功能梯度球形水凝胶的化学力学耦合分析

作为一种新型智能材料,水凝胶具有特殊的化学力学耦合性能.采用功能梯度形式可使得水凝胶具有更好的适应性和可调控性.本研究中假设交联密度沿径向按幂函数规律变化,并基于水凝胶的大变形多场耦合一般理论,采用Flory-Huggins自由能函数,建立了功能梯度球形水凝胶在球对称情形的控制方程,并开展了功能梯度球形水凝胶在给定内压和化学势情行的非均匀大变形溶胀行为的理论研究.计算结果表明,不同梯度指数的球形水凝胶的内压、内孔半径曲线和内压、内表面径向伸长率曲线均呈现出一段稳定区间和另一段不稳定区间,说明内压超出某临界值会发生失稳并导致水凝胶的最终破坏.内压的临界值随梯度指数的增大而增大.研究表明,功能梯度球形水凝胶的材料参数(梯度指数、亲疏水特性、交联密度和溶剂分子的体积)和环境化学势对水凝胶溶胀行为具有重要的影响.在给定内表面压力的情况下,功能梯度球形水凝胶内表面的径向位移随梯度指数的改变接近为线性变化,而随其他参数的影响都呈现出明显的非线性.本研究有助于实现水凝胶智能结构和器件在复杂条件下的精准调控.}      

功能梯度球形水凝胶的化学力学耦合分析

作为一种新型智能材料,水凝胶具有特殊的化学力学耦合性能.采用功能梯度形式可使得水凝胶具有更好的适应性和可调控性.本研究中假设交联密度沿径向按幂函数规律变化,并基于水凝胶的大变形多场耦合一般理论,采用Flory-Huggins自由能函数,建立了功能梯度球形水凝胶在球对称情形的控制方程,并开展了功能梯度球形水凝胶在给定内压和化学势情行的非均匀大变形溶胀行为的理论研究.计算结果表明,不同梯度指数的球形水凝胶的内压–内孔半径曲线和内压–内表面径向伸长率曲线均呈现出一段稳定区间和另一段不稳定区间,说明内压超出某临界值会发生失稳并导致水凝胶的最终破坏.内压的临界值随梯度指数的增大而增大.研究表明,功能梯度球形水凝胶的材料参数(梯度指数、亲疏水特性、交联密度和溶剂分子的体积)和环境化学势对水凝胶溶胀行为具有重要的影响.在给定内表面压力的情况下,功能梯度球形水凝胶内表面的径向位移随梯度指数的改变接近为线性变化,而随其他参数的影响都呈现出明显的非线性.本研究有助于实现水凝胶智能结构和器件在复杂条件下的精准调控.     

pH敏感凝胶平衡溶胀的有限元研究

1943年Flory提出第一个凝胶溶胀理论以来,凝胶溶胀理论的发展极大地促进了凝胶科学的发展．在诸多凝胶溶胀理论中,Flory-Rehner凝胶溶胀理论是最为经典的理论之一,成功地预测了聚合物胶体的诸多溶胀变形特性．但该模型是基于一种最为简单的自由连接链模型,存在精度较差的局限．因此,本文采用能够表征网络缠结拓扑等微观结构影响的弹性自由能模型,即由Edwards-Vilgis提出的Slip-Link模型,构造自由能模型并形成pH敏感凝胶的平衡溶胀理论,并基于Abaqus有限元分析了微观结构及几何限制作用对pH敏感凝胶力学行为的影响．分析结果可为微流体控制阀的设计提供参考．     

H形钢梁考虑有限翘曲约束刚度的扭转效应分析

为考虑半刚性连接对H形钢梁翘曲变形的有限约束,引入翘曲约束刚度的概念,提出介于简单支承和固定支承之间的半刚性连接H形钢梁约束扭转计算方法。结合数值算例,验证本文方法的正确性,详细分析翘曲约束刚度变化对翘曲正应力和二次剪应力的影响。研究结果表明：翘曲约束刚度引起的双力矩沿跨度呈线性变化,翘曲正应力随翘曲约束刚度的增大而减小,二次剪应力随翘曲约束刚度的增大而增大。     

横向冲击载荷下不同约束泡沫铝夹芯圆管的动态响应

以泡沫铝夹芯圆管为研究对象,采用数值模拟研究了横向冲击载荷作用下4种不同约束夹芯圆管的动态响应。研究了夹芯圆管的几何参数、冲击速度和芯层泡沫铝相对密度对夹芯圆管力学行为的影响,对比分析了不同约束条件对泡沫铝夹芯圆管变形模式和吸能性能的影响。结果表明:随着内管直径的减小、冲击速度的增大和芯层泡沫铝相对密度的增大,泡沫铝夹芯圆管的比吸能增大;内管壁厚的增加使无约束和倾斜约束下夹芯圆管的比吸能增大,对侧壁约束和组合约束下夹芯圆管的吸能影响不明显;采用一定的外部约束条件是提高泡沫铝夹芯圆管吸能性能的一种可行的方法。     

浅曲梁大挠度分析的余能有限元方法

以高玉臣提出的弹性大变形余能原理为基础,利用Lagrange乘子,放松平衡方程和力边界条件对余能泛函的约束,推导出广义的余能原理.根据极分解定理,将变形分为刚性转动和纯变形两部分,则余能也包含相应的两部分,一部分与刚性转动有关,而另一部分与纯变形有关.使用线弹性本构关系,建立了可用于几何非线性计算的有限元模型.应用更新的Lagrange列式法,给出了增量形式的有限元公式.数值计算结果表明,该方法可用于浅曲粱的几何大变形计算.     

材料和内边界约束对薄壁圆管轴向压缩吸能特性的影响研究

为了在空间和质量约束条件下得到综合效率最优的能量吸收结构,通过数值方法分析了45#钢、6061-T6铝合金和TC4钛合金三种材料薄壁圆管在轴向压缩下的能量吸收行为,得到了材料、结构参数、内边界约束对薄壁圆管变形模式和能量吸收特性的影响。结果表明:相同厚径比时,延展性好的薄壁圆管发生渐进式压溃,而延展性差的薄壁圆管则发生轴向劈裂和渐进碎裂变形模式;结构的比能量吸收率随厚径比的增大而提高,其中钛合金管的比吸能率最高,但峰值载荷较大;当内径、高度和质量相同时,钛合金管的吸能量分别是铝合金管和钢管的1.1倍和3.1倍。此外,对于渐进压溃模式的薄壁圆管,可通过引入内边界约束改善其能量吸收特性,其比能量吸收率最大可提高13%左右。     

内爆炸载荷下泡沫铝夹芯圆管塑性动力响应及能量耗散机理

通过实验、理论和数值模拟研究泡沫铝夹芯空心圆管在内爆载荷作用下的动态变形模式及吸能机制.采用不同质量的球形乳化炸药进行爆炸试验.结构轴向变形分为3个区:大塑性变形区、绕塑性铰的刚性旋转区和无变形区.在考虑环向膜力和轴向弯矩的情况下,提出内爆作用下夹芯圆管动态响应的显式计算方法.通过建立基于三维Voronoi算法的泡沫芯有限元模型,探索结构能量耗散机制.通过实验观测到的泡沫铝夹芯空心圆管在内爆载荷作用下的变形机制,结合内外管的弯曲变形及芯层压缩,给出了结构在响应过程中能量吸收的理论解.以结构比吸能和外管中心挠度为控制参量求得夹芯圆管的最优解集.进一步研究炸药质量、内外管直径、壁厚及芯层轴向梯度排列方式对结构动态变形模式和吸能机制的影响.结果表明:内管壁厚对外管中心线的挠度影响较大,而芯层厚度和外管壁厚的影响较小;如果夹芯圆管的轴向梯度结构从管轴向对称面到两端边缘呈对称递减分布时,具有较好的抗爆性;数值计算和实验测试结果均与理论预测吻合.     

倾斜非均匀磁场下导电方管磁流体管流的数值模拟研究

热核聚变反应堆液态金属包层应用中的一个重要问题是液态金属在导电管中流动和强磁场相互作用产生的额外的磁流体动力学压降.这种磁流体动力学压降远远大于普通水力学压降.美国阿贡国家实验室ALEX研究小组,对非均匀磁场下导电管中液态金属磁流体动力学效应进行了实验研究,其实验结果成为液态金属包层数值验证的标准模型之一.液态金属包层在应用中会受到不同方向的磁场作用,本文以ALEX的非均匀磁场下导电方管中液态金属管流实验中的一组参数为基础,保持哈特曼数、雷诺数和壁面电导率不变,采用三维直接数值模拟的方法,研究了外加磁场与侧壁之间的倾角对导电方管内液态金属流动的速度、电流和压降分布的影响.研究结果表明:沿流向相同横截面上的速度、电流以及压力分布均随磁场的倾斜而同向旋转.倾斜磁场均匀段,横截面上的高速区位于平行磁场方向的哈特曼层和平行层交叉位置,压力梯度随磁场倾角的增大先增大后减小.倾斜磁场递减段,在三维磁流体动力学效应作用下,横截面上的高速射流位置向垂直磁场方向偏移.磁场递减段的三维磁流体动力学压降随磁场倾角的增大而增大.随磁场倾斜,截面上的射流峰值逐渐减小,二次流增强,引发层流向湍流的转捩.      

考虑桩头约束的水平受荷单桩响应分析

基于m法的基本假定推导了考虑桩头转动约束程度、桩身自由长度和埋深比的水平受荷单桩响应解析解,获得了更具一般性的通解形式;基于该计算公式讨论了桩头转动刚度km、量纲为一的固定因子C、桩头约束度λ三种桩头约束定量表征参数间的关系;分析了桩身埋入深度和自由长度对桩头约束表征参数和单桩响应的影响。研究表明:桩头约束度λ(即有约束单桩桩头所受弯矩与桩头嵌固条件下桩头弯矩之比)不受桩和桩周土参数的影响。通过λ取0(表示桩头自由)和1(表示桩头嵌固)之间的数值有效表征桩头约束效果;采用桩身抗弯刚度和水平地基比例系数对桩头转动刚度进行量纲归一化获得系数β,在桩身埋入深度和自由长度给定的条件下,β和λ具有一一对应关系,β成为λ与单桩和桩周土体参数间相关联的关键参数。进一步的研究表明:在β相同的条件下,刚性桩的λ值大于弹性长桩,自由长度越大桩头约束度越大;桩头位移和土面下桩身最大弯矩随λ的增大呈线性变化;对于刚性桩和自由长度大于2倍桩土刚度系数的弹性长桩,自由长度变化对桩头位移比(有约束单桩的桩头位移与桩头自由单桩的比)随λ变化规律的影响不大;桩身土面下最大弯矩点深度随λ的增加而增加,随自由长度的增加而减小;在λ小于0.5时,刚性桩和弹性长桩的最大弯矩点深度基本一致,且此规律不受自由长度的影响。     

Finite deformation swelling of a temperature-sensitive hydrogel cylinder under combined extension-torsion

The swelling behavior of a temperature-sensitive poly-N-isopropylacrylamide(PNIPAM) hydrogel circular cylinder is studied subjected to combined extension-torsion and varied temperature. In this regard, a semi-analytical solution is proposed for general combined loading. A finite element(FE) analysis is conducted, subjecting a hydrogel cylinder to the combined extension-torsion and the varied temperature to evaluate the validity and accuracy of the solution. A user-defined UHYPER subroutine is developed and verified under free and constrained swelling conditions. The FE results illustrate excellent agreement with the semi-analytical solution. Due to the complexity of the problem, some compositions and applied loading factors are analyzed. It is revealed that for larger cross-linked density and larger ending temperature, the cylinder yields higher stresses and smaller radial swelling deformation. Besides, the radial and hoop stresses increase by applying larger twist and axial stretch. The hoop stresses intersect at approximately R/Rout = 0.58, where the hoop stress vanishes. Besides, the axial force has direct and inverse relationships with the axial stretch and the twist, respectively. However, the resultant torsional moment behavior is complex, and the position of the maximum point varies significantly by altering the axial stretch and the twist.     

Bulging Brains

Brain swelling is a serious condition associated with an accumulation of fluid inside the brain that can be caused by trauma, stroke, infection, or tumors. It increases the pressure inside the skull and reduces blood and oxygen supply. To relieve the intracranial pressure, neurosurgeons remove part of the skull and allow the swollen brain to bulge outward, a procedure known as decompressive craniectomy. Decompressive craniectomy has been preformed for more than a century; yet, its effects on the swollen brain remain poorly understood. Here we characterize the deformation, strain, and stretch in bulging brains using the nonlinear field theories of mechanics. Our study shows that even small swelling volumes of 28 to 56 ml induce maximum principal strains in excess of 30 %. For radially outward-pointing axons, we observe maximal normal stretches of 1.3 deep inside the bulge and maximal tangential stretches of 1.3 around the craniectomy edge. While the stretch magnitude varies with opening site and swelling region, our study suggests that the locations of maximum stretch are universally shared amongst all bulging brains. Our model has the potential to inform neurosurgeons and rationalize the shape and position of the skull opening, with the ultimate goal to reduce brain damage and improve the structural and functional outcomes of decompressive craniectomy in trauma patients.     

Critical stretch for formation of a cylindrical void in a compressible hyperelastic material

Formation of a cylindrical void in an infinitely long compressible hyperelastic cylinder under axial and radial stretches is examined. The cavitation phenomenon is viewed here as a bifurcation of a solution with a cavity from the homogeneously deformed configuration, taking place when the applied radial stretch reaches a certain critical value. This amounts to modeling the underlying phenomenon as a kind of elastic instability. A formulation of shooting-method type is presented to derive an equation which gives the critical radial stretch for a prescribed axial stretch. For a special class of hyperelastic solids, called modified Blatz-Ko material, the obtained equation leads to an explicit expression for the critical stretches and stresses. Some analytical as well as numerical calculations are carried out to explicitly obtain the critical values for cavitation. The results are summarized in the form of cavitation curves in the two-dimensional space of axial and radial stretches or stresses. Influence of the axial stretch on the critical radial stretch is discussed. Throughout the paper, the corresponding results for a spherically symmetric void formation are referred to when appropriate and compared with the cylindrical case of the present interest. It is then indicated that in the state of equitriaxial stretch, cavitation into a cylindrical shape is likely to occur at lower stretch than into a spherical one.     

Swelling-induced ?nite bending of functionally graded p H-responsive hydrogels: a semi-analytical method

Recently, pH-sensitive hydrogels have been utilized in the diverse applications including sensors, switches, and actuators. In order to have continuous stress and deformation ?elds, a new semi-analytical approach is developed to predict the swelling induced?nite bending for a functionally graded(FG) layer composed of a pH-sensitive hydrogel,in which the cross-link density is continuously distributed along the thickness direction under the plane strain condition. Without considering the intermediary virtual reference,the initial state is mapped into the deformed con?guration in a circular shape by utilizing a total deformation gradient tensor stemming from the inhomogeneous swelling of an FG layer in response to the variation of the pH value of the solvent. To enlighten the capability of the presented analytical method, the ?nite element method(FEM) is used to verify the accuracy of the analytical results in some case studies. The perfect agreement con-?rms the accuracy of the presented method. Due to the applicability of FG pH-sensitive hydrogels, some design factors such as the semi-angle, the bending curvature, the aspect ratio, and the distributions of deformation and stress ?elds are studied. Furthermore, the tangential free-stress axes are illustrated in deformed con?guration.     

Finite elastic deformations of transversely isotropic circular cylindrical tubes

We consider the finite radially symmetric deformation of a circular cylindrical tube of a homogeneous transversely isotropic elastic material subject to axial stretch, radial deformation and torsion, supported by axial load, internal pressure and end moment. Two different directions of transverse isotropy are considered: the radial direction and an arbitrary direction in planes normal locally to the radial direction, the only directions for which the considered deformation is admissible in general. In the absence of body forces, formulas are obtained for the internal pressure, and the resultant axial load and torsional moment on the ends of the tube in respect of a general strain-energy function. For a specific material model of transversely isotropic elasticity, and material and geometrical parameters, numerical results are used to illustrate the dependence of the pressure, (reduced) axial load and moment on the radial stretch and a measure of the torsional deformation for a fixed value of the axial stretch.     

两性pH敏感凝胶瞬态溶胀问题的基本方程和数值解

聚电解质两性凝胶的侧链有可电离的酸性和碱性基团,因其能对所处溶液环境的pH值产生响应,又可称作两性pH敏感凝胶．两性pH敏感凝胶属于超弹性材料,其变形问题涉及力学-化学耦合．同时,由于凝胶的变形伴随着溶剂分子的迁移,导致变形不能瞬间完成,故应研究两性pH敏感凝胶变形发展的全过程．由于其实用价值高,研究难度大,两性pH敏感凝胶的瞬态溶胀问题近年来引起了国内外众多研究人员的关注．本文以非线性连续介质力学理论和孔隙弹性理论为基础,结合电离平衡、唐南平衡等条件,获得了能描述两性pH敏感凝胶材料在外界激励下形变发展全过程的基本方程,探究了外加载荷、溶液pH值、盐溶液浓度等因素对两性pH敏感凝胶瞬态溶胀的影响,所得结果对该材料的应用有一定参考价值．     

Torsional Swelling of a Hyperelastic Tube with Helically Wound Reinforcement

This paper examines the combination of radial deformation with torsion for a circular cylindrical tube composed of a transversely isotropic hyperelastic material subject to finite deformation swelling. The stored energy function involves separate matrix and fiber contributions such that the fiber contribution is minimized when the fiber direction is at a natural length. This natural length is not affected by the swelling. Hence swelling preferentially expands directions that are orthogonal to the fiber. The swelling itself is described via a swelling field that prescribes the local free volume at each location in the body. Such a treatment is a relatively simple generalization of the conventional incompressible theory. The direction of transverse isotropy associated with the fiber reinforcement is described by a helical winding about the tube axis. The swelling induced preferential expansion orthogonal to this direction induces the torsional aspect of the deformation. For a specific class of strain energy functions we find that the twist increases with swelling and approaches a limiting asymptotic value as the swelling becomes large. The fibers reorient such that fibers at the inner portion of the tube assume a more circumferential orientation whereas, at least for small and moderate swelling, the fibers in the outer portion of the tube assume a more axial orientation. For large swelling the fibers in the outer portion of the tube reorient beyond the axial orientation, and so are described by helices with orientation in the opposite sense to that in the reference configuration.      

Swell-induced surface instability of hydrogel layers with material properties varying in thickness direction

Upon swelling in a solvent, a thin hydrogel layer on a rigid substrate may become unstable, developing various surface patterns. Recent experimental studies have explored the possibilities to generate controllable surface patterns by chemically modifying the molecular structures of the hydrogel near the surface. In this paper, we present a theoretical stability analysis for swelling of hydrogel layers with material properties varying in the thickness direction. As a specialization of the general procedure, hydrogel bilayers with different combinations of the material properties are examined in details. For a soft-on-hard bilayer, the onset of surface instability is determined by the short-wave limit, similar to a homogeneous layer. In contrast, for a hard-on-soft bilayer, a long-wave mode with a finite wavelength emerges as the critical mode at the onset of surface instability, similar to wrinkling of an elastic thin film on a compliant substrate, and the critical swelling ratio is much lower than that for a homogeneous hydrogel layer. A smooth transition of the critical mode is predicted as the volume fraction of the top layer changes, linking surface instability of a homogeneous layer to thin film wrinkling as two limiting cases. The results from the present study suggest that both the critical condition and the instability mode depend sensitively on the variation of the material properties in the thickness direction of the hydrogel layer.     

Mechanics and chemical thermodynamics of phase transition in temperature-sensitive hydrogels

This paper uses the thermodynamic data of aqueous solutions of uncrosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) to study the phase transition of PNIPAM hydrogels. At a low temperature, uncrosslinked PNIPAM can be dissolved in water and form a homogenous liquid solution. When the temperature is increased, the solution separates into two liquid phases with different concentrations of the polymer. Covalently crosslinked PNIPAM, however, does not dissolve in water, but can imbibe water and form a hydrogel. When the temperature is changed, the hydrogel undergoes a phase transition: the amount of water in the hydrogel in equilibrium changes with temperature discontinuously. While the aqueous solution is a liquid and cannot sustain any nonhydrostatic stress in equilibrium, the hydrogel is a solid and can sustain nonhydrostatic stress in equilibrium. The nonhydrostatic stress can markedly affect various aspects of the phase transition in the hydrogel. We adopt the Flory-Rehner model, and show that the interaction parameter as a function of temperature and concentration obtained from the PNIPAM-water solution can be used to analyze diverse phenomena associated with the phase transition of the PNIPAM hydrogel. We analyze free swelling, uniaxially and biaxially constrained swelling of a hydrogel, swelling of a core-shell structure, and coexistent phases in a rod. The analysis is related to available experimental observations. Also outlined is a general theory of coexistent phases undergoing inhomogeneous deformation.