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DOE OSTI · 2997291

Progress towards a fully 3D, thermodynamically-consistent, constitutive model for volume changes during crystallization and melting of semicrystalline polymers

Cundiff, Kenneth Noel [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000300824694)·Long, Kevin Nicholas [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000347184161)·Hartley, James Yuan [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000313764846)
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Abstract

A thermodynamically-consistent constitutive model for semicrystalline polymers has been developed that is capable of representing volume strains from crystallization and melting. The new model is targeted at representing the thermal strain behavior of polymeric photo-voltaic module polymer encapsulation which may undergo crystallization and melting in their service environments. In the model, a homogenized material point is represented by a Gibbs free energy incorporating contributions from the crystalline phase, the amorphous phase, and mixing terms.

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

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Cundiff, Kenneth Noel [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000300824694), Long, Kevin Nicholas [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000347184161), Hartley, James Yuan [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000313764846). 2025-09-01. Progress towards a fully 3D, thermodynamically-consistent, constitutive model for volume changes during crystallization and melting of semicrystalline polymers. https://doi.org/10.2172/2997291

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗