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Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
Published on: September 26, 2016
Finite-element approach to Brownian dynamics of polymers
Christian J Cyron1, Wolfgang A Wall
1Lehrstuhl für Numerische Mechanik, Technische Universität München, Boltzmannstr. 15, Garching, Germany.
Abstract:
In the last decades simulation tools for Brownian dynamics of polymers have attracted more and more interest. Such simulation tools have been applied to a large variety of problems and accelerated the scientific progress significantly. However, the currently most frequently used explicit bead models exhibit severe limitations, especially with respect to time step size, the necessity of artificial constraints and the lack of a sound mathematical foundation. Here we present a framework for simulations of Brownian polymer dynamics based on the finite-element method. This approach allows simulating a wide range of physical phenomena at a highly attractive computational cost on the basis of a far-developed mathematical background.
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