University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Kinetics of thermally induced swelling of hydrogels

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

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/313

Description

Title
Kinetics of thermally induced swelling of hydrogels
Author(s)
  • Ji, Huidi
  • Mourad, Hashem
  • Fried, Eliot
  • Dolbow, John E.
Issue Date
2004-12
Abstract
We present a continuum model for thermally-induced volume transitions in stimulus-responsive hydrogels (SRHs). The framework considers the transition as driven through the motion of a sharp interface separating swollen and collapsed phases of the underlying polymer network. In addition to bulk and interfacial force and energy balances, our model considers an interfacial normal configurational force balance. To account for the large volume changes exhibited by SRHs during actuation, the governing equations are developed in the setting of finite-strain kinematics. The numerical approximations to the coupled thermomechanical equations are obtained with an extended finite element/level-set method. The solution strategy involves a non-standard operator split and a simplified version of the level-set update. A number of representative problems are considered to investigate the model and compare its predictions to experimental observations. In particular, we consider the thermally-induced swelling of spherical and cylindrical specimens. The stability of the interface evolution is also examined.
Publisher
Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (UIUC)
Series/Report Name or Number
TAM Reports 1055, (2004)
ISSN
0073-5264
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/313

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.