Free damped vibrations of linear viscoelastic materials

Summary A mechanical system consisting of an inert component, attached to a linear viscoelastic spring, is studied theoretically. Basic assumptions about the viscoelastic material areBoltzmann's superposition principle and a positive discrete relaxation spectrum. The equation of motion and its formal solution for free damped vibrations are discussed.The theory focusses on the determination of the complex dynamic modulus, defined for undamped sinusoidal vibrations, by free damped vibrations. Simple approximation formulae to calculate the dynamic modulus from free vibration data, i. e. eigen frequency and logarithmic decrement, are given; upper limits for the approximation errors could be derived.Paper read at the Annual Meeting of the German Rheologists, Berlin-Dahlem June 7–10, 1966.