NEW SIMULATION METHOD FOR GRAFTED POLYMERIC BRUSHES

We present the first Monte Carlo simulation method for determining the force between two surfaces due to the interaction of end-grafted polymers. The method is an elaboration of recently devised techniques for measuring the pressure by introducing hard or repulsive walls. The approach is applied to the usual self-avoiding-walk lattice model, as well as to the fluctuating bond model devised by Carmesin and Kremer. The latter is found to offer very significant computational advantages. Our results are in qualitative agreement with recent theoretical predictions.