A Model for Flow-enhanced Nucleation Based on Fibrillar Dormant Precursors

A model for flow-enhanced nucleation is presented based on the concept of a polymer meltcontaining a fixed number of nucleation precursors with a fixed size distribution. Dependingon the size, precursors can either be active and grow into a spherulite or remain dormant. Thesize distribution of precursors is derived by combining nucleation theory and experimentallydetermined quiescent spherulite number densities. Longitudinal precursor growth, causingactivation of dormant precursors, is a function of molecular deformation: the stretch of highmolecular weight chains. Both the eXtended Pom-Pom and the Rolie-Poly model are tested tocalculate the molecular deformation. A quantitative agreement is found between simulationsand experimental results.