Abstract :
Thermo-conductive and morphological considerations
have led to the conclusion that ribbon-like
crystals developed in the presence of thermal gradients
behave in the same manner of macroscopic cantilevers,
whose deformation in a non uniform temperature field
is a deeply examined issue in the continuum mechanics.
Therefore, the well known concepts and principles
of this science have been applied to a lower scale
(Pitteri M, Zanzotto G (2002) Continuum models for
phase transitions and twinning in crystals, CRC Press,
London) to explain the origin of lamellar twisting
during the growth of optically banded spherulites in
polymer samples squashed between glass surfaces. The
developed model considers that the torsional motion of
the lamellae is caused by the presence of thermal
gradients across the thickness of the samples and
accounts for both morphological and optical characteristics
of polymer spherulites.
