Linearization as a method for determining parameters of relaxation spectra

A new method for determining parameters of a relaxation spectrum of visco-elastic bodies is proposed. The basic idea of the method consists of presenting measured frequency dependencies of the dynamic modules components by the power series. The coefficients of these series are found by comparing varying values with experimental data by linear functional of errors. The parameters of a spectrum are then calculated from the coefficients of the series. This procedure allows us to overcome the main problem of finding relaxation times, i.e. to pass from non-linear to linear functional of errors. It gives us the unique possibility of unambiguously estimating weights (partial moduli) of lines in a discrete relaxation spectrum and relaxation times because there is only a single minimum in the functional of errors.