Berlin 2001 – scientific programme

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CPP: Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 6: Polymer Networks

CPP 6.2: Talk

Tuesday, April 3, 2001, 16:05–16:25, 112

Tube Models for Rubber-Elastic Systems — •Ralf Everaers, Boris Mergell, Mathias Pütz, and Kurt Kremer — MPI für Polymerforschung, Postfach 3148, D-55021 Mainz, Germany

Most theories describing entanglement effects in polymeric systems introduce potentials which localize polymers in space and constrain their fluctuations. Prominent examples are Edward’s tube model and Flory’s constrained junction model. In our contribution, we show (i) that the constraint Hamiltonian is diagonal in the generalized Rouse modes of the corresponding phantom network, so that these models can formally be solved exactly for arbitrary connectivity using the recently introduced constrained mode model; (ii) we solve a double tube model for the confinement of long paths in polymer networks which is partially due to crosslinking and partially due to entanglements describing the non-trivial crossover between the Warner-Edwards and the Heinrich-Straube tube models and (iii) we present results of extensive computer simulations of model polymer networks which allow for a quantitative test of the predictions of the tube model for the macroscopic elastic properties as well as for the microscopic deformations including structure factors.