Abstract
A more extended investigation was made of the surprising flow phenomena which were found in an earlier study of rubber at low temperatures. The tensile apparatus was reconstructed so that a dead-weight load could be applied to the rubber test-specimen. Determinations of the dependence of the rate of flow on time of stressing, initial elongation, magnitude of the stress, and temperature showed that a simple law can be derived for expressing the flow phenomena. Yield point, change in color, and deterioration in physical properties, as well as the reversibility of these phenomena were investigated and are discussed. The phenomena of flow at room temperature are expressed by the same constants as at lower temperatures. Only the effective stress increases at low temperatures and only by this change does flow become perceptible. Different types of rubber were compared, and all showed approximately the same value for the flow constant. The essential characteristics of the flow phenomenon can be explained, on a basis of the theory of highly elastic materials, by their microliquid state of aggregation. This applies to the high degree of dependence of the mechanical properties of rubber on the temperature.
Field Techniques for Experimental Stress Analysis in Arctic Sea Ice