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Extensional Step Strain Rate Experiments on an Entangled Polymer Solution

The dynamics of chain entanglement/disentanglement in concentrated polymer solutions are matters of current debate. We report the results of step strain rate experiments in uniaxial extensional flow on a well-characterized polymer solution containing about 22 entanglements per chain which allows the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Macromolecules 2017-01, Vol.50 (1), p.386-395
Main Authors: Bhattacharjee, P. K, Nguyen, D. A, Masubuchi, Y, Sridhar, T
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The dynamics of chain entanglement/disentanglement in concentrated polymer solutions are matters of current debate. We report the results of step strain rate experiments in uniaxial extensional flow on a well-characterized polymer solution containing about 22 entanglements per chain which allows these dynamics to be probed. In these experiments the polymer solution is subjected to homogeneous stretching at a given strain rate up until a predetermined value of strain. After this strain is reached, the strain rate is changed to a new value, and stretching is continued until steady state is acquired in the extensional stress. The strain rates are increased in step-up experiments and decreased in step-down experiments. The strain rates are adjusted so that both the orientation and the stretching dynamics can be probed. Additionally, the predictions of two recent single-mode molecular models are evaluated against the experimental data. These models include the effects of entanglement dynamics in their predictions in an ad hoc manner. This leads to only a qualitative improvement in the predictive capacity of one of the models and reduces that of the other. Slip-link simulations using the primitive chain network model are also included for further insight into the underlying dynamics. The models are found to yield qualitative predictions of the experimental observations.
ISSN:0024-9297
1520-5835
DOI:10.1021/acs.macromol.6b00823