Abstract: A theoretical model of polyelectrolyte gels is presented to study continuous and discontinuous volume phase transitions induced by changing salt concentration in the external solution. Phase diagrams are constructed in ...

Abstract: Based on a linear poroelastic formulation, we present an asymptotic analysis of the transient crack-tip fields for stationary cracks in polymer gels under plane-strain conditions. A center crack model is studied in detail, ...

Abstract: Fracture of polymer gels is often time- and rate-dependent. Subject to a constant load, a gel specimen may fracture immediately or after a delay (time-dependent, delayed fracture). When a crack grows in a gel, the fracture ...