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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Chemically-induced swelling of hydrogels

Dolbow, John E.; Fried, Eliot; Ji, Huidi

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/287

Description

Title
Chemically-induced swelling of hydrogels
Author(s)
  • Dolbow, John E.
  • Fried, Eliot
  • Ji, Huidi
Issue Date
2004-01
Keyword(s)
  • constitutive theory
  • smart materials
  • experimental fluid mechanics
  • granular materials
  • particulate flows
  • phase transitions
  • biological mechanics
Date of Ingest
2007-03-08T21:29:15Z
Abstract
We present a theory for the chemically-induced volume transitions of hydrogels. Consistent with experimental observations, we account for a sharp interface separating swelled and collapsed phases of the underlying polymer network. The polymer chains are treated as a solute with an associated diffusion potential and their concentration is assumed to be discontinuous across the interface. In addition to the standard bulk and interfacial equations imposing force balance and solute balance, the theory involves an ancillary interfacial equation imposing configurational force balance. Motivated by experimental observations, we specialize the theory to the situation where the time scale associated with the interface motion is slow compared to those associated with diffusion in the bulk phases. We present a hybrid eXtended-Finite-Element/Level-Set Method (XFE/LSM) for obtaining approximate solutions to the equations arising under this specialization. As an application, we consider the swelling of a spherical specimen whose boundary is traction-free and is in contact with a reservoir of uniform chemical potential. Our numerical results exhibit good qualitative comparison with experimental observations and predict characteristic swelling times that are proportional to the square of the specimen radius. Our results also suggest several possible synthetic pathways that might be pursued as a means to engineer hydrogels with optimal response times.
Publisher
Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (UIUC)
Series/Report Name or Number
TAM Reports 1017
ISSN
0073-5264
Type of Resource
text
Genre of Resource
  • Technical Report
  • Article
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/287

Owning Collections

Technical Reports - Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (TAM) PRIMARY
TAM technical reports include manuscripts intended for publication, theses judged to have general interest, notes prepared for short courses, symposia compiled from outstanding undergraduate projects, and reports prepared for research-sponsoring agencies.