ISSN:
0887-6266
Keywords:
polyelectrolytes
;
Brownian dynamics
;
shear flow
;
extensional flow
;
Physics
;
Polymer and Materials Science
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Physics
Notes:
The conformational and rheological dynamics of dilute solutions of polyelectrolyte macromolecules undergoing shear and extensional flow are modeled using Nonequilibrium Brownian Dynamics (NEBD) and Configuration-Biased Monte Carlo (CBMC) simulations. The mathematical model utilizes a bead-spring chain with charged beads that interact through a screened Debye-Hückel potential, and that also interact through stretching and bending forces. The diffusion (or Fokker-Planck) equation for the probability density of the positions of the beads of the chain is converted to a Stochastic Differential Equation (SDE), from which the simulation algorithm for the NEBD is obtained. The CBMC is used in the initial chain generation and in determining steady-state properties in elongational flows. Various conformational and rheological quantities, such as the stress and birefringence, are monitored, under both steady-state and transient conditions, with the primary independent variable being the salt concentration (parametrized through the Debye length) and the strength of interaction q, related to the degree of ionization of the chain. It is found that this model is able to describe qualitatively many of the experimentally observed features in such systems. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 1401-1417, 1998
Additional Material:
16 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
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