On the characterization of nonlinear viscoelastic materials

Abstract Starting with specific constitutive equations, methods of evaluating material properties from experimental data are outlined and then illustrated for some polymeric materials; these equations have been derived from thermodynamic principles, and are very similar to the Boltzmann superposition integral form of linear theory. The experimental basis for two equations under uniaxial loading and the influence of environmental factors on the properties are first examined. It is then shown that creep and recovery data can be conveiently used to evaluate properties in one equation, while two‐step relaxation data serve the same purpose for the second equation. Methods of reducing data to accomplish this characterization and to determine the accuracy of the theory are illustrated using existing data on nitrocellulose film, fiber‐reinforced phenolic resin, and polyisobutylene. Finally, a set of three‐dimensional constitutive equations is proposed which is consistent with nonlinear behavior of some metals and plastics, and which enables all properties to be evaluated from uniaxial creep and recovery data.