Formulation and implementation of three-dimensional viscoelasticity at small and finite strains

Abstract

Purely elastic material models have a limited validity. Generally, a certain amount of energy absorbing behaviour can be observed experimentally for nearly any material. A large class of dissipative materials is described by a time- and frequency-dependent viscoelastic constitutive model. Typical representatives of this type are polymeric rubber materials. A linear viscoelastic approach at small and large strains is described in detail and this makes a very efficient numerical formulation possible. The underlying constitutive structure is the generalized Maxwell-element. The derivation of the numerical model is given. It will be shown that the developed isotropic algorithmic material tensor is even valid for the current configuration in the case of large strains. Aspects of evaluating experimental investigations as well as parameter identification are considered. Finally, finite element simulations of time-dependent deformations of rubber structures using mixed elements are presented.