ANALYSIS OF INTERNAL-FRICTION SPECTRA CAUSED BY SNOEK-TYPE RELAXATIONS

Snoek-type relaxations are usually studied by measurements of internal friction as a function of temperature. An accurate decomposition of the experimental data into Debye peaks has to take into account the temperature dependence of the relaxation strength and that of the modulus if the measurements are carried out in a freely vibrating system. A non-linear regression procedure is presented to analyse Snoek-type internal friction measurements which take care also of these temperature dependences. The goodness of the fit is discussed with respect to error analysis. Application of the method is demonstrated for a single Snoek peak (NbO), for two overlapping Snoek peaks (VO plus VN) and for a high interstitial content (NbO), in which interaction effects play a role. © 1990.