Structural Origins of Shear Banding in Bidisperse Polymer Melts

Li-Cheng Ma; Yong-Jin Ruan; Yu-Yuan Lu; Li-Jia An

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3421-8

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Structural Origins of Shear Banding in Bidisperse Polymer Melts

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2025-10-30

- Structural Origins of Shear Banding in Bidisperse Polymer Melts
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 43, Issue 11, Pages: 2150-2159(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.State Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
  b.School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
- Author bio：
  
  yylu@ciac.ac.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3421-8
  CLC：
- Received：13 June 2025，
  
  Accepted：02 August 2025，
  
  Online First：11 October 2025，
  
  Published：05 November 2025
- Accepted：
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Ma, L. C.; Ruan, Y. J.; Lu, Y. Y.; An, L. J. Structural origins of shear banding in bidisperse polymer melts. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 2150–2159

Li-Cheng Ma, Yong-Jin Ruan, Yu-Yuan Lu, et al. Structural Origins of Shear Banding in Bidisperse Polymer Melts[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(11): 2150-2159.
Ma, L. C.; Ruan, Y. J.; Lu, Y. Y.; An, L. J. Structural origins of shear banding in bidisperse polymer melts. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 2150–2159 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3421-8.

Li-Cheng Ma, Yong-Jin Ruan, Yu-Yuan Lu, et al. Structural Origins of Shear Banding in Bidisperse Polymer Melts[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(11): 2150-2159. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3421-8.

摘要

Molecular dynamics simulations reveal shear band nucleation in bidisperse polymer melts originates from entanglement network weakening at short-chain-enriched “soft spots”

with dynamic chain migration stabilizing band structure via component redistribution.

Abstract

Shear banding in entangled polymer melts remains a fundamental yet unresolved phenomenon in nonlinear polymer rheology. Here

we perform molecular dynamics simulations of bidisperse entangled melts—comprising equal numbers of chains with lengths

=200 and

=400—to uncover the structural origins and dynamic evolution of shear banding. This bidisperse system amplifies spatial heterogeneities in the entanglement network and facilitates direct comparison with monodisperse melts of

=300

revealing quantitatively consistent steady-state shear stress versus shear rate responses. Notably

a pronounced stress plateau spanning over an order of magnitude in shear rate is observed

within which shear banding emerges reproducibly across independent simulations

as confirmed by systematic velocity profile and interface position analyses. Our findings challenge the prevailing notion that shear banding arises solely from dynamic flow instabilities. Instead

we establish a microstructure-driven framework

demonstrating that shear band nucleation is governed by pre-existing structural heterogeneities—specificall

localized weakening of the entanglement network at short-chain-enriched “soft spots”

indicative of a robust microstructural memory effect. During shear start-up

short chains preferentially disentangle and migrate along the shear direction; beyond a critical strain

long chains retract and redistribute away from the fast shear band center to minimize elastic energy. This chain-length-dependent migration dynamically enriches the shear band in short chains

stabilizing its structure and revealing a molecular mechanism that links entanglement heterogeneity to macroscopic flow localization. By bridging molecular-scale structural features with nonlinear rheological responses

this work offers a complementary perspective to classical tube and convective constraint release (CCR) models

highlighting the critical interplay between microstructural heterogeneity and chain migration in the onset and persistence of shear banding.

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