Molecular Dynamic Modeling and Simulation for Polymers

Polymers have been widely used in various engineering applications. For more than a quarter century, the materials have been utilized intensively for the binding materials for composites. The material properties of the binding materials called matrix materials play an important role for the composite material behaviors. As a result, the objective of this study was to understand the mechanical properties of polymers. In particular, the goal was to develop insights as to how a molecular level structure is connected to the bulk properties of materials assuming homogeneity. To this end, molecular dynamics was used to model and simulate the polymeric behaviors. Polymeric chains were modeled using the bead and spring model along with interacting potentials. The study examined the effects of different sizes, densities, and numbers of molecules per chain on the shear moduli of the polymers. Furthermore, some preliminary study was also conducted for metallic particle reinforced polymer composites.