Finite Element Simulation of Viscoelastic Damping Materials

This article presents the numerical simulation of the static and dynamic response of viscoelastic materials with the finite element method. In particular, elastomeric solids which are of essential engineering interest are discussed. A rubbery elastic manner is assumed to be modeled with an Ogden-type strain energy function well-known from rubber elasticity. A Prony series represents the relaxation moduli is exploited in order to derive a recursive relationship. By using a general finite element software ANSYS, several representative numerical examples illustrate relaxation and creeping phenomena.