Editing Deborah number (section)

== Time-temperature superposition ==

The Deborah number is particularly useful in conceptualizing the [[time–temperature superposition]] principle. Time-temperature superposition has to do with altering experimental time scales using reference temperatures to extrapolate temperature-dependent mechanical properties of [[polymers]]. A material at low temperature with a long experimental or [[relaxation time]] behaves like the same material at high temperature and short experimental or relaxation time if the Deborah number remains the same. This can be particularly useful when working with materials which relax on a long time scale under a certain temperature. The practical application of this idea arises in the [[Williams–Landel–Ferry equation]]. Time-temperature superposition avoids the inefficiency of measuring a polymer's behavior over long periods of time at a specified temperature by utilizing the Deborah number.<ref>Rudin, Alfred, and Phillip Choi. The Elements of Polymer Science and Engineering. 3rd. Oxford: Academic Press, 2013. Print. Page 221.</ref>