We have experimentally studied the growth process of a water-absorbing polymer commonly known as hydro-gel. We took a number of spherical beads, immersed them in pure water, measured their diameters at regular interva...We have experimentally studied the growth process of a water-absorbing polymer commonly known as hydro-gel. We took a number of spherical beads, immersed them in pure water, measured their diameters at regular intervals of time and plotted graphs showing the change in volume with the time of immersion, to analyze their swelling properties. We have formulated a dynamical model on the basis of curve-fitting to our experimental data. Our mathematical modelling is devoted solely towards the explanation of the swelling of spherical hydro-gels and we have interpreted our observations on these basis. And finally evaluating the constants of the process, we have shown that the results obtained from our modelling and numerical simulation exactly match the experimental data. The justification of this new approach lies in its successful application for the complete explanation of our observations through numerical and analytical ways.展开更多
文摘We have experimentally studied the growth process of a water-absorbing polymer commonly known as hydro-gel. We took a number of spherical beads, immersed them in pure water, measured their diameters at regular intervals of time and plotted graphs showing the change in volume with the time of immersion, to analyze their swelling properties. We have formulated a dynamical model on the basis of curve-fitting to our experimental data. Our mathematical modelling is devoted solely towards the explanation of the swelling of spherical hydro-gels and we have interpreted our observations on these basis. And finally evaluating the constants of the process, we have shown that the results obtained from our modelling and numerical simulation exactly match the experimental data. The justification of this new approach lies in its successful application for the complete explanation of our observations through numerical and analytical ways.
