2017/04/24 by Michele Curatolo, Paola Nardinocchi, Curatolo, Michele +5
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Chemical Engineering · #FOS: Physical sciences #Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications #Rheology and Fluid Dynamics Studies #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1704.08201
openalex publication_date 2017/04/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We investigate the swelling dynamics driven by solvent absorption in a hydrogel sphere immersed in a solvent bath, through an accurate computational model and numerical study. We extensively describe the transient process from dry to wet and discuss the onset of surface instabilities through a measure of the lack of smoothness of the outer surface and a morphological pattern of that surface with respect to the two material parameters driving the swelling dynamics.