Modeling of micro-to mesoscopic deformation behavior of semi-crystalline polymer based on laminar composite model

Since semi-crystalline polymer has very complex hierarchical structure, it is essential to construct a suitable multiscale mechanical model for the prediction of its mechanical characteristics. For the establishment of the triple scale mechanical model of semi-crystalline polymer, which can reflect the non-uniform deformations in micro-, meso-and macroscopic scales, computationally efficient model to relate structures and deformations in micro-to mesoscopic scales is indispensable. In this paper, to solve the problems, tangent modulus method was introduced into the constitutive equations for crystalline and amorphous phases consisting of the microstructure of semi-crystalline polymer. Furthermore, we proposed a new laminar composite model connecting deformations in micro-to mesoscopic scales based on the equilibrium of stress acting on the interface between the phases and the compatibility of deformation along the interface. Appropriate time steps for stable simulation and validity of the proposed model were examined through the computational simulation of uniaxial tension of single lamellar and spherulite models of high density polyethylene. It has been clarified that the proposed model could predict an elasto-viscoplastic deformation behavior of semi-crystalline polymer in markedly less computational time and memory.