Speaker
Description
Granular soft materials (e.g., hydrogel spheres) have gained considerable attention due to their potential applications in drug delivery and tissue regeneration. To enable widespread applications of these materials in practical settings, it is crucial to accurately characterise the mechanical property (e.g., Young’s modules). Typically, the elastic properties can be determined through indentation tests. However, the formation of liquid bridges between the high-water-content surface and substrate introduces capillary forces, which adds complexities to contact mechanics and potentially compromises measurement accuracy. To address this , this study conducted indentation tests on both single hydrogel, at different swelling stages, and rigid spheres to investigate the effects of capillary forces on force-displacement curves and stress distribution within the substrate. Experimental results showed strong agreement with a theoretical model for the cases of rigid spheres, while discrepancies were observed for hydrogel particles. These discrepancies, attributed to capillary forces, were analysed by measuring variations in liquid bridge curvature and the resulting local stress field, which were subsequently incorporated to refine the theoretical contact model. By isolating and accounting for the contribution of capillary forces, this study provides a reliable experimental method for accurately characterising the mechanical property of granular soft materials, ensuring their safe and effective use in various critical applications.
| Country | 澳大利亚 |
|---|---|
| Water & Porous Media Focused Abstracts | This abstract is related to Water |
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