Sinusoidal strain

A schematic of the system is illustrated in Figure 1. For dynamic frequency sweeps (refer to Figure 2), the polymer is strained sinusoidally and the stress is measured as a function of the frequency. The strain amplitude is kept small enough to evoke only a linear response. The advantage of this test is that it separates the moduli into an elastic one, the dynamic storage modulus (G ) and into a viscous one, the dynamic loss modulus (G"). From these measurements one can determine fundamental properties such as ... 

Although stress-relaxation and creep measurements are used extensively, measuring oscillatory shear is the most commonly used method for characterizing the linear viscoelastic properties of polymer melts and concentrated solutions. As indicated in Fig. 3.10, the liquid is strained sinusoidally at some frequency co, and in the linear region (small-enough strain amplitude yo)- The stress response at steady state is also sinusoidal, but usually out of phase with the strain by some phase angle steady-state stress signal is resolved into in-phase and out-of-phase components, and these are recorded as functions of frequency ... 

The relaxation and creep experiments that were described in the preceding sections are known as transient experiments. They begin, run their course, and end. A different experimental approach, called a dynamic experiment, involves stresses and strains that vary periodically. Our concern will be with sinusoidal oscillations of frequency v in cycles per second (Hz) or co in radians per second. Remember that there are 2ir radians in a full cycle, so co = 2nv. The reciprocal of CO gives the period of the oscillation and defines the time scale of the experiment. In connection with the relaxation and creep experiments, we observed that the maximum viscoelastic effect was observed when the time scale of the experiment is close to r. At a fixed temperature and for a specific sample, r or the spectrum of r values is fixed. If it does not correspond to the time scale of a transient experiment, we will lose a considerable amount of information about the viscoelastic response of the system. In a dynamic experiment it may... 

Rheometric Scientific markets several devices designed for characterizing viscoelastic fluids. These instmments measure the response of a Hquid to sinusoidal oscillatory motion to determine dynamic viscosity as well as storage and loss moduH. The Rheometric Scientific line includes a fluids spectrometer (RFS-II), a dynamic spectrometer (RDS-7700 series II), and a mechanical spectrometer (RMS-800). The fluids spectrometer is designed for fairly low viscosity materials. The dynamic spectrometer can be used to test soHds, melts, and Hquids at frequencies from 10 to 500 rad/s and as a function of strain ampHtude and temperature. It is a stripped down version of the extremely versatile mechanical spectrometer, which is both a dynamic viscometer and a dynamic mechanical testing device. The RMS-800 can carry out measurements under rotational shear, oscillatory shear, torsional motion, and tension compression, as well as normal stress measurements. Step strain, creep, and creep recovery modes are also available. It is used on a wide range of materials, including adhesives, pastes, mbber, and plastics. 

The torsional strain is a sinusoidal function of the torsion angle. Torsional strain results from the barrier to rotation about single bonds as described for ethane on p. 56. For molecules with a threefold barrier such as ethane, the form of the torsional barrier is... 

The simplest dynamic system to analyse is one in which the stress and strain are changing in a sinusoidal fashion. Fortunately this is probably the most common type of loading which occurs in practice and it is also the basic deformation mode used in dynamic mechanical testing of plastics. 

If the material being subjected to the sinusoidal stress is elastic then there will be a sinusoidal variation of strain which is in phase with the stress, i.e. 

Fig. 2.53 Sinusoidal variation of stress and strain in viscoelastic material...

In dynamic mechanical analysis of plastics, the material is subjected to a sinusoidal variation of stress and the strain is recorded so that 1, 2 and S can be determined. The classical variation of these parameters is illustrated in Fig. 2.55. 

If the acceleration is variable, as in sinusoidal movement, piezoelectric systems are ideal. In case of a constant acceleration, and hence a force that is also constant, strain gages may be employed. For petroleum applications in boreholes, however, it is better to use servo-controlled accelerometers. Reverse pendular accelerometers and single-axis accelerometers are available. 

The above description refers to a Lagrangian frame of reference in which the movement of the particle is followed along its trajectory. Instead of having a steady flow, it is possible to modulate the flow, for example sinusoidally as a function of time. At sufficiently high frequency, the molecular coil deformation will be dephased from the strain rate and the flow becomes transient even with a stagnant flow geometry. Oscillatory flow birefringence has been measured in simple shear and corresponds to some kind of frequency analysis of the flow... 

Experimentally DMTA is carried out on a small specimen of polymer held in a temperature-controlled chamber. The specimen is subjected to a sinusoidal mechanical loading (stress), which induces a corresponding extension (strain) in the material. The technique of DMTA essentially uses these measurements to evaluate a property known as the complex dynamic modulus, , which is resolved into two component parts, the storage modulus, E and the loss modulus, E . Mathematically these moduli are out of phase by an angle 5, the ratio of these moduli being defined as tan 5, Le. 

The general mode of operation in dynamic tests is to vary the stress sinusoidally with time. A viscoelastic solid in which the viscous element is that of a Newtonian liquid (as defined earlier) responds with a sinusoidal strain of identical oscillation frequency. However, because of the time-dependent relaxation processes taking place within the material, the strain lags behind the stress, as illustrated in Figure 7.9. 

Consider a deformation consisting of repeated sinusoidal oscillations of shear strain. The relation between stress and strain is an ellipse, provided that the strain amplitude is small, and the slope of the line joining points where tangents to the ellipse are vertical represents an effective elastic modulus, termed the storage modulus /r. The area of the ellipse represents energy dissipated in unit volume per cycle of deformation, expressed by the equation... 

It is clear that this data treatment is strictly valid providing the tested material exhibits linear viscoelastic behavior, i.e., that the measured torque remains always proportional to the applied strain. In other words, when the applied strain is sinusoidal, so must remain the measured torque. The RPA built-in data treatment does not check this y(o )/S (o)) proportionality but a strain sweep test is the usual manner to verify the strain amplitude range for constant complex torque reading at fixed frequency (and constant temperature). 

The strain in electric field-associated bending of a PVA-PAA gel is given by the equation g = 6DY/L2 (see Eq. 21). The strain depends on the electric power applied to the gel. Thus, the deflection increases as the thickness becomes small even if the electric power remains constant. The PVA-PAA gel rod of 1 mm diameter bends semicircularly within 1 s under both dc and ac excitation. An artificial fish with a PVA-PAA gel tail 0.7 mm thick has been designed, and it has been demonstrated that the fish swims forward at a velocity of 2 cm/sec as the gel flaps back and forth under sinusoidally varied electric fields (Fig. 13b). This prototype of a biomimetic actuator shows that translational motion may be produced using bending deformation [74],... 

We mostly chose to probe each frequency individually to minimize the strain on the material and to expand the available frequency window. The experimental time can be reduced by simultaneously applying the sinusoidal strains of the lowest frequencies [120] and then quickly adding the higher frequency part of the spectral probing. 

In driven dynamic testing an oscillating strain (or stress) is applied to a specimen. This is almost always sinusoidal for ease of analysis. In this case... 

In Chapter 4, the response of these models to dynamic (i.e., sinusoidal) loads or strains is illustrated. In Chapter 5, the stress-strain response in constant rate experiments is described. Models with nonlinear springs and nonlinear dashpots (i.e., stress not proportional to strain or to strain rate)... 

Dynamic theological tests were used to monitor the evolving cross-linking structure during UV curing. In dynamic tests, a sinusoidal strain, y, deformation... 

Imagine a Maxwell liquid placed between two parallel plates and sheared by moving the upper plate in its own plane. However, instead of moving the plate at a constant velocity as discussed in Chapter 1, let the displacement of the plate vary sinusoidally with time, ie the plate undergoes simple harmonic motion. If the maximum displacement of the upper plate is X and the distance between the plates is h, then the amplitude A of the shear strain in the liquid is given by... 

In order to describe the material properties as a function of frequency for a body that behaves as a Maxwell model we need to use the constitutive equation. This is given in Equation (4.8), which describes the relationship between the stress and the strain. It is most convenient to express the applied sinusoidal wave in the exponential form of complex number notation ... 

A note of caution should be sounded here. Whilst the curves shown in Figure 6.5 are characteristic of many charged dispersions it should be recalled that once we apply a sinusoid to a non-linear system the response need not be a sinusoid. As the strain is increased into the nonlinear region, the waveform passing through the sample becomes progressively distorted. The instrumental analysis in this case involves... 

Dynamic mechanical testers apply a small sinusoidal stress or strain to a small sample of the polymer to be examined and measure resonant frequency and damping versus temperature and forced frequency. Instrument software computes dynamic storage modulus (G ), dynamic loss modulus (G") and tan delta or damping factor. Measurements over a wide range of frequency and temperature provide a fingerprint of the polymer with sensitivity highly superior to DSC. 

Using the cone and plate rheometer the angle Q is forced in a sinusoidal manner, leading to linear strain being introduced in the polymer. The shear strain, y, is a sinusoidal function of time t with a shear rate amplitude of % as follows ... 

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