polymer chains may be
distorted; when the stress is removed, the segments move back to
their original positions over a period of time—often hours or even
months. This time-dependent, or viscoelastic, behavior may
contribute to some nonlinear elastic behavior.
• Polymers deform plastically when the stress exceeds the yield
strength. Unlike deformation in the case of metals, however, plastic
deformation is not a consequence of dislocation movement. Instead,
chains stretch, rotate, slide, and disentangle under load to cause
permanent deformation.
Plastic Behavior of Amorphous Thermoplastics
• The drop in the stress beyond the yield point can be explained by this
phenomenon. Initially, the chains may be highly tangled and
intertwined. When the stress is sufficiently high, the chains begin to
untangle and straighten. Necking also occurs, permitting continued
sliding of the chains at a lesser stress. Eventually, however, the chains
become almost parallel and close together; stronger van der Waals
bonding between the more closely aligned chains requires higher
stresses to complete the deformation and fracture process . This type
of crystallization due to orientation played an important role in the
discovery of nylon as a material to make strong fibers.
Necking in Polymers:
Creep:
• Creep may be defined as a time-dependent deformation at
elevated temperature and at constant stress. It follows, then,
that a failure from such a condition is referred to as a creep
failure or, occasionally, a stress rupture. The temperature at
which creep begins depends on the composition of material.
• 1. Primary Creep
This initial stage is when elastic deformation begins to occur.
Afterwards, plastic deformation takes over, as the creep slows
down from its initial fast rate due to a process called strain
hardening (or work hardening), where the material is strengthened
by plastic deformation.
• 2. Secondary Creep
This stage is also called the steady-state creep. It takes place as
the strain rate starts to settle into a constant state. Strain is
comparatively slow, as microstructural damage has not been
reached yet.
• 3. Tertiary Creep
This is the final stage in a material’s creep deformation, where
deterioration in the material’s microstructure comes about. This
continuous damage causes the strain to pick up speed and worsen
until sufficient voids in the microstructure are generated, resulting
in the material failing in a fracture.
Effect of Temperature on creep:
Polymer Rheology
• It is the study of flow behavior of material when deformed by applied
force i.e. Load ,Temperature etc.
• By conducting this study we can obtain following information so that
we can use polymers in different applications
1. Morphology of a material
2. Intermolecular orientation
3. External pressure
4. Ambient conditions
Viscoelasticity:
• Mechanical response that contains both elastic and viscous
components
• At short time scale solid polymers under stress behave like elastic
materials, whereas at large time scales, they will undergo viscous flow
and disentanglement
• Knowledge of viscoelastic response is a perquisite for designing and
optimizing structural plastic parts and structural bonds that are
subjected to stress
• The viscoelastic behavior of plastics and rubbers can be captured by
an arrangement of dashpots and springs that describe the
viscoelastic response to an applied stress or strain
Analogies Based on Spring and Dashpots:
• Viscoelastic behavior can be described with Mechanical models
constructed of elastic springs obeying Hooke’s Law and Viscous
dashpots obeying Newton’s Law of Viscosity.
• By an arrangement of the elements spring , dashpot, and an element
for friction nearly all polymers can be modeled.
• The arrangement of these elements is based on a serial or parallel
connection or a combination of these .
• An elastic material deforms, stores potential energy,
and recovers deformations in a manner similar to that
of a spring.
• The elastic modulus E for a linearly elastic material
relates stresses and strains, whereas the constant k
for a linear spring relates applied forces and
corresponding deformations. Both E and k are
measures of stiffness.
• These similarities between elastic materials and
springs suggest that springs can be used to represent
elastic material behaviour.
• The stress and the strain rate for a linearly viscous fluid are, respectively, analogous
to the force and the displacement rate for a linear dashpot.
• The coefficient of viscosity 𝜂 for a linearly viscous fluid relates stresses and strain
rates, whereas the coefficient of friction 𝜇 for a linear dashpot relates applied forces
and corresponding displacement rates. The coefficient of viscosity is analogous to the
coefficient of viscous friction for a dashpot.
• These analogies suggest that dashpots can be used to represent viscous fluids
behaviour.
Viscoelastic Emperical Models:
• In this presentation we will discuss about following models :
1.Kelvin-Voigt Model(Viscoelastic Solid Model)
2.Maxwell Model(Viscoelastic Fluid Model)
3.Standard Linear Solid Model
4.Burger Model
Effect of Temperature On Thermoplastics:
Logarithm of the
relaxation modulus
versus temperature
for amorphous
polystyrene, showing
the five different
regions of viscoelastic
behavior. (From A. V.
Tobolsky, Properties
and Structures of
Polymers. Copyright
© 1960 by John
Wiley & Sons, New
York. Reprinted by
permission of John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.)
1.Kelvin-Voigt Model:
• The Kelvin–Voight model is a system
consisting of a spring and a dashpot
connected in a parallel arrangement.
• a stress 𝜎 applied to the entire system
will produce stresses 𝜎𝑠 and 𝜎𝑑 in the
spring and the dashpot.

• As the stress s is applied, the spring

and dashpot will deform by an equal
amount because of their parallel
arrangement.
• The stress–strain relationship for the spring and the stress–strain rate relationship
for the dashpot are:

• Substituting these equations in the starting equation we get,

• The above equation relates stress to strain and the strain rate for the Kelvin–
Voight model, which is a two-parameter (E and 𝜂) viscoelastic model.

• Therefore for a given stress 𝜎 the equation can be solved for the corresponding
strain 𝜀 or vice versa.
Creep Recovery Response:
• If a load 𝜎0 is applied suddenly to the Kelvin model, the spring will want to
stretch, but is held back by the dash-pot, which cannot react immediately.
• Since the spring does not change length, the stress is initially taken up by the
dash-pot.
• The parameter tR , called the retardation time of the material, is a measure of the
time taken for the creep strain to accumulate , the shorter the retardation time,
the more rapid the creep straining.
• Suppose the material is unloaded at time t = 𝜏,
• Solving the equation gives

• The t here is measured from the point where "zero load" begins.
• If one wants to measure time from the onset of load, t must be replaced with t-𝜏.
• The strain at .

• Using this as the initial condition,

• There is a transient-type creep and anelastic recovery, but no instantaneous or
permanent strain.
Stress Relaxation Response:
• Setting the strain to be a constant 𝜀0. The equation reduces to

• Thus the stress is taken up by the spring and is constant, so there is in fact no
stress relaxation over time.
2. Maxwell Model:
• The Maxwell model is a system consisting of a spring and a dashpot connected in
a series arrangement.
• In this case, a stress 𝜎 applied to the entire system is applied equally on the
spring and the dashpot.

• The resulting strain 𝜀 is the sum of the strains in the spring and the dashpot

• differential equation relating stresses

and strains for the Maxwell model
Creep Recovery Response:
• When the Maxwell model is subjected to a stress 𝜎0 , the spring will stretch
immediately and the dash-pot will take time to react. Thus the initial strain is
𝜀 0 = 𝜎0/𝐸.
• Using this as the initial condition , integrating the constitutive equation

• When the load is removed, the spring again reacts immediately, but the dash-pot
has no tendency to recover.
• Hence there is an immediate elastic recovery 𝜎0/𝐸, with the creep strain due to
the dash-pot remaining.
• The Maxwell model predicts creep, but not of the ever-decreasing strain-rate
type.
• There is no anelastic recovery, but there is the elastic response and a permanent
strain.
Stress Relaxation Response:
• The material is subjected to a constant strain 𝜀0 at t=0.
𝜂ⅆ𝜎
+ 𝐸σ = 0
ⅆ𝑡

• Integrating this equation with initial condition 𝜎 = 𝐸𝜀0 at t=0

• 𝜎 = 𝐸𝜀0𝑒(-t/tr) where tr = η/𝐸

• The parameter tr is called the relaxation time of the material and is a measure of
the time taken for the stress to relax; the shorter the relaxation time, the more
rapid the stress relaxation.
3.Three Element Model:

• There are four possible three element models.

• The models shown above are referred to as “solids” since they react
instantaneously as elastic materials and recover completely upon unloading.
• The models shown above are referred to as “fluids” since they involve dashpots
at the initial loading phase and do not recover upon unloading.
The Poynting-Thompson viscoelastic model (Standard solid
model/spring+ kelvin-voight model) :

• Since the elements are connected in series, the stresses in both the branches are
the same, while the strains in the two parts are additive.
• For stresses remaining constant with time and in the absence of any initial strain
at time t = t0 , the relation for the total strain at any instant of time 𝜀 𝑡 for
sustained loading which is expressed as a summation of the instantaneous elastic
strain and delayed elastic strain as follows:

𝜎0 𝜎0 E2t
•𝜀 𝑡 = + 1 − exp − , 𝑡 ≤ 𝑡𝑎
𝐸1 𝐸2 λ
• After removal of the stress, if the Poynting-Thompson element is kept unloaded over an indefinite
long period of time, the strain-time curve follows an exponential decay i.e. the total recovery of
the strain occurs following an exponential curve, which is expressed as:

𝜎0 E2t E2ta
•𝜀 𝑡 = exp − exp −1 , 𝑡 ≥ 𝑡𝑎
𝐸2 λ λ
4.Standard four-parameter viscoelastic Burger model:

• The standard four-parameter viscoelastic Burger model, consists of a Maxwell

element (ME) connected in series with a Kelvin-Voigt (KV ) element.
• For stresses remaining constant with time, and in the
absence of any initial strain, the strain in the Burger element
at any instant of time is expressed as follows:
• If the Burger element is kept unloaded for a long period of time, creep recovery
of the element occur which is governed by the following equation
𝜎0 E3t E3t1
𝜀 𝑡 = exp − exp −1 , 𝑡 ≥ 𝑡1
𝐸3 η3 η3
• The combination of Maxwell
and Kelvin elements in series is
often used to describe in most
simple terms the viscoelastic
behaviour of polymers.
Limitation of Viscoelastic Models:
1. These models does not give any idea about molecular insight
because only mechanical components are used.
2.Complexity of Models increase with increase in number of
components
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