Modeling of Viscoelastic Solid Polymers Using a Boundary Element Formulation with Considering a Body Load

Abstract

In this work, a boundary element formulation for 2D linear viscoelastic solid polymers subjected to body force of gravity has been presented. Structural analysis of solid polymers is one of the most important subjects in advanced engineering structures. From basic assumptions of the viscoelastic constitutive equations and the weighted residual techniques, a simple but effective boundary element formulation is implemented for standard linear solid (SLS) model. The SLS model provides an approximate representation of observed behavior of a real advanced polymer in its viscoelastic range. This approach avoids the use of relaxation functions and mathematical transformations, and it is able to solve quasistatic viscoelastic problems with any load time-dependence and boundary conditions. Problem of pressurization of thick-walled viscoelastic tanks made of PMMA polymer, which subjected to a body force, is completely analyzed.