Polymers

POLYMER PHYSICS

We are studying polymer behavior using a wide range of methods, from atomistic modeling to experimental rheology. These tools are used to investigate research topics such as polyethylene crystallization, polymer-colloid interactions, and systems of branched star polymers and polymer blends. Our goal is to model the behavior of complex fluids to understand fundamental phenomena, inform the design of new materials, and fortify predictive mathematical models for polymer processing applications.

polymer melts

Students

Futianyi Wang

Futiyani Wang

PhD Student

Example project

The hierarchical-3.0 codes are developed in the Larson group for predicting the linear rheological properties of general mixtures of branched polymers with arbitrary distributions of molecular weights and branching architectures. Development of this software was supported by the National Science Foundation under NSF DMR 0604965.

Hierarchical-3.0-manual.pdf
Hierarchical2_Source_Code.tar
Sample_Input_Files.tar

POLYMER PROCESSING

We are applying our understanding of polymers to model industrially relevant polymer processing.

Zhiqiang Shen

Postdoctoral Research Scholar