Abstract
An elastomeric gel is a cross-linked polymer network swollen with a solvent, and certain gels can undergo large reversible volume changes as they are cycled about a critical temperature. We have developed a continuum-level theory to describe the coupled mechanical deformation, fluid permeation, and heat transfer of such thermally-responsive gels. In discussing special constitutive equations we limit our attention to isotropic materials, and consider a model based on a Flory-Huggins model for the free energy change due to mixing of the fluid with the polymer network, coupled with a non-Gaussian statistical-mechanical model for the change in configurational entropy - a model which accounts for the limited extensibility of polymer chains. We have numerically implemented our theory in a finite element program. We have shown that our theory is capable of simulating swelling, squeezing of fluid by applied mechanical forces, and thermally-responsive swelling/deswelling of such materials.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 10-19 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Procedia IUTAM |
Volume | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2015 |
Event | IUTAM Symposium on Mechanics of Soft Active Materials, SAM 2014 - Haifa, Israel Duration: May 12 2014 → May 15 2014 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Mechanical Engineering
Keywords
- Diffusion
- Elastomeric materials
- Gels
- Large deformations
- Thermodynamics