Modelling deformation behaviour of polyelectrolyte gels under chemo-electro-mechanical coupling effects

In this paper, the deformation behaviour of polyelectrolyte gels induced by surrounding chemical and electrical stimulations is investigated. The polyelectrolyte gel is composed of a solid polymerbased network attached with electric charged groups and an interstitial fluid, and it will induce various deformations such as swelling, de-swelling as well as bending due to the variation of ambient chemical and electrical field. In order to study these mechanical behaviours of the polyelectrolyte gels, a multiphysics mathematical model is developed based on the multiphase mixture theory. In the present equilibrium study, the neglect of electro-osmosis phenomenon is assumed and the numerical simulations are carried out for a two-dimensional gel strip with the coupling effect of the external salt solution and electric field. The bending of the gel strip is concluded from the numerical results, which agrees with the previous experimental observation. The influence of several parameters on the deformation behaviour of the gel strip has also been discussed. Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.