Issue 39, 2024

Generalized vs. fractional: a comparative analysis of Maxwell models applied to entangled polymer solutions

Abstract

Fractional viscoelastic models provide an excellent description of rheological data for polymer systems with power-law behaviour. However, the physical interpretation of their model parameters, which carry fractional units of time, often remains elusive. We show that for poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) solutions, the fractional Maxwell model (FMM) requires much fewer model parameters than the classical generalized Maxwell model for a good description of the data and that it can be applied consistently to solutions with varying degrees of viscoelasticity. Despite their fractional units, the parameters exhibit scaling laws similar to classical parameters as a function of polymer concentration.

Graphical abstract: Generalized vs. fractional: a comparative analysis of Maxwell models applied to entangled polymer solutions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Jun 2024
Accepted
19 Sep 2024
First published
21 Sep 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Soft Matter, 2024,20, 7914-7925

Generalized vs. fractional: a comparative analysis of Maxwell models applied to entangled polymer solutions

R. F. Schmidt, H. H. Winter and M. Gradzielski, Soft Matter, 2024, 20, 7914 DOI: 10.1039/D4SM00749B

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