Publications
Interfacial fracture between highly crosslinked polymer networks and a solid surface: Effect of interfacial bond density
For highly crosslinked, polymer networks bonded to a solid surface, the effect of interfacial bond density as well as system size on interfacial fracture is studied molecular dynamics simulations. The correspondence between the stress-strain curve and the sequence of molecular deformations is obtained. The failure strain for a fully bonded surface is equal to the strain necessary to make taut the average minimal path through the network from the bottom solid surface to the top surface. At bond coverages less than full, nanometer scale cavities form at the surface yielding an inhomogeneous strain profile. The failure strain and stress are linearly proportional to the number of bonds at the interface unless the number of bonds is so few that van der Waals interactions dominate. The failure is always interfacial due to fewer bonds at the interface than in the bulk.