Computer Simulation of Creep and Fracture of Highly Drawn Polymers

Abstract

A computer kinetic model was proposed describing creep and fracture of the microfibrilla in the drawn semicrystalline polymer and allowing for the concurrent and interrelated processes of slippage of polymer chains, redistribution of the polymer units between the amorphous regions and chains scissions. A self-consistent system of non-linear kinetic equations for tie chains length distribution function was written and its numerical analysis was made with a computer. As a result, a stress-strain curve for a single microfibrilla and an averaged curve for a high drawn polymer fiber were obtained. Also a portion of tie chains scissions and the concentration of defects in crystallites as a function of fiber deformation were obtained.

Key Words:

• Creep
• fracture
• high drawn semicrystalline polymers
• computer simulation.