Soft Matter - Viscoelasticity, Creep and Stress Relaxation

You will be introduced to the study of soft matter (or soft condensed matter) and explore the two aspects that make up material linearity. Then move onto analyzing the creep and stress relaxation functions and different mechanical analogies. The demonstrations, problems, examples and assessment questions in this instructor-led video-based course, are designed to provide you with a comprehensive foundation in advanced aspects of soft matter.

You will study the definition of soft condensed matter and viscoelasticity. Then, the creep phenomenon will be discussed, which describes a continued straining or flow under constant stress. You will explore the concept of ‘linear response’, which describes a scenario where the material displays both the linearity of scale and the superposition of separate responses for all histories.

Next, you will learn about creep and stress relaxation functions. You will gain insight into the Deborah number, see what the pitch drop experiment by the University of Queensland demonstrated, and you will discover the importance of understanding the difference between aging and non-aging material. Finally, you will study the response of elastic and classical viscous fluid and mechanical analogy examples. This course will be of interest to mechanical engineering students, or professionals in the fields of fluid mechanics or continuum mechanics.