Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mphil-in-micro-and-nanotechnology-enterprise-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/paper-2/section-b/21b/iv/solution

Let the Maxwell branch contain spring modulus and series viscosity , in parallel with a dashpot of viscosity . The branch strains are equal and stresses add. Writing for the Maxwell stress,
For and ,
Multiplying the Maxwell fraction by gives
The sign of the imaginary coefficient depends on the phasor convention; these expressions use , so represents dissipation. In the time domain, the equivalent constitutive relation is
The original mechanical schematic shows the series spring/dashpot branch separately from the parallel dashpot.

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