Deformation, orientation, and scattering from polymer chains in shear flow. A Brownian dynamics simulation study

Abstract

The conformation of polymer chains in shear low is simulated by applying the Brownian dynamics technique to bead-and-spring model chains without and with hydrodynamic interaction (HI). The deformation of the chain is characterized as the variation of the components of the square radius of gyration tensor with shear rate. The simulation results for the increase in the radius of gyration agree with early results without HI and confirm recent renormalization group predictions with HI. Available experimental data from neutron scattering are discussed in terms of these theoretical and simulation results