| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/K67922/01 |
| Title: |
COMPUTER SIMULATION OF POLYMERIC MATERIALS |
| Principal Investigator: |
Higgs, Professor P |
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| Department: |
School of Biological Sciences |
| Organisation: |
Victoria University of Manchester, The |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 July 1996 |
Ends: |
31 August 1998 |
Value (£): |
75,893
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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We will set up a Monte-Carlo simulation which can be used to study several different problems in polymer physics. We will use a lattice model of self avoiding polymers (the Bond Fluctuation Model) which has been tested on a number of problems involving polymer dynamics. In order to study crystallization we will introduce attractive interactions between monomers on neighbouring sites. Experimental studies of long monodisperse alkanes have highlighted the importance of the self-poisoning effect, in which wrongly folded chains adsorb to the surface of a growing crystal and drastically slow down the growth rate. We have previously studied a type of surface growth model which shows this effect. The proposed simulations will allow us to look in more detail at the kinetics of chain deposition at the level of a single monomer or kinetic segment. We will relate the simulations to past and ongoing experiments on monodisperse alkanes and PEO fractions, as well as on long polydisperse polymers. We will use a similar model to study the dynamics of chain segments in strained polymer networks. The results will be compared to experimental deuterium NMR results, and to theories for chain orientation in networks.
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Key Findings |
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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