Module 1: Viscoelasticity

Viscoelasticity - Lesson Summary

Soft Matter or Soft Condensed Matter is the convenient term for materials in states of matter that are neither simple liquids nor crystalline solids.
Viscoelasticity is the property of materials which involve two types of common natural responses which are classical elasticity and classical fluid.
The time-scale of the viscoelastic materials usually implies the largest time-constant describing molecular relaxation.
The Six Tests for a Classical Solid according to Wineman and Rajagopal are:
Stress control test
Release of stress test
Strain control test
Effect of different histories test
Energy dissipation test
Effect of sinusoidal oscillations test
When stress has been released from a solid the strain is recoverable but when a fluid is subjected to stress that strain is never recovered.
Continued straining or flow under constant stress is referred to as the creep phenomenon.
The phenomenon in a viscoelastic material where the stress slowly decreases over time is called the stress relaxation phenomenon.