Origin of Stress Overshoot during Startup Shear of Entangled Polymer Melts

Using Brownian dynamics simulation, we determine the chain orientation and stretching and their connection to stress overshoot in an entangled polymer melt undergoing startup shear at rates lower than the reciprocal of the Rouse time yet higher than the reciprocal of the reptation time. In this rate regime, the prevailing tube theory attributes the stress overshoot to alignment of the primitive chain. In contrast, our results reveal that there is substantial chain stretching that persists well beyond the Rouse time, and it contributes significantly to the initial stress growth. In particular, stress overshoot is found to be primarily due to chain retraction after considerable stretching rather than chain orientation.