A material is modelled normally as a system with a degree of freedom where the parameters of damping and rigidity are defined. Many viscoelastic materials with properties similar to the rubber, present a cycle of hysteresis with respect to the relation effort-deformation. The area of the cycle gives an idea of the energy that is able to absorb the material when being applied a deformation and it is much greater in these materials than in metallic materials. The damping of the material often is governed by laws of non-linear behaviour. The effects that can undergo the damping of the material can be:
Relaxation of the damping, dependent on the frequency and the temperature, but independent of the amplitude of the deformation.
Resonance of the damping, that depends on the resonance frequencies of the concrete mechanical system.
Hysteresis of the damping, that is independent on the speed of the deformation, but it varies with the amplitude.
Viscous non-linear damping, dependent on the amplitude and the speed of deformation, as well as other factors such as the temperature.