Degradation of molecular structure and residual strength of polycarbonate under cyclic loading: Insights from coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation

Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations have been employed to provide insights into the molecular behavior and degradation of monodisperse polycarbonate subjected to cyclic loading with varying molecular structures characterized by two distinct parameters: radius of gyration and molecular entanglement. The fatigued polycarbonate structures were subjected to monotonic deformation in order to assess their residual strength. Our findings reveal that structures characterized by a higher degree of molecular entanglement exhibit a more significant loss of residual strength, attributable to the disentanglement induced by cyclic deformation. Furthermore, an increase in the radius of gyration contributes to greater resilience against cyclic loading, resulting in a higher level of residual strength compared to the impact of molecular entanglement.