A model of dilute polymer solutions with hydrodynamic interaction and finite extensibility. I: Basic equations and series expansions (Q1098370)

A bead-spring chain model is used to describe dilute polymer solutions. Two important effects, the hydrodynamic interaction between the beads of a single chain and the finite extensibility of the springs connecting the beads, are treated in a self-consistently averaged form. For the resulting model, a rheological equation of state, a third-order retarded- motion expansion, and a second-order codeformational memory-integral expansion are derived. Furthermore, the parameters characterizing the model and the limit of infinitely long chains are discussed in great detail.