Berlin 2018 – scientific programme

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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 30: Modeling and Simulation of Soft Matter I (joint session CPP/DY)

DY 30.6: Talk

Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 15:30–15:45, PC 203

Higher coordination of cross-links improve toughness of fiber bundles — •Huzaifa Shabbir and Markus Hartmann — Sensengasse 8 , 1090 Vienna Austria

(Physical) cross-linking is an effective strategy to tailor the mechanical properties of polymeric systems. Often, these cross-links are weaker than the covalent backbone that holds the structure together. If reversible, cross-links provide the material with some self-healing behavior.

We use Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the mechanical behavior of (reversibly) cross-linked polymeric systems. The framework of a multi-body potential is utilized to control the coordination of cross-links (coordination is defined as the number of monomers participating in one cross-link). Displacement controlled computational loading experiments are conducted to evaluate the mechanical properties of fibrous systems.

Previous work shows that the coordination of cross-links significantly influences the mechanical performance of a linear chain [1]. In this talk, the influence of the coordination of cross-links on the mechanics of aligned fiber bundles will be discussed. In particular, it will be shown that the coordination of cross-links has a large impact on the toughness of fiber bundles as higher coordination inhibits the premature rupture of the covalent backbone observed for classical cross-links of two fold coordination [2]. Special emphasis will be put on the influence of the topology of cross-links that show a much richer variety for a higher coordination compared to the classical coordination of two.