Temperature increase with neck propagation in polymers

The heating arising in the neck propagation in polymers is investigated. The heat equation describing the neck temperature is modified. An analytic solution describing the maximum temperature of the neck is obtained. A method for determining the heat transfer coefficient is developed. The neck heating temperature in polyethylene terephthalate can attain 155°C which is much greater than it is usually thought. The corresponding value for polycarbonate is only 31°C.     

Non-symmetric viscoelasticity of anisotropic polymer liquids

The liquid crystalline (LC) polymers are considered as anisotropic viscoelastic liquids with nonsymmetric stresses. A simple constitutive equation for nematic polymers describing the coupled relaxation of symmetric and antisymmetric parts of the stress tensor is formulated. For illustration of non-symmetric anisotropic viscoelasticity, the simplest viscometric flows of polymeric nematics in the magnetic field are considered. The frequency and shear rate dependencies of extended set of Miesowicz viscosities are predicted. Received: 23 March 1999/Accepted: 13 December 1999     

预延伸非晶聚合物材料各向异性变形局部化

给出一种可描述预延伸各向异性特性的背应力张量三维表达式，引入大变形弹塑性有限元驱动应力法，结合ＢＰＡ８ 链细观分子网络模型，模拟了预延伸各向异性非晶聚合物材料平面应变拉伸变形局部化力学行为．详细讨论了预延伸比（ＩｎｉｔｉａｌＤｒａｗｉｎｇＲａｔｉｏ；ＩＤＲ）和预延伸方向（ＩｎｉｔｉａｌＤｒａｗｉｎｇＤｉｒｅｃｔｉｏｎ；ＩＤＤ）对变形抗力、颈缩规律、剪切带方向以及试件中心部位链延伸比的影响．     

Plastic flow in oriented glassy polymers

A manufactured product often possesses residual texture which was either incidentally or deliberately acquired during its processing history. This is particularly true for the case of polymers, where the ability to easily preferentially preorient the material in specific directions is exploited in order to obtain a higher strength product. Specific examples include synthetic fibers, and biaxially-oriented films and containers. The response of the preoriented/textured product to normal service life loading conditions will differ considerably from that of a product composed of isotropic material. This paper addresses the issue of the effects of texture on the deformation behavior of glassy polymers. Here, the physically-based constitutive model of Boyce, Parks, and Argon describing the rate, temperature, and pressure dependent inelastic deformation of initially isotropic glassy polymers is used to model the effects of preorientation (i.e., initial texture), via the use of appropriate initial conditions on internal state variables. The model is then utilized in an analysis of the effects of texture on the yield of glassy polymers and the shear localization which normally follows yielding in oriented polymers. These results are compared with trends found in experiments as reported in the literature. The effectiveness of the proposed model for the present application is also compared with earlier models of yielding of anisotropic materials such as Hill's criterion.     

结晶型高分子材料的平面取向演化与塑性响应

建立了描述结晶型高分子材料的平面取向演化及其塑性响应的解析框架。文中针对材料中分子链不可伸长的特点，修正了Ｔａｙｌｏｒ假定。引入连续的取向分布函数，并将它展开成不可约的张量形式表示，通过建立并求解展开系数的演化方程，最终获得问题的解。文中模拟了单轴拉伸和简单剪切时链轴朝拉伸方向偏转的过程，描述了应力的上扬硬化现象．     

Mechanics and thermodynamics of fluid-saturated highly elastic materials

We consider a mixture that consists of a highly elastic material and a liquid dissolved in this material. Using the laws of classical thermodynamics, we state a variational principle describing the mixture equilibrium under static loading conditions. From this principle, we derive equilibrium equations and a system of constitutive relations characterizing the mixture elastic and thermodynamic properties. We state problems describing the stress-strain state of a swollen material and a statically loaded material in thermodynamic equilibrium with the liquid. We consider the case of incompressible mixture. The general theory is illustrated by examples concerned with the deformation behavior of inhomogeneously swollen cross-linked polymers and with their thermodynamics of strains and swelling in solvent media.     

Relaxational interactions and viscoelasticity of polymer melts. Part I: model development

Rheological equations of state for the concentrated solutions and melts of high polymers are derived by applying a structural approach. The dynamics of a macromolecule are considered on the basis of the fundamental model of the polymer chain, e.g., the bead-spring model. The drag forces describing correlations of motion macromolecules are determined by means of the relaxation equations. The oscillatory shearing flow of the melts is studied on the basis of the equations derived. Expressions for the dynamic modulus and relaxation times are determined. As can be judged from the form of the dependence of the dynamic modulus on frequency, the relaxation time distribution is the same as in real materials. The relaxation spectrum of high polymers has a terminal zone with abnormally long relaxation times.     

Modeling the film casting process using a continuum model for crystallization in polymers

In this paper, the film casting process has been simulated using a new model developed recently using the framework of multiple natural configurations to study crystallization in polymers (see Rao and Rajagopal Z. Angew. Math. Phys. 53 (2002) 265; Polym. Eng. Sci. 44(1) (2004) 123; Simulation of the film blowing process for semicrystalline polymers, in press, 2004). In the film casting process, the material starts out as a viscoelastic melt and undergoes deformation and cooling, resulting in a semi-crystalline solid. In order to model the complex changes taking place in the material and predict the behavior of the final solid it is important to use models that are capable of describing these changes. The model used here has been formulated within a general thermodynamic framework that is capable of describing dissipative processes. In addition it handles in a direct manner the change of symmetry in the material; it thus provides a good basis for studying the crystallization process in polymers. The polymer melt is modeled as a rate type viscoelastic fluid and the crystalline solid polymer is modeled as an anisotropic elastic solid. The initiation criterion, marking the onset of crystallization and equations governing the crystallization kinetics arise naturally in this setting in terms of the appropriate thermodynamic functions. The mixture region, wherein the material transitions from a melt to a semi-crystalline solid, is modeled as a mixture of a viscoelastic fluid and an elastic solid. This is in marked contrast to earlier approaches where in the simulation has been done assuming that the material was a viscous fluid and the transition to a solid like behavior is achieved by increasing the viscosity to a large value resulting in a highly viscous fluid and not an elastic solid. The results of our simulations compare well against experimental data available in literature. In addition to these quantitative comparisons have carried out parametric study to study the influence of the different parameters on the film casting process.     

Behaviour of a simple crystallisation model in tube and channel flow

A formulation describing the rheology of crystallising polymers is discussed. For some semi-crystalline polymers where spherulites form as part of the crystallisation process, the use of a suspension-type model is appropriate. Whilst it is possible to so describe simple shearing and elongational rheology during on-going crystallisation with such models, the flow through a capillary tube is much more complex and numerical solution is usually necessary. To give some insight into this complex flow, a ‘step function’ or ‘amorphous-frozen’ model of the viscosity changes due to crystallisation has been devised so that a semi-analytical approach is feasible. We use this simple model and compare the results with recently published experiments in tubes and channels at high (O(10³ s^− 1)) shear rates using poly(butene-1). A direct correlation between simple shear and tube flow crystallisation onset times is found.