Microscopic theory of chain pullout in polymeric liquid crystals

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Abstract
We study the statistical-mechanical problem of chain pullout during the fracture of a fiber of main-chain liquid-crystalline polymer. A simple model is used in which only longitudinal motion of the polymer chains is permitted and in which a mean-field approximation is used for the interchain potential. The dependence of the chain pullout velocity and energy dissipation on the temperature and applied force is obtained. It is shown that in order for the pullout process to start, the applied force should exceed some critical value. The pullout velocity was found to have a nonlinear dependence on the magnitude of the applied force. The work involved in chain pullout is calculated as a function of chain length and pullout velocity.