Viscoelastic Behaviour of Polymers

Summary In this chapter, a discussion of the viscoelastic properties of selected polymeric materials is performed. The basic concepts of viscoelasticity, dealing with the fact that polymers above glass-transition temperature exhibit high entropic elasticity, are described at beginner level. The analysis of stress-strain for some polymeric materials is shortly described. Dielectric and dynamic mechanical behavior of aliphatic, cyclic saturated and aromatic substituted poly(methacrylate)s is well explained. An interesting approach of the relaxational processes is presented under the experience of the authors in these polymeric systems. The viscoelastic behavior of poly(itaconate)s with mono- and disubstitutions and the effect of the substituents and the functional groups is extensively discussed. The behavior of viscoelastic behavior of different poly(thiocarbonate)s is also analyzed. 

Keywords Viscoelasticity Glass transition temperature Relaxational processes Dielectric behavior Dynamic mechanical behavior Poly(methacrylate)s Poly (itaconate)s Poly(thiocarbonate)s Spacer groups Side chains Molecular motions 

Viscoelastic materials are those which exhibit both viscous and elastic characterists. Viscoelasticity is also known as anelasticity, which is present in systems when undergoing deformation. Viscous materials, like honey, polymer melt etc, resist shear flow (shear flow is in a solid body, the gradient of a shear stress force through the body) and strain, i.e. the deformation of materials caused by stress, is linearly with time when a stress is applied [1-4]. Shear stress is a stress state where the stress is parallel or tangencial to a face of the material, as opposed to normal stress when the stress is perpendicular to the face. The variable used to denote shear stress is r which is defined as  

Gargallo, D. Radio, Physicochemical Behavior and Supramolecular Organization of Polymers, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4020-9372-2.2, 

When an elastic material is stressed, there is an immediate strain response. The classical representation of stress strain response in a perfectly elastic material is schematically represented in Fig. 2.1. 

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Some examples where the viscoelastic behaviour of polymer solutions are exploited are their use as thickeners in ... 

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