Simulation of fracture behaviour of hydrogel by discrete element method

Abstract

The determination of fracture properties of hydrogels is of great importance while the hydrogel is used as medical scaffold or soft robotic. The simulations of the mechanical properties were used to reduce the experiment cost and improve efficiency. Here, the work presents a novel method to simulate the fracture behaviour of hydrogels based on discrete element method. Different with continuous methods, the hydrogel was characterised by number of particles. The viscoelastic model and bonding model within the particle model were applied to simulate the microscopic structure of hydrogels. By changing the critical parameters in the model, hydrogels with different mechanical properties were also simulated. Puncture compression test and uniaxial tensile test based on the model were performed. The fracture morphology, stress and strain during the tests were simulated. The results show that the model provides a novel and effective tool to simulate the fracture process of hydrogels.