The relaxation strength and the relaxation time of anelasticity experiments on foils or thin plates

The relaxation strength measured in bending experiments on anelastic foils can substantially differ from the standard result that is applicable in the case of long rods. We analyze the relaxation strength of foil-shaped samples, presenting quantitative results for the two limiting situations of a long and a short foil. For cubic crystals, we discuss the relaxation strengths of two well-known relaxation processes: the Snoek effect and the Gorsky effect. We consider the influence of the foil geometry on the diffusion coefficient (or relaxation time) obtained in Gorsky effect measurements. Our results for the relaxation strength and the diffusion coefficient in Gorsky effect experiments are a generalization of previous calculations which apply to only two special crystal orientations.