Development of scale-bridging methodologies and algorithms founded on the outcome of detailed atomistic simulations for the reliable prediction of the viscoelastic properties of polymer melts

• Main Author: Στεφάνου, Παύλος
• Other Authors: Μαυραντζάς, Βλάσιος
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Dynamics of entangled polymer melts; Generalized viscoelastic model; Tube models; Rouse model for polymer rings; Generalized bracket formalism (Beris-Edwards); Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations; Segment-survival probability function ψ(s,t); Rheological properties of industrial polyethylene resins; Δυναμική διαπλεγμένων πολυμερικών τηγμάτων; Γενικευμένο ιξωδοελαστικό μοντέλο; Μοντέλο Rouse για πολυμερικούς δακτυλίους; Θεωρία ερπυσμού και μοντέλα δραστικού σωλήνα; Φορμαλισμός γενικευμένων αγκυλών (Μπέρης-Edwards); Ατομιστικές προσομοιώσεις μοριακής δυναμικής εκτός ισορροπίας; Συνάρτηση πιθανότητας ερπυσμού ψ(s,t); Θεολογικές ιδιότητες εμπορικών ρητινών πολυαιθυλενίου; 668.42

In this thesis we design and develop algorithms for predicting the rheological behavior of polymer melts based on the results of detailed atomistic simulations and guided by theories of the Dynamics of Polymers and fundamental Principles of Science of the Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics. More specifically: 1) We propose a new rheological constitutive model for the time evolution of the tensor conformation tensor C of chains in a polymer melt (and hence the stress tensor τ) using the generalized bracket formalism of Beris and Edwards. The new constitutive model includes terms that describe a whole range of phenomena and are successfully used to describe the rheological properties of commercial polyethylene resins. 2) We developed a new methodology that allows direct connection of the results of atomistic simulations with molecular reptation theory for entangled polymers. The final result of the methodology is the calculation of the function ψ(s,t) which expresses the probability that the segment s along the contour of the primitive path remain in the original tube after time t. 3) We extended the Rouse theory for systems without polymer chain ends, as the polymer rings. While there have been previous theoretical work, a comprehensive analysis of the Rouse model of cyclic polymers was still lacking; here we develop the theory in its entirety.