Related papers: Cross-linked polymers in strain: Structure and ani…
We propose a theoretical framework for dealing with a transient polymer network undergoing small deformations, based on the rate of breaking and re-forming of network crosslinks and the evolving elastic reference state. In this framework,…
The adhesion between a polymer melt and substrate is studied in the presence of chemically attached chains on the substrate surface. Extensive molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out to study the effect of temperature, tethered…
In this paper we study a system of entangled chains that bear reversible cross-links in a melt state. The cross-links are tethered uniformly on the backbone of each chain. A slip-link type model for the system is presented and solved for…
Biological molecules can form hydrogen bonds between nearby residues, leading to helical secondary structures. The associated reduction of configurational entropy leads to a temperature dependence of this effect: the "helix-coil…
While polymer solutions lack the mechanical stability only transiently cross-linked networks can fulfill the competing requirements of structural stability and maximal energy dissipation. Here, we show that transient cross-links entail…
When injected through a contraction, high molecular weight polymer solutions exhibit a sharp increase of apparent viscosity which originates from stretching polymer chains above a critical extension rate. This chain stretching can also…
Dynamically crosslinked semiflexible biopolymers such as the actin cytoskeleton govern the mechanical behavior of living cells. Semiflexible biopolymers nonlinearly stiffen in response to mechanical loads, whereas the crosslinker dynamics…
The loading of a granular material induces anisotropies of the particle arrangement (fabric) and of the material's strength, incremental stiffness, and permeability. Thirteen measures of fabric anisotropy are developed, which are arranged…
We present an analytical theory for heteropolymer deformation, as exemplified experimentally by stretching of single protein molecules. Using a mean-field replica theory, we determine phase diagrams for stress-induced unfolding of typical…
Experiments have long shown that a polymer network of covalent bonds commonly ruptures at a stress that is orders of magnitude lower than the strength of the covalent bonds. Here we investigate this large reduction in strength by…
Vitrimers are a special class of polymers that undergo dynamic cross-linking under thermal stimuli. Their ability to exchange covalent bonds can be harnessed to mitigate damage in a composite or to achieve recyclable aerospace composites.…
High entropy alloys gained significant scientific interest in recent years due to their enhanced mechanical properties including high yield strength combined with outstanding ductility. The strength of these materials originates from their…
This work introduces a methodology for the statistical mechanical analysis of polymeric chains under tension controlled by optical or magnetic tweezers at thermal equilibrium with an embedding fluid medium. The response of single bonds…
Drawing an analogy to the paradigm of quasi-elastic neutron scattering, we present a general approach for quantitatively investigating the spatiotemporal dependence of structural anisotropy relaxation in deformed polymers by using…
We study stress relaxation in bi-disperse entangled polymer solutions. Shorter chains embedded in a majority of longer ones are known to be oriented by coupling to them. We analyze the mechanism for this both by computer simulation and…
The rheological behavior of ring-linear polymer blends under uniaxial elongational flow has remained a subject of intense debate, particularly regarding the emergence of stress overshoot. Herein, we employ coarse-grained molecular dynamics…
Molecular dynamics simulations are increasingly being used to investigate the structural evolution of polymers during mechanical deformation, but relatively few studies focus on the influence of boundary conditions on this evolution, in…
Chain-like macromolecules in solution, whether biological or synthetic, transform from an extended conformation to a compact one when temperature or other system parameters change. This collapse transition is relevant in various phenomena,…
Based upon mesoscale simulations of binary mixtures with very low surface tension and positive disjoining pressure (frustration), we measure the correlation length of the stress field within the flowing mixture, as a function of the…
Tensile creep tests, tensile relaxation tests and a tensile test with a constant rate of strain are performed on injection-molded isotactic polypropylene at room temperature in the vicinity of the yield point. A constitutive model is…