The Effect of Different Numerical Approaches on the Accuracy of Calculating Relaxation Spectra for Polysaccharides

Abstract

For polymeric materials, the relaxation spectrum contains complete information about the time-dependent part of the material response. The contribution of different numerical schemes, i.e., different methods of reconstructing the dynamic relaxation modulus, to the accuracy of the approximation by calculating the corresponding relaxation spectra is investigated by analysing experimental data for four types of polysaccharides. It was found that there is no unique mathematical approach for the calculation of relaxation spectra that ensures a satisfactory approximation of the experimentally determined dynamic moduli for the selected types of polymeric materials. It is recommended to combine different numerical methods in parallel to achieve a reasonable approximation of the material functions.