A model for aging under deformation field, residual stresses and strains in soft glassy materials

Abstract

A model is proposed that considers aging and rejuvenation in a soft glassy material as, respectively, a decrease and an increase in free energy. The aging term is weighted by an inverse of characteristic relaxation time suggesting that greater mobility of the constituents induces faster aging in a material. A dependence of relaxation time on free energy is proposed, which under quiescent conditions leads to a power law dependence of relaxation time on waiting time as observed experimentally. The model considers two cases, namely, a constant modulus when aging is entropy controlled and a time dependent modulus. In the former and the latter cases the model has, respectively, two and three experimentally measurable parameters that are physically meaningful. Overall, the model predicts how the material undergoes aging and approaches a rejuvenated state under the application of a deformation field. In particular, the model proposes distinctions between various kinds of rheological effects for different combinations of parameters. Interestingly, when the relaxation time evolution is stronger than linear, the model predicts various features observed in soft glassy materials such as thixotropic and constant yield stress, thixotropic shear banding, and the presence of residual stress and strain.