The swelling of hydrogels under geometrical constraints enables one to perform mechanical work, which can be used in various applications such as biomedical devices, soft robotics, sensors, and actuators. The constraints give rise to complex deformations which make it difficult to estimate the stresses that gels can apply on their surroundings during the swelling process. Michal Levin and Noy Cohen propose a simple experimental method that enables one to approximate these stresses. To simulate the environmental conditions during swelling, the researchers employed 3D-printing technologies. The insights from this work can be used to optimize existing systems and engineer more accurately new swelling-based devices for various purposes.
The work was published in Advanced Materials Technologies and made the front cover: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/admt.202202136