VISCOELASTICITY

 Plastic deformation occurs by dislocation

motions in crystallic structures.
 For noncrystallic structures plastic
deformations are due to viscous flow.
 The characteristic property for viscous flow,
viscosity, is a measure of a noncrystalline
material’s resistance to deformation.
Plate A
F When a tangential force
(F) acts on the plate,
L V
the plate moves with
respect to the bottom.

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 The velocity of the liquid particles in each
layer is a function of the distance L. Thus the
rate at which the particles change their
position is the measure of the rate of flow.
dV dγ
=
velocity dL dt rate of
gradient flow
dV
 Newton expresses: F = η A
dL
Since τ = F / A η : coefficient of viscosity

dγ
1 τ = η dV & τ=η 2
dL dt

 Unit of viscosity is Pa.s (Pascal-seconds)

(N.s/m2)
 The liquids that follow equations (1) & (2) are
termed as Newtonian Liquids.

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 NON-NEWTONIAN MATERIALS
 In certain materials, τ-dγ/dt does not obey
the linearity described by Newton, i.e.
Viscosity may vary with the rate of shear
strain.
Newtonian
Dilatant: η increases
with increasing dγ/dt or
τ (clay)
Newtonian: (all liquids)
η
Pseudoplastic: η
decreases with dγ/dt or
τ (most plastics)

 The relationship between dγ/dt & τ can be

described by the following general equation.

dγ
= τn . 1 If n=1 → Newtonian
dt η n > 1 → Pseudoplastic
n < 1 → Dilatant

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 Fresh cement pastes & mortars, have highly
concentrated solid particles in the liquid
medium. Such a behaviour is described by
Bingham’s equation.

τ = τy + η dγ
dγ
dt dt

τy τ (Upto τy there is no flow)

 Viscosity also varies with temperature.

A: Constant
1 = A . e-E/RT
η E: Energy of activation
R: Gas constant
T: Absolute temperature
 When solid particles are introduced into
Newtonian liquids, viscosity increases.
η0: Coefficient of
1) η = η0 (1+2.5 Ø) viscosity of the
parent liquid.
2) η = η0 (1+2.5 Ø + 14.1 Ø2) Ø: Volume
concentration of
suspended particles

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VISCOELASTICITY & RHEOLOGICAL CONCEPTS

 Viscoelastic behaviour, as the name implies,

is a combination of elasticity & viscosity.

 Such a behaviour can be described by

Rheological Models consisting of springs (for
elasticity) & dashpots (for viscosity).

Load
(Load)
t0 Time
t1
Strain
(Elastic)
ε = σ/E
t0 Time
t1
Strain

(Viscous)
dε/dt = σ/γ
t0 Time
t1
Strain

(Viscoelastic)
Time
t0 t1

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 Models to explain the viscoelastic behavior:

• Maxwell Model
• Kelvin Model
• 4-Element Model (Burger’s Model)

1. Maxwell Model:
σ  A spring & a dashpot
connected in series.

k=E
 The stress on each element
is the same:
β = 1/η
σspring = σdashpot

σ  However, the deformations

are not the same:
εspring ≠ εdashpot

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 When the force (stress) is applied the spring
responds immediately and shows a
deformation εspring = σ/E
 At the same time the dashpot piston starts to
move at a rate βσ = σ/η
and the displacement of the piston at time t, is
given by:
t t

 dashpot    dt  0  dt
0

 Therefore the total displacement becomes:

 t
 t   spring   dashpot    dt
E 0

t
ε

εdashpot
εspring
εdashpot→ viscous permanent def.

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 Relaxation: An important mode of behavior for
viscoelastic materials can be observed when a
material is suddenly stroked to ε0 & this strain
is kept constant.
σ ε

σ0 ε0

t t

Instead of this loading pattern strain is kept constant.

   sp rin g   d a sh p o t

d d s d d  d 1 d
  &
s   s 
dt dt dt E dt E dt
d d 

d 1 d  dt 
 
dt E dt 

d 1 d 
If ε is constant → 0  0
dt E dt 
d E Solving this
 E
 t Where :
dt  differential    0 .e 
equation σ0 = Eε0

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 ε

t rel  Relaxation time is a parameter
E of a viscoelastic material.
ε0

σ  If the body is left under

a constant strain, the
σ0
stress gradually
Slope @ t=0 disappears (relaxes). This
0.37σ0 phenemenon can be
trel t observed in glasses &
some ceramics and
concrete.

2. Kelvin Model:
 Consists of a spring & a
σ dashpot connected in
parallel.
 In this case the
1/η deformations are equal but
E
the stresses are different.
 εspring = εdashpot

σ  σspring ≠ σdashpot
 σ = σspring + σdashpot

E . spr d dash
.
dt

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 σ
d
  E  
dt σ0

t
  d   
E
 t
      0 1  e   ε
E E dt E  


t
(Delayed elasticity)

 At each strain increment the spring will extend

by σ/E so that a part of the load is taken over
and the force on the piston decreases. Thus a
final displacement is reached asymtotically and
when the load is removed, there will be an
asymtotic recovery until σ=0.
 When a viscoelastic Kelvin Body is subjected
to a constant stress, σ0, the response could be
obtained by solving the differential equation.

   t 
E

 0 1  e 

E  
 

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 σ  0 is reached at

E time t=∞

 retardation
t ret 
E time
t
When stressed the elastic
ε
deformation in the spring is
retarded by the viscous
ε0 deformation of the dashpot.
0 0.63ε0
Retarded elastic strain
E (delayed elastic strain)

tret

3. Burger’s Model:
 The actual viscoelastic behavior of materials is
very complex. The simplest models, Maxwell &
Kelvin Models, explain the basic characteristics
of viscoelastic behavior.
 The Maxwell Model, for example, has a viscous
character and explains the relaxation behavior of
viscoelastic materials
 The Kelvin Model on the other hand has a solid
character and explains the retarded elasticity
behavior.

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  However, none of the mentioned models
completely explain the real behavior of
viscoelastic materials.

 There are other models with different E and η

constants but they are rather complex.

 One such model is given by BURGER, which

consists of a Maxwell Model and Kelvin Model
connected in series.

σ σ

σ0

E1

t
η1
ε
εvis+εret

ε1
E2 η2

ε1
εvis
σ t

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 0 0  0  
E2
 t
   t 1 e  2 
E1 1 E2  


Spring Dashpot Kelvin (retarded
(elastic) (viscous) elasticity)
 Most engineering materials show certain deviations
from the behavior described by the 4-Element Model.
Therefore the deformation equation is usually
approximated as:

   k   1  e  q t     n t
E
Instantaneous Retarded Viscous
elastic elastic

Where “k, β & γ” are material constants & “α,

n” are constants accounting for nonlinearity.

1 1
k 
E 

1 E
q 
t ret 

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 Example 1: For a certain oil, the experimentally
determined shear stress, rate of flow data
provided the following plot. Determine the
viscosity of the oil.
dγ/dt (1/sec) d 1 
   
dt  d
0.9 dt
0.6
20 N
0.3   33 .3 2 sec .
0 .6 m
10 20 30 τ (Pa)

Example 2: When a concrete specimen of 75 cm

in length is subjected to a 150 kgf/cm2 of
constant compressive stress, the following
data were obtained.

t (month) ε Assume    B . .t where B is constant.
0 0.0006 E
1 0.0007

What will be the total deformation under 150 kgf/cm2

after 6 months?

@t  0    0 . 0006
E
1  10  4
@ t  1    0 . 0007  0 . 0006  B . 150 . 1  B 
150
4
1  10
@ t  6 m onths    0 . 0006   150  6  0 . 0012
150

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