A model for the viscoelastic and viscoplastic responses of glassy polymers (Q5955226)

The paper present a derivation of constitutive equations for viscoelastic and viscoplastic response of amorphous glassy polymers under isothermal conditions with small strains. The method used does not employ the concept of equilibrium stresses. The model of the viscoelastic response is derived using the theory of cooperative relaxation in the framework of statistical mechanics of amorphous materials. The model of the viscoplastic response is obtained using the usual laws of thermodynamics. Comparison with some experimental data for polycarbonate is provided. The study is confined to relaxation and uniaxial tension (compression) with constant strain rates. We remark that, because the model is nonlinear but is based on the small strain approximation, its three-dimensional version will be not frame-indifferent. Mathematically oriented reader interested in the modelling of glassy polymers will found more convenient the paper by \textit{Lallit Anand} and \textit{Morton E. Gurtin} [A theory of amorphous solids undergoing large deformations, with applications to polymers and metallic glasses, 02-CNA-008, Carnegie Mellon Center For Nonlinear Analysis preprints].