{
  "abstract": "The nonlinear mechanics of amorphous polymers near the glass transition reveals a stress-induced acceleration of stress relaxation of nano-metric sub-units. Recent theoretical work predicts that the local acceleration within these nano-domains should scale as the exponential of the squared local stress, a behavior now supported by experiments. However, this local dynamics has some complex consequences on the macroscopic mechanical response, as dynamical heterogeneities generate complex stress and strain fields in polymers close to the glass transition. In this study we consider the nonlinear creep of an amorphous polymer near its glass transition and evaluate the relation between local and global acceleration and the emerging load-carrying structure, by comparing experimental data with predictions of three models of increasing complexity: a two-state (2S) model, a self-consistent (SC) model and a finite-element (FEM) model. The experimentally observed trend of accelerated creep under increasing applied stress is reproduced by the SC and FEM models, while the 2S model overestimates stress localization. The macroscopic, homogenized acceleration is predicted to be close to the microscopic one, albeit with an apparent yield stress that depends on compliance. The FEM model evidences the development of a load carrying substructure that occupies a small fraction of the total material volume driven by the interaction of sub-domains. This work shows that complexity and heterogeneity emerge due to nonlinear interactions and that their adequate representation is essential for predicting the macroscopic mechanical response of amorphous polymers near their glass transition.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2608.28055",
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Martin Roman-Faure"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhaocheng Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Catalin Picu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Antoine Chateauminois"
    },
    {
      "name": "François Lequeux"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1xaj46pffaqj6.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00646-z",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1xaj46pffaqj6",
  "issns": [
    "1292-8941",
    "1292-895X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05793681v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.soft"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "0.chim"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "0.nlin"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "0.phys"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.chim.poly"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.phys.cond"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.phys.meca"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "2.phys.cond.cm-scm"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "2.phys.meca.mema"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2505|Material Dynamics and Properties"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7204811865",
  "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05793681/document",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-09",
  "publisher": "EDP Sciences: EPJ / Springer Nature",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1xaj46pffaqj6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:54Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05793681",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05793681v1"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:28:36Z",
      "native_id": "2608.28055",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.28055"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "hal:1.chim.poly",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.soft",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "hal:0.nlin",
      "subfield": "statistical-nonlinear"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Weakly nonlinear creep of amorphous polymers near their glass transition: comparisons between models and experiment",
  "title_text": "Weakly nonlinear creep of amorphous polymers near their glass transition: comparisons between models and experiment",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:28:36Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1xaj46pffaqj6",
  "venue": "European Physical Journal E: Soft matter and biological physics",
  "versions": []
}