Mechanics of Composite Hydrogels
Name
song-jakesong-phd-dmse-2023-thesis-v2.pdf
Description
Thesis PDF
Size
7.43 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
267f2ad42b13285e5941ee5a2dc9ca45
Author(s)
Song, Jake
Advisor(s)
McKinley, Gareth H.
Date Issued
June 2023
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Composite hydrogels – which consist of fillers in a swollen polymeric matrix – are ubiquitous structural components of biological materials, biomedical devices, food, and consumer products. The mechanical properties of composite hydrogels are pivotal for their respective applications, and are governed by physical processes which remain unexplored. This thesis explores the physical processes that underlie (i) structure formation in composite hydrogels, viewed from the perspective of the self-assembly of patchy particles; (ii) linear viscoelastic stress relaxation in composite hydrogels, as a manifestation of athermal relaxation dynamics; (iii) nonlinear compression stiffening in composite hydrogels, arising from complex particle dynamics that arise during compression; and (iv) design methods for composite hydrogels, as functional materials with programmable morphologies and stimuli-responsivity. These results provide a framework for understanding the mechanics of composite hydrogels in nature and technology.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering
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