Predictors of Cavitation in Glassy Polymers under Tensile Strain: A Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Investigation

The nucleation of cavities in a homogeneous polymer under tensile strain is studied in a coarse-grained MD simulation. To establish a causal relation between local microstructure and the onset of cavitation, a detailed analysis of some local properties is presented. In contrast to common assumptions, the nucleation of a cavity is neither correlated to a local loss of density nor to stress at the atomic scale or the chain-end density in the nondeformed state. Instead, a cavity in glassy polymers nucleates in regions that display a low bulk elastic modulus. Even if the localization of a cavity is not directly predictable from the initial configuration, the elastically weak zones identified in the initial state emerge as favorite spots for cavity formation.