A Tube Model of Rubber Elasticity

S. Kutter; E. M. Terentjev

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arXiv · cond-mat/0106371

A Tube Model of Rubber Elasticity

S. Kutter·E. M. Terentjev

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Abstract

Polymer entanglements lead to complicated topological constraints and interactions between neighbouring chains in a dense solution or melt. Entanglements can be treated in a mean field approach, within the famous reptation model, since they effectively confine each individual chain in a tube-like geometry. In polymer networks, due to crosslinks preventing the reptation constraint release, entanglements acquire a different topological meaning and have a much stronger effect on the resulting mechanical response. We apply the classical ideas of reptation dynamics to calculate the effective rubber-elastic free energy of an entangled rubbery network. We then compare the results with other theoretical approaches and establish a particularly close mapping with the hoop-model, with equally good description of experimental data. The present consistent reptation theory allows further development of dynamic theory of stress relaxation.

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S. Kutter, E. M. Terentjev. 2001-06-19. A Tube Model of Rubber Elasticity. https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0106371

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