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MDPI, Biomimetics, 1(4), p. 12, 2019

DOI: 10.3390/biomimetics4010012

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A High Coordination of Cross-Links Is Beneficial for the Strength of Cross-Linked Fibers

Journal article published in 2019 by Huzaifa Shabbir, Christoph Dellago, Markus Hartmann ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

The influence of the coordination of (reversible) cross-links on the mechanical properties of aligned fiber bundles is investigated. Two polymeric systems containing cross-links of different coordination (two- and three-fold coordination) but having the same binding energy are investigated. In particular, the response to loading of these systems is compared. Mechanical parameters (strength, stiffness and work-to-fracture) are obtained by computational loading tests. The influence of coordination is studied for simple test systems with pre-defined topologies that maximize strength as well as for more realistic fiber bundles containing nine chains. The results show that a higher coordination of cross-links has a beneficial effect on the strength and the stiffness of the systems, while the work-to-fracture was found larger for the system having a smaller coordination of cross-links. It can be concluded that controlling the coordination of cross-links is a versatile tool to specifically tailor the mechanical properties of polymeric structures.