A novel method on fitting a short prony series using creep or stress relaxation data

Abstract

The time dependent viscoelastic properties such as creep and stress relaxation are very important properties to be considered when designing with viscoelastic materials working at high temperature or extreme conditions. Mechanical models consisting of springs and dashpots are used to model these time dependent properties. Determining these models is done by fitting a Prony series to experimental creep or stress relaxation data. Most of the Finite Element Analysis softwares that are capable of viscoelastic modeling also uses Prony series to characterize such a material. Therefore, it is useful to have a fast, simple, and mathematically less cumbersome method to fit such a Prony series. The novel method introduced in this paper can be used to fit a short Prony series and makes the process much simpler and faster.