Related papers: Exploring the experimental foundation with rupture…
We use nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to verify recent tube-model predictions that associative polymer networks exhibit broad stretch fluctuations during elongational flow. Simulations further show that these fluctuating…
Using a simple three-dimensional lattice copolymer model and Monte Carlo dynamics, we study the collapse and folding of protein-like heteropolymers. The polymers are 27 monomers long and consist of two monomer types. Although these chains…
We analyse bead--spring polymers coupled to Navier--Stokes turbulence in ultra--dilute solutions at Weissenberg number \(Wi\approx 80\). The polymers do not alter the large-scale turbulent structure, but hydrodynamic interactions generate…
In this study, we systematically investigated the mechanical responses of monolayer molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The tensile behavior of trigonal prismatic phase (2H phase) MoTe2 under uniaxial…
We revisit the problem of describing creep in heterogeneous materials by an effective temperature by considering more realistic (and complex) non-mean-field elastic redistribution kernels. We show first, from theoretical considerations,…
Predicting the time and temperature dependent behavior of polymer networks under complex loading is essential for the design of advanced elastomeric materials. Many practical applications involve combinations of deformation modes, such as…
A random fuse network, or equivalently a two-dimensional spring network with quenched disorder, is subjected to a constant load and thermal noise, and studied by means of numerical simulations. Rupture is thermally activated and the…
A general self-learning metabasin escape (SLME) algorithm~\citep{caoPRE2012} is coupled in this work with continuous shear deformations to probe the yield stress as a function of strain rate and temperature for a binary Lennard-Jones (LJ)…
The fracture and severing of polymer chains plays a critical role in the failure of fibrous materials and the regulated turnover of intracellular filaments. Using continuum wormlike chain models, we investigate the fracture of semiflexible…
We visualize entanglements in polymer melts using molecular dynamics simulation. A bead at an entanglement interacts persistently for long times with the non-bonded beads (those excluding the adjacent ones in the same chain). The…
A coarse-grained molecular dynamics model of linear polyethylene-like polymer chain system was built to investigate the responds of structure and mechanical properties during uniaxial deformation. The influence of chain length, temperature,…
The rupture of a polymer chain maintained at temperature $T$ under fixed tension is prototypical to a wide array of systems failing under constant external strain and random perturbations. Past research focused on analytic and numerical…
Single molecule force spectroscopy methods can be used to generate folding trajectories of biopolymers from arbitrary regions of the folding landscape. We illustrate the complexity of the folding kinetics and generic aspects of the collapse…
The swelling dynamics of polymer gels are characterized by the (collective) diffusion coefficient $D$ of the polymer network. Here, we measure the temperature dependence of $D$ of polymer gels with controlled homogeneous network structures…
The mechanical behaviour of many materials, including polymers or natural materials, significantly depends on the rate of deformation. As a consequence, a rate-dependent ductile-to-brittle fracture transition may be observed. For…
The TDCB test is an established method to determine the critical strain energy release rate of adhesives in mode I. Provided that the adherends stay elastic, that the adhesive layer is not too flexible and that inertia effects can be…
We show that the thermodynamic dislocation theory (TDT) predicts a scaling relation between stresses, strain rates, and temperatures for steady-state deformations of crystalline solids, and that this relation is accurately obeyed by a wide…
By performing extensive simulations with unprecedentedly large system sizes, we unveil how rigidity influences the fracture of disordered materials. We observe the largest damage in networks with connectivity close to the isostatic point…
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…
We introduce a coarse-grained stochastic network dynamics (CGSND) framework for modeling deformation and rupture in polymer networks. The method replaces explicit molecular dynamics (MD) or coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) with…