Visco-Elasticity of Rubber

Abstract

A theory has been obtained for the visco‐elastic behavior of rubber in the frequency range above that at which creep is important and below that at which it behaves like a hard solid. The rubber chains are treated as springs in a viscous medium, and a general expression is obtained for the contribution to modulus of a single section of chain as a function of its length and terminations. A statistical estimate is made of the number of chain segments having given length and terminations. A modulus function is found for the group of chains with each kind of termination and these are added in the proper amounts to give the form of the modulus vs frequency curve for any amount of cross‐linking. Measurements of shear modulus were made on one apparatus at frequencies between 0.0125 and 750 cps. Agreement is good if a pure viscosity is added to the theory. However, at low frequencies the imaginary part of modulus does not decrease as much as predicted.