(268h) Viscoelastic Properties of Polymer Networks from Probe Rheology Simulations: Effect of Network Mesh Size

The ability to determine viscoelastic properties of gels is important for many practical applications such as controlled drug delivery. In our previous work, we applied probe rheology simulations to predict viscoelastic moduli of the unentangled and weakly entangled polymer melts. In this study, we apply the probe rheology simulation technique in conjunction with continuum theory to predict viscoelastic properties of polymer network systems. Active and passive rheology simulations are carried out on a system consisting of a probe particle that is embedded in the medium. The probe particle motion is analyzed by the inertial generalized Stokes-Einstein relation (IGSER) to obtain viscoelastic properties of the medium as a function of frequency. The viscoelastic moduli obtained by this technique are compared with those obtained by non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations. Viscoelastic properties of networks of different mesh sizes are calculated using this approach and the results are compared with theoretical expectations from the literature.