Boltzmann superposition principle linear viscoelasticity

The simplest theoretical model proposed to predict the strain response to a complex stress history is the Boltzmann Superposition Principle. Basically this principle proposes that for a linear viscoelastic material, the strain response to a complex loading history is simply the algebraic sum of the strains due to each step in load. Implied in this principle is the idea that the behaviour of a plastic is a function of its entire loading history. There are two situations to consider. 

An important and sometimes overlooked feature of all linear viscoelastic liquids that follow a Maxwell response is that they exhibit anti-thixo-tropic behaviour. That is if a constant shear rate is applied to a material that behaves as a Maxwell model the viscosity increases with time up to a constant value. We have seen in the previous examples that as the shear rate is applied the stress progressively increases to a maximum value. The approach we should adopt is to use the Boltzmann Superposition Principle. Initially we apply a continuous shear rate until a steady state... 

Viscoelastic behavior is classified as linear or non-linear according to the manner by which the stress depends upon the imposed deformation history (SO). Insteady shear flows, for example, the shear rate dependence of viscosity and the normal stress functions are non-linear properties. Linear viscoelastic behavior is obtained for simple fluids if the deformation is sufficiently small for all past times (infinitesimal deformations) or if it is imposed sufficiently slowly (infinitesimal rate of deformation) (80,83). In shear flow under these circumstances, the normal stress differences are small compared to the shear stress, and the expression for the shear stress reduces to a statement of the Boltzmann superposition principle (15,81) ... 

Apply the Boltzmann superposition principle for the case of a continuous stress application on a linear viscoelastic material to obtain the resulting strain y(t) in terms of J(t — t ) and ih/dt, the stress history. Consider the applied stress in terms of small applied At,-, as shown on the accompanying figure. 

Chapters 5 and 6 discuss how the mechanical characteristics of a material (solid, liquid, or viscoelastic) can be defined by comparing the mean relaxation time and the time scale of both creep and relaxation experiments, in which the transient creep compliance function and the transient relaxation modulus for viscoelastic materials can be determined. These chapters explain how the Boltzmann superposition principle can be applied to predict the evolution of either the deformation or the stress for continuous and discontinuous mechanical histories in linear viscoelasticity. Mathematical relationships between transient compliance functions and transient relaxation moduli are obtained, and interrelations between viscoelastic functions in the time and frequency domains are given. 

Inherent in the mathematical treatment of linear viscoelasticity is the Boltzmann superposition principle (15), which, in simple terms, states that the deformation resulting at any time is directly proportional to the applied stress. This is illustrated in Figure 10.5. 

Any of equations (2-45), (2-46), (2-49), or (2-50) is sufficient as a statement of the Boltzmann superposition principle for linear viscoelastic response of a material. Often in particular applications, however, it is more convenient to use one form than another. All can be extended to three dimensions by using the same forms with the strains given by equation (2-18). Thus, for example, equation (2-46) becomes ... 

Linear viscoelasticity is the simplest viscoelastic behavior in which the ratio of stress to strain is a function of time alone and not of the strain or stress magnitude. Under a sufficiently small strain, the molecular structure will be practically unaffected, and linear viscoelastic behavior will be observed. At this sufficiently small strain (within the linear range), a general equation that describes all types of linear viscoelastic behavior can be developed by using the Boltzmann superposition principle (Dealy and Wiss-brun, 1990). For a sufficiently small strain (yo) in the experiment, the relaxation modulus is given by... 

In the following sections we discuss the two superposition principles that are important in the theory of viscoelasticity. The first is the Boltzmann superposition principle, which is concerned with linear viscoelasticity, and the second is time-temperature superposition, which deals with the time-temperature equivalence. 

The most commonly used model is the Boltzmann superposition principle, which proposes that for a linear viscoelastic material the entire loading history contributes to the strain response, and the latter is simply given by the algebraic sum of the strains due to each step in the load. The principle may be expressed as follows. If an equation for the strain is obtained as a function of time under a constant stress, then the modulus as a function of time may be expressed as... 

First, we need a rule to predict the effect of time-varying loads on a viscoelastic model. When a combination of loads is applied to an elastic material, the stress (and strain) components caused by each load in turn can be added. This addition concept is extended to linear viscoelastic materials. The Boltzmann superposition principle states that if a creep stress ai is... 

Boltzmann superposition principle A basis for the description of all linear viscoelastic phenomena. No such theor) is available to serve as a basis for the interpretation of nonlinear phenomena—to describe flows in which neither the strain nor the strain rate is small. As a result, no general valid formula exists for calculating values for one material function on the basis of experimental data from another. However, limited theories have been developed. See kinetic theory viscoelasticity, nonlinear, bomb See plasticator safety. 

Nonlinear viscoelasticity is the behavior in which the relationship of stress, strain, and time are not linear so that the ratios of stress to strain are dependent on the value of stress. (The Boltzmann superposition principle does not hold). Such behavior is very common in plastic systems, non-linearity being found especially at high strains or in crystalline plastics. 

Use the integral form of the Boltzmann superposition principle to show that the creep compliance and stress relaxation modulus of any linear viscoelastic material are related through... 

In linear viscoelasticity the stress relaxation test is often used, along with the time-temperature superposition principle and the Boltzmann superposition principle,... 

The linear viscoelastic materials obey the so-called Boltzmann Superposition Principle. As noted by Tschoegl (13), this was the only foray of the Viennese statistical physicist Ludwig Boltzmann into mechanics. The principle states that in linear viscoelasticity effects are simply additive it matters at which instant an effect is created and it is assumed that each increment of stress makes an independent contribution. 

The general approach to discussing linear viscoelasticity comes from the Boltzmann superposition principle represented as a hereditary integral. For the shear stress as a function of shear strain, one obtains... 

Boltzmann Superposition and the Constitutive Law for Linear Viscoelasticity. The underlying assumption of the Boltzmann superposition principle is that responses to loads or deformations applied to a material at different times are linearly additive. This set of assumptions leads to the constitutive laws of linear viscoelasticity theory which can be considered as a linear response theory. For discussion purposes, consider a Maxwell material that is subjected to a two-step deformation history. The history is such that a deformation yi = Ayi... 

In this chapter we describe the common forms of viscoelastic behaviour and discuss the phenomena in terms of the deformation characteristics of elastic solids and viscous fluids. The discussion is confined to linear viscoelasticity, for which the Boltzmann superposition principle enables the response to multistep loading processes to be determined from simpler creep and relaxation experiments. Phenomenological mechanical models are considered and used to derive retardation and relaxation spectra, which describe the time-scale of the response to an applied deformation. Finally we show that in alternating strain experiments the presence of the viscous component leads to a phase difference between stress and strain. 

For elastic solids Hooke s law is valid only at small strains, and Newton s law of viscosity is restricted to relatively low flow rates, as only when the stress is proportional either to the strain or the strain rate is analysis of the deformation feasible in simple form. A comparable limitation holds for viscoelastic materials general quantitative predictions are possible only in the case of linear viscoelasticity, for which the results of changing stresses or strains are simply additive, but the time at which the change is made must be taken into account. For a single loading process there will be a linear relation between stress and strain at a given time. Multistep loading can be analysed in terms of the Boltzmann superposition principle (Section 4.2.1) because each increment of stress can be assumed to make an independent contribution to the overall strain. 

Figure 10.4 Comparison of creep compliance (a) and recovery compliance (b) at three load levels cTi, <72 and <73 for a non-linear viscoelastic material obeying Leaderman s modified Boltzmann superposition principle. Note that the creep and recovery ciuves for a given load level are identical...

Leaderman s approach was to modify the basic Boltzmann superposition principle of linear viscoelasticity, so that the strain was given by... 

Find the tensile strain at the following times i (a) 1500 s, and (b) 2500 s. Assume that under these conditions polypropylene is linearly viscoelastic and therefore obeys the Boltzmann superposition principle. 

Since the Zener model is a linear viscoelastic model, it obeys the Boltzmann superposition principle. In this problem we are concerned with a strain history which is a smoothly varying function of time, with y undergoing sinusoidal oscillations. Therefore the integral form of the BSP is the most straightforward one to apply... 

This states in effect that the response of a linear viscoelastic material to stress increments a, applied at different times t is the sum of the responses to the stress increments applied separately and independently. A corollary allows superposition of the stress responses to incrementally applied strain increments. By passing to infinitesimal increments, responses to continually varying stress and strain can be calculated using the Boltzmann superposition principle ... 

The linear viscoelastic properties G(t)md J t) are closely related. Both the stress-relaxation modulus and the creep compliance are manifestations of the same dynamic processes at the molecular level in the liquid at equilibrium, and they are closely related. It is not the simple reciprocal relationship G t) = 1/J t) that applies to Newtonian liquids and Hookean solids. They are related through an integral equation obtained by means of the Boltzmann superposition principle [1], a link between such linear response functions. An example of such a relationship is given below. 

In a linear viscoelastic material, the moduli and compliances (t), G(t), D(t), and J t) (tensile and shear modulus and tensile and shear comphance respectively) are functions of t, although they remain independent of stress or strain. Development of constitutive equations for such materials is generally based on the idea that the effects of small increases in stress or strain are additive, which is known as the Boltzmann superposition principle [4, 10, 11]. A strain e(t) may be considered to result from a sum of step strains applied at time u and maintained for a time t-u[Eq.(31)j. 

In defining the constitutive relations for an elastic solid, we have assumed that the strains are small and that there are linear relationships between stress and strain. We now ask how the principle of linearity can be extended to materials where the deformations are time dependent. The basis of the discussion is the Boltzmann superposition principle. This states that in linear viscoelasticity effects are simply additive, as in classical elasticity, the difference being that in linear viscoelasticity it matters at which instant an effect is created. Although the application of stress may now cause a time-dependent deformation, it can still be assumed that each increment of stress makes an independent contribution. From the present discussion, it can be seen that the linear viscoelastic theory must also contain the additional assumption that the strains are small. In Chapter 11, we will deal with attempts to extend linear viscoelastic theory either to take into account non-linear effects at small strains or to deal with the situation at large strains. 

The Boltzmann superposition principle is one starting point for a theory of linear viscoelastic behaviour, and is sometimes called the integral representation of linear viscoelasticity , because it defines an integral equation. An equally valid starting point is to relate the stress to the strain by a linear differential equation, which leads to a differential representation of linear viscoelasticity. In its most general form, the equation is expressed as... 

In Chapter 5, we introduced linear viscoelasticity. In this scheme, the observed creep or stress relaxation behaviour can be viewed as the defining characteristic of the material. The creep compliance function - the ratio of creep strain e t) to the constant stress a - is a function of time only and is denoted as J t). Similarly and necessarily, the stress relaxation modulus, the ratio of stress to the constant strain, is the function G(r). Any system in which these two conditions do not apply is non-linear. Then, the many useful and elegant properties associated with the linear theory, notably the Boltzmann superposition principle, no longer apply and theories to predict stress or strain are approximations that must be supported by experiment. 

A corner-stone of the theory of linear viscoelasticity is the Boltzmann superposition principle. It allows the state of stress or strain in a viscoelastic body to be determined from knowledge of its entire deformation history. The basic assumption is that during viscoelastic deformation in which the applied stress is varied, the overall deformation can be determined from the algebraic sum of strains due to each loading step. Before the use of the principle can be demonstrated it is necessary, first of all, to define a parameter known as the creep compliance J(t) which is a function only of time. It allows the strain after a given time e(t) to be related to the applied stress or for a linear viscoelastic material since... 

Fig. 5.10 The response of a linear viscoelastic material to loading followed by unloading, illustrating the Boltzmann superposition principle.

In addition to the Boltzmann superposition principle, the second consequence of linear viscoelasticity is the time-temperature equivalence, which will be described in greater detail later on. This equivalence implies that functions such as a=/(s), but also moduli, behave at constant temperature and various exten-sional rates similarly to analogues that are measured at constant extensional rates and various temperatures. Time- and temperature-dependent variables such as the tensile and shear moduli (E, G) and the tensile and shear compliance (D, J) can be transformed from E =f(t) into E =f(T) and vice versa, in the limit of small deformations and homogeneous, isotropic, and amorphous samples. These principles are indeed not valid when the sample is anisotropic or is largely strained. 

Describing and predicting viscoelastic properties of polymer materials or adhesively bonded joints on the basis of analytical mathematical equations are justified only in the limits of linear viscoelasticity. Linear viscoelasticity is typically limited to strain levels below 0.5%. Furthermore, linear viscoelastic behavior is associated to the Boltzmann superposition principle, the correspondence principle, and the principle of time-temperature superposition. 

According to the Boltzmann superposition principle, the time-dependent strain caused by two individual stress incidents (Ti t) and o-2(f) can be calculated as i(f) -I- 82(f) if (Ti(f) would cause Si(f) and (T2(f) would cause 82(f). In consequence, according to the Boltzmann superposition principle in the linear viscoelastic range, strain responses from subsequent stress histories may simply be summarized if according to the criterion of proportionality at any instant of time the strain response behaves proportional to the stress level ... 

The correspondence principle following the Boltzmann superposition principle allows the conversion of the common mechanical relationships of linear elasticity theory into linear viscoelasticity simply by replacing cr by time-dependent a t) and e by time-dependent e(t). Young s modulus E or the relaxation modulus Ej (f)= cr(f)/e is accordingly transformed to the creep modulus c(f) = cile t) orthe creep compliance/(f) = s(f)/(7,respectively. These time-dependent parameters can be determined from tensile creep and relaxation experiments. In compression or shear mode, the corresponding parameters of moduli are calculated in a similar manner. 

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