Stress Relaxation Studies of the Viscoelastic Properties of Polymers

Extensive studies of the viscoelastic properties of polymers undertaken in the author's laboratory by means of the method of stress relaxation are here reviewed. The discussion is divided into four parts: chemical stress relaxation, stress relaxation in amorphous polymers, stress relaxation in crystalline polymers, and stress relaxation in certain natural polymers and polyelectrolytes. Mathematical description of the phenomena are presented in simple form. The relation between structure and viscoelastic properties of polymers are discussed and a rather complete over-all picture of these phenomena seems to be emerging.