On equilibrating non-periodic molecular dynamics samples for coupled particle-continuum simulations of amorphous polymers

Weber F, Ries M, Bauer C, Wick C, Pfaller S (2023)


Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

Book Volume: 10

Article Number: 100159

URI: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bvb:29-opus4-200639

DOI: 10.1016/j.finmec.2022.100159

Abstract

In the context of fracture simulations of polymers, the molecular mechanisms in the vicinity of the crack tip are of particular interest. Nevertheless, to keep the computational cost to a minimum, a coarser resolution must be used in the remaining regions of the numerical sample. For the specific case of amorphous polymers, the Capriccio method bridges the gap between the length and time scales involved at the different levels of resolution by concurrently coupling molecular dynamics (MD) with the finite element method (FEM). Within the scope of the Capriccio approach, the coupling to the molecular MD region introduces non-periodic, so-called stochastic boundary conditions (SBC). In similarity to typical simulations under periodic boundary conditions (PBC), the SBC MD simulations must reach an equilibrium state before mechanical loads are exerted on the coupled systems. In this contribution, we hence extensively study the equilibration properties of non-periodic MD samples using the Capriccio method. We demonstrate that the relaxation behavior of an MD-FE coupled MD domain utilizing non-periodic boundary conditions is rather insensitive to the specific coupling parameters of the method chosen to implement the boundary conditions. The behavior of an exemplary system equilibrated with the parameter set considered as optimal is further studied under uniaxial tension and we observe some peculiarities in view of creep and relaxation phenomena. This raises important questions to be addressed in the further development of the Capriccio method.

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How to cite

APA:

Weber, F., Ries, M., Bauer, C., Wick, C., & Pfaller, S. (2023). On equilibrating non-periodic molecular dynamics samples for coupled particle-continuum simulations of amorphous polymers. Forces in Mechanics, 10. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.finmec.2022.100159

MLA:

Weber, Felix, et al. "On equilibrating non-periodic molecular dynamics samples for coupled particle-continuum simulations of amorphous polymers." Forces in Mechanics 10 (2023).

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