FIELD: study of physical properties of materials. SUBSTANCE: procedure determining relaxation time of flexible viscoelastic element in agreement with first variation consists in suspension of weight from tested specimen of element in altitude chamber, in excitation of pendulum oscillations in it with measurement of duration of damping from starting to finishing amplitude and values of these amplitudes. Two possible values of relaxation time of flexible element are determined by calculation and true value of relaxation time is selected from its two possible values with due account of a priori information on viscoelastic properties of flexible element. Procedure determining relaxation time of flexible viscoelastic element in correspondence with second variation lies in suspension of weight from tested specimen of element in altitude chamber, in excitation of pendulum oscillations in it and in evaluation of rate of dying of pendulum oscillations. Then preceding operations are repeated for various lengths of tested specimen and length of specimen which rate of dying has maximum is found and relaxation time of flexible viscoelastic element is determined by calculation. EFFECT: obtainment of additional or more accurate experimental data on viscoelastic properties of flexible element in range of medium frequencies of change of dynamic load. 2 cl, 1 dwg
