A MYOPIC REVIEW OF THE VISCOELASTIC BEHAVIOR OF POLYMERS

Many of the developments in the analysis and understanding of the linear viscoelastic behavior of amorphous polymers, starting with early experimental studies and the Boltzmann superposition principle, have been chronologically followed. The appreciation of the role of entropic forces, time-temperature equivalence, normal mode theory, and the volume-based temperature changes in rate are noted. The reports on Andrade creep are summarized and structure-property correlations are followed. The types of thermorheological complexity which have been observed in the behavior of linear amorphous polymers are listed. The molecular weight dependence of the viscosity at T(g) and the influence of cross-linking are mentioned.