Finite element analysis of finite bending of temperature response hydrogel bilayers

In this work, a Finite Element Method (FEM) is developed to investigate the finite bending of bilayer gel beams under plane strain condition. In particular, we study bilayers composed of a neutral incompressible elastomeric layer and a hydrogel layer. The bilayer is flat in the reference (initial) state. Due to the temperature changes, the bilayer has a bending configuration in the current state. In order to describe the swelling behavior of the hydrogel, a new modified model of the Helmholtz free energy is used. A UHYPER code is developed and implemented in ABAQUS for FE modeling of the bilayer. Finally, we studied the effects of some geometrical and material parameters on the bilayer configuration and the stress distribution inside the layers.

Keywords:

Bilayers , Thermally activated hydrogels , Finite bending , Finite element method