Compression testing and measurement of material properties of a double network hydrogel

Double network hydrogel samples were synthesized and manufactured out of polyacrylamide (PAAm) and alginate solutions. They were casted into cube molds with each side measuring 20 mm. Samples were tested under compressive loads in cyclic compression tests and stress relaxation tests. A viscoelastic model was applied and material properties were calculated using the experimental data. The elastic modulus of these PAAm-alginate gels was found to be 35kPa, while the viscosity, [eta], was found to be 1.43 kPa-s. The viscous response was found to have a dependency on the strain rate by an exponential factor of 0.26. Using the applied theoretical model and the experimentally determined material properties, you can then characterize the mechanical response of the PAAm-alginate hydrogel when it undergoes small strains.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Valero, Diana (Diana E.)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lallit Anand.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98758

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/98758