Measurement of Relaxation Modulus of Viscoelastic Materials and Design of Testing Device
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The article presents an interesting approach to the problem of testing viscoelastic materials. The subject matter is modern and the need for this type of research has been proven by the authors in the introduction. The authors proposed an experimental device for relaxation modulus for viscoelastic materials.They thoroughly described the method of measurement and how to analyze the results. The proposed layout of the article does not raise any major objections. Conclusions are written briefly but sum up the whole issue well. The literature is relatively modern. In my opinion, the article meets the requirements of the journal. However, Authors should consider improving the quality of formula presentation (especially 17-20).
Apart from a few minor errors, the quality of the language does not raise any major objections..
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 1 Comments
Point 1: However, Authors should consider improving the quality of formula presentation (especially 17-20).
Response 1: Thank you for your comment. I have made modifications to the format of the formulas.
Point 2: Apart from a few minor errors, the quality of the language does not raise any major objections.
Response 2: Thank you for your review. I have spent a lot of time under the guidance of my English teacher to revise the full text English expression of my paper.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The paper is well structured and proposes a method to measure the relaxation modulus of viscoelastic materials. The authors explained very well the background and the importance of measuring the material properties accurately. I found a few inconsistencies in the equations ( E_0 becomes E_infinity, for instance). Figure 1 needs to be simplified: I'd suggest removing most of the balloons and, rather than using numbers, using words. Bolts and nuts don't need an arrow. It will considerably help the reader understand what you are saying in the text, especially if you are consistent in the text (instead of saying "The fixed screw" in ln 181, say "The fulcrum column screw" and the reader knows right away which one you are talking about). Again, my suggestions are in the pdf.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
I put some corrections/suggestions.
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 2 Comments
Point 1: The paper is well structured and proposes a method to measure the relaxation modulus of viscoelastic materials. The authors explained very well the background and the importance of measuring the material properties accurately. I found a few inconsistencies in the equations ( E_0 becomes E_infinity, for instance). Figure 1 needs to be simplified: I'd suggest removing most of the balloons and, rather than using numbers, using words. Bolts and nuts don't need an arrow. It will considerably help the reader understand what you are saying in the text, especially if you are consistent in the text (instead of saying "The fixed screw" in ln 181, say "The fulcrum column screw" and the reader knows right away which one you are talking about). Again, my suggestions are in the pdf.
Response 1: Thank you for your comment. I have made modifications to the format of the formulas. I have carefully revised every aspect of the PDF that needs to be modified. I split Figure 1 into two small images and labeled the component names directly, which is more convenient for readers to read.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
The paper presents details on the construction of an indenter to measure the relaxation of viscoelastic materials.
In my opinion it lacks scientific novelty, as there are abundant devices available which do the same/a similar job. It more sounds like an engineering project, which might be fine in itself, but why does this have to be published?
Moreover, there are huge flaws in presentation, e.g. formulae of different sizes, messe up units ("microns"), matrices pasted as images, just to name a few.
Additionally: Why do we need to get informed for one page about "China's coal conveyor belts" in the introduction?
Least square method was invented by Carl Friedrich Gauss (as far as I know) several 100 years ago, so no need to explain this in a publication.
General strong revision on language required. The document can be well understood, but style and grammar are messed up. More precision is required as well, see eg
"The characteristic of nonlinear viscoelasticity is that when the strain is applied to the viscoelastic body, its behavior is not linear, but nonlinear."
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 3 Comments
Point 1: In my opinion it lacks scientific novelty, as there are abundant devices available which do the same/a similar job. It more sounds like an engineering project, which might be fine in itself, but why does this have to be published?
Response 1: Thank you for your comment. The relaxation modulus of the material is difficult to measure, and the current testing equipment is also lacking. Therefore, this mechanical device is designed to solve this problem in this paper. I provided a additional explanation in the abstract section: However, devices for effective and accurate measurement of the relaxation modulus of materials are not available currently.
What’s more, deriving the load expressions of ramp loading(the motion of indenter is uniform velocity) and ramp-constant loading(the motion of indenter is stationary after uniform velocity) for the spherical indenter is also the innovation point in this paper. I have introduced it in both the abstract and the text section.
Point 2: Moreover, there are huge flaws in presentation, e.g. formulae of different sizes, messe up units ("microns"), matrices pasted as images, just to name a few.
Response 2: Thank you for your comment. I have made extensive revisions regarding the format of this paper.
Point 3: Additionally: Why do we need to get informed for one page about "China's coal conveyor belts" in the introduction?
Response 3: Thank you for your comment. Coal is crucial for China's production. To improve the efficiency of transporting coal, it is necessary to reduce operating resistance of the conveyor belt. The collapse rolling resistance accounts for the largest proportion of the operating resistance. It is generated on account of the viscoelastic properties of the material. Therefore, before analyzing the collapse rolling resistance, it is necessary to study the viscoelastic properties of the material. In the introduction section, I focus on how the collapse rolling resistance is generated and the significance of studying viscoelastic properties for industrial production. In the fourth paragraph of the introduction section, I added that: Therefore, it is imperative to explore the viscoelastic properties of materials to understand the collapse rolling resistance of rubber. Evaluating the viscoelastic properties of material is essential in industries to ensure effective functioning of conveyor belts. The aim of this study was to test the linear viscoelastic relaxation modulus of a 75 HA conveyor belt.
Point 4: Least square method was invented by Carl Friedrich Gauss (as far as I know) several 100 years ago, so no need to explain this in a publication.
Response 4: Thank you for your comment. The least squares method is indeed well-known to the public, so there is no need to introduce it in detail. I have removed the introduction of the least squares method.
Point 5: General strong revision on language required. The document can be well understood, but style and grammar are messed up. More precision is required as well.
Response 5: Thank you for your review. I have spent a lot of time under the guidance of my English teacher to revise the full text English expression of my paper.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
