Related papers: Rethinking failure in polymer networks: a probabil…
This study presents a Eulerian theory to elucidate the molecular kinematics in polymer networks and their connection to continuum deformation, grounded in fundamental statistical physics and thermodynamics. Three key innovations are…
The toughness of a polymer material can increase significantly if two networks are combined into one material. This toughening effect is a consequence of a transition from a brittle to a ductile failure response. Although this transition…
We investigate how the removal of a single bond affects the fracture behavior of triangular spring networks, whereby we systematically vary the position of the removed bond. Our simulations show that removing the bond has two contrasting…
Many new soft but tough rubbery materials have been recently discovered and new applications such as flexible prosthetics, stretchable electrodes or soft robotics continuously emerge. Yet, a credible multi-scale quantitative picture of…
Molecular simulations provide a powerful means to unravel the complex relationships between network architecture and the mechanical response of polymer networks, with a particular emphasis on rupture and fracture phenomena. Although…
This study aims to unravel the micro-mechanical underpinnings of the emergence of the fractocohesive length scale as a central concept in modern fracture mechanics. A thermodynamically consistent damage and fracture model for elastomers is…
Mechanical forces can selectively destabilize chemical bonds of molecular systems, particularly in biological and synthetic polymers. While experimental and theoretical methods have advanced our understanding of mechanochemical processes,…
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…
The effect of network chain distribution on mechanical behavior of elastomers is one of the long standing problems in rubber mechanics. The classical theory of rubber elasticity is built upon the assumption of entropic elasticity of…
We present a loop-opening model that accounts for the molecular details of the intrinsic fracture energy for fracturing polymer networks. This model includes not only the energy released from the scission of bridging chains but also the…
In this study, we introduce a novel stretch-based gradient-enhanced damage (GED) model that allows the fracture to localize and also captures the development of a physically diffuse damage zone. This capability contrasts with the paradigm…
Elastomers that can sustain large reversible strain are essential components for stretchable electronics. The stretchability and mechanical robustness of unfilled elastomers can be enhanced by introducing easier-to-break cross-links, e.g.…
A micromechanically motivated phase-field damage model is proposed to investigate the fracture behaviour in crosslinked polyurethane adhesive. The crosslinked polyurethane adhesive typically show viscoelastic behaviour with geometric…
Using Brownian dynamics, we simulate the fracture of polymer interfaces reinforced by diblock connector chains. We find that for short chains the interface fracture toughness depends linearly on the degree of polymerization $N$ of the…
This study demonstrates that the apparent complexity of fracture in phantom-chain polymer networks is fully decoupled into two universal master curves: (i) macroscopic softening governed by the absolute stretch, and (ii) microscopic…
We consider the force on the end of a polymer chain being pulled through a network at velocity $v$, using computer simulations. We develop algorithms for measuring the force on the end of the chain using lattice models of polymers. Our…
A conceptual difficulty in the Hooke's-law description of ideal Gaussian polymer-chain elasticity is sometimes apparent in analyses of experimental data or in physical models designed to simulate the behavior of biopolymers. The problem,…
A formula is derived for stiffness of a polymer chain in terms of the distribution function of end-to-end vectors. This relationship is applied to calculate the stiffness of Gaussian chains (neutral and carrying electric charges at the…
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…
Polymerization and formation of crosslinked polymer networks are important processes in manufacturing, materials fabrication, and in the case of hydrated polymer networks, synthesis of biomedical materials, drug delivery, and tissue…