A Nonlinear Viscoelastic Model for the Relaxation Behavior of Tendon

Tendons are viscoelastic materials which undergo stress relaxation when held at a constant strain. The most successful model used to describe the viscoelastic behavior of tendons is the quasi-linear viscoelastic (QLV) model [1]. In the QLV model, the relaxation function is assumed to be a separable function of time and strain. Recently, this assumption has been shown to be invalid for tendons [2] thus suggesting the need for new nonlinear viscoelastic models.