Viscoelastic Behavior of Rubbery Materials

The gigantic size of polymer molecules makes them "viscoelastic": their behavior changes depending on how fast and for how long the material is used. This book describes the latest discoveries in the field from a fundamental molecular perspective, in order to guide the development of better and new applications for soft materials.

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The enormous size of polymer molecules causes their molecular motions to span a broad range of length scales and give rise to viscoelastic behaviour. This rate-dependence of the properties is a predominant characteristic of soft materials (rubbers, biopolymers, lubricants, adhesives, etc.). Improving the performance and developing new applications for soft materials require an understanding of the basic principles of how molecular motions underlie physical properties. This text is intended to provide grounding in fundamental aspects of the dynamic behavior of rubbery materials, adopting a molecular perspective in its treatment to emphasize how microscopic processes are connected to the observed macroscopic behavior. The latest discoveries and advances in the science and technology of rubbery materials are described and critically analyzed.