Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Cross-Linked Epoxy Polymers: the Effect of Force Field on the Estimation of Properties

In this paper, the molecular dynamics method was used to calculate the physical and mechanical properties of the cross-linked epoxy polymer composed of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) as resin and diethylenetriamine (DETA) as curing agent. Calculation of the properties was performed using the constant-strain (static) approach. A series of independent simulations were carried out based on four widely used force fields; COMPASS, PCFF, UFF and Dreiding. Proper comparisons between the results and also with experimental observations were made to find the most suitable force field for molecular dynamics simulation of polymer materials.