A Molecular Dynamics Simulation for Thermal Activation Process in Covalent Bond Dissociation of a Crosslinked Thermosetting Polymer

A novel algorithm for covalent bond dissociation is developed to accurately predict fracture behavior of thermosetting polymers via molecular dynamics simulation. This algorithm is based on the Monte Carlo method that considers the difference in local strain and bond-dissociation energies to reproduce a thermally activated process in a covalent bond dissociation. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of this algorithm in predicting the stress–strain relationship of fully crosslinked thermosetting polymers under uniaxial tensile conditions. Our results indicate that the bond-dissociation energy plays an important role in reproducing the brittle fracture behavior of a thermosetting polymer by affecting the number of covalent bonds that are dissociated simultaneously.