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This thesis considers confined polymer systems. These systems are of considerable interest, e.g., thin polymer films, chromotography of polymer solutions, drag reduction, enhanced oil recovery, stabilization of colloidal dispersions, lubrication and biolubrication. The method used to study these systems is Monte Carlo simulation of lattice chains. The method gives the Boltzmann distribution for the lattice chain configurations. Ensemble averages for the systems can be obtained, e.g., for the radius of gyration, the shape of the polymer coils, the osmotic pressure, and the intrinsic viscosity. Since the modelling of a polymer by lattice chains leaves out the detailed structure of the polymer, most of the information obtained is concerned with properties for which the relevant length scale is the size of a coil. This length scale is also characteristic for scaling theories. Therefore, the Monte Carlo results are often compared with scaling predictions. |
