synopsisThe measurement of stresss relaxation following steady-state shearing is particularly useful in the terminal relaxation zone, where the rheological properties are molecular weight dependent. This paper contains a description of the method as applied to molten polymers, and an empirical function found to be useful for fitting the data. Three examples are given to demonstrate some direct and simple applications. First, the decrease of viscosity with increasing shear rate may be estimated by simply replotting the experimental data. Second, extrapolation of calculated viscosities to very high shear rates is shown to lead to a possible explanation for melt fracture. Third, the true Newtonian viscosity can be estimated from measurements conducted at a nonzero shear rate.