Viscoelastic Behavior of Polyisobutylene under Constant Rates of Elongation

Abstract A variety of methods has been used to study the viscoelastic properties of polymeric materials. These methods include the response to sinusoidal stress (dynamic measurements), stress relaxation, and creep under constant load and constant stress. The present investigation was made to determine whether or not the viscoelastic properties of rubberlike materials over an extended time scale could be obtained from stress-strain curves measured at different strain rates and temperatures. Polyisobutylene of high molecular weight was selected for study, since its viscoelastic properties have been investigated extensively in a cooperative program sponsored by the National Bureau of Standards. From the data obtained, Marvin has derived the distribution functions of relaxation and of retardation times over a time scale of 10−10 to 107 sec. These functions show quantitatively a change in properties from liquidlike to rubberlike to glasslike with decreasing time scale. The equilibrium stress-strain curves for lightly crosslinked rubber and other elastomers are closely linear for elongations up to 100 per cent. The non-equilibrium (viscoelastic) stress-strain curves for similar and noncrosslinked elastomers might be expected to be linear viscoelastic, as a first approximation, at temperatures above the glass transition, provided the strain and the strain rate are not excessively large. Nonlinear viscoelastic effects are usually pronounced for materials in their glasslike state and at large strains.