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Rheological And Structural Studies Of Linear Polyethylene Melts Under Planar Elongational Flow Using Nonequilibrium Molecular Dynamics Simulations, David J. Keffer, C. Baig, B. J. Edwards, H. D. Cochran, V. A. Harmandaris

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

We present various rheological and structural properties of three polyethylene liquids, C₅₀H₁₀₂, C₇₈H₁₅₈, and C₁₂₈H₂₅₈, using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of planar elongational flow. All three melts display tension-thinning behavior of both elongational viscosities, η₁ and η₂. This tension thinning appears to follow the power law with respect to the elongation rate, i.e., η ∼ E^b, where the exponent b is shown to be approximately −0.4 for η₁ and η₂. More specifically, b of η₁ is shown to be …