Molecular weight distribution effects on flow induced crystallization of model polymer.

Flow induced crystallization is a process with significant industrial interest in the field of polymer processing and applications such as packaging. Despite the significant practical relevance, the initial stages of the flow induced crystallization remain unclear, and it is difficult to elucidate the nature of nucleation. We perform Molecular Dynamics simulations to understand the role of chain length distribution, temperature, and flow in crystallization. Our study focuses on the role of shear flow in the orientation and stretching of model polymer melts with a distribution of chain lengths. We simulate the model polymer melt under different processing conditions by using a soft interaction potential and generate shear by using SLLOD boundary conditions. We quantify the extent of crystallization using appropriate order parameters, and gain insights in the rate of crystallization and the morphology of polydisperse semi-crystalline melts, including the structure of the precursor at the onset of crystallization.