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Polymers
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Finite Element Methods in Smart Materials and Polymers
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Finite Element Methods in Smart Materials and Polymers

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Physics and Theory".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2020) | Viewed by 27758

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Akif Kaynak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3217, Australia
Interests: conducting polymers; sensors; actuators
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ali Zolfagharian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia
Interests: 3D printing; 4D printing; soft actuators; robotic materials; soft machines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Saeid Nahavandi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation (IISRI), Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3217, Australia
Interests: modelling; simulation and control of engineered systems; robotics, haptics and human machine interface

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional polymers show unique physical and chemical properties, which can manifest as dynamic responses to external stimuli such as radiation, temperature, chemical reaction, external force, magnetic and electric fields. Recent advances in the fabrication techniques have enabled different types of polymer systems that can be utilized in a wide range of potential applications in smart structures and systems.

This special issue aims to focus on the recent advancements in the finite element modeling of polymer systems using a multiphysics approach in various computational platforms and will consider relevant research papers and review articles for publication.

Dr. Akif Kaynak
Dr. Ali Zolfagharian
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Finite element analysis of polymer systems
  • Modelling and control of polymer systems, sensors, and actuators
  • Shape memory polymers, hydrogels, polyelectrolytes, elastomers, and silicones
  • Ionic polymers, conductive polymers, batteries, and electrochemical transistors
  • 3D printed polymer systems, structures, sensors, and actuators

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

2 pages, 154 KiB  
Editorial
Finite Element Methods in Smart Materials and Polymers
by Akif Kaynak, Ali Zolfagharian and Saeid Nahavandi
Polymers 2020, 12(6), 1229; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12061229 - 28 May 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1700
Abstract
Functional polymers show unique physical and chemical properties, which can manifest as dynamic responses to external stimuli such as radiation, temperature, chemical reaction, external force, and magnetic and electric fields [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Finite Element Methods in Smart Materials and Polymers)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

24 pages, 46528 KiB  
Article
Viscoelastic Effects on Drop Deformation Using a Machine Learning-Enhanced, Finite Element method
by Juan Luis Prieto
Polymers 2020, 12(8), 1652; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12081652 - 25 Jul 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2609
Abstract
This paper presents a numerical study of the viscoelastic effects on drop deformation under two configurations of interest: steady shear flow and complex flow under gravitational effects. We use a finite element method along with Brownian dynamics simulation techniques that avoid the use [...] Read more.
This paper presents a numerical study of the viscoelastic effects on drop deformation under two configurations of interest: steady shear flow and complex flow under gravitational effects. We use a finite element method along with Brownian dynamics simulation techniques that avoid the use of closed-form, constitutive equations for the “micro-”scale, studying the viscoelastic effects on drop deformation using an interface capturing technique. The method can be enhanced with a variance-reduced approach to the stochastic modeling, along with machine learning techniques to reconstruct the shape of the polymer stress tensor in complex problems where deformations can be dramatic. The results highlight the effects of viscoelasticity on shape, the polymer stress tensor, and flow streamlines under the analyzed configurations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Finite Element Methods in Smart Materials and Polymers)
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18 pages, 11465 KiB  
Article
Solution Blow Spinning of High-Performance Submicron Polyvinylidene Fluoride Fibres: Computational Fluid Mechanics Modelling and Experimental Results
by Rasheed Atif, Madeleine Combrinck, Jibran Khaliq, Ahmed H. Hassanin, Nader Shehata, Eman Elnabawy and Islam Shyha
Polymers 2020, 12(5), 1140; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12051140 - 16 May 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5414
Abstract
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to investigate characteristics of high-speed air as it is expelled from a solution blow spinning (SBS) nozzle using a k-ε turbulence model. Air velocity, pressure, temperature, turbulent kinetic energy and density contours were generated and analysed in [...] Read more.
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to investigate characteristics of high-speed air as it is expelled from a solution blow spinning (SBS) nozzle using a k-ε turbulence model. Air velocity, pressure, temperature, turbulent kinetic energy and density contours were generated and analysed in order to achieve an optimal attenuation force for fibre production. A bespoke convergent nozzle was used to produce polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fibres at air pressures between 1 and 5 bar. The nozzle comprised of four parts: a polymer solution syringe holder, an air inlet, an air chamber, and a cap that covers the air chamber. A custom-built SBS setup was used to produce PVDF submicron fibres which were consequently analysed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) for their morphological features. Both theoretical and experimental observations showed that a higher air pressure (4 bar) is more suitable to achieve thin fibres of PVDF. However, fibre diameter increased at 5 bar and intertwined ropes of fibres were also observed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Finite Element Methods in Smart Materials and Polymers)
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16 pages, 27863 KiB  
Article
Modeling the Full Time-Dependent Phenomenology of Filled Rubber for Use in Anti-Vibration Design
by Francesca Carleo, Jan Plagge, Roly Whear, James Busfield and Manfred Klüppel
Polymers 2020, 12(4), 841; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12040841 - 06 Apr 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2869
Abstract
Component design of rubber-based anti-vibration devices remains a challenge, since there is a lack of predictive models in the typical regimes encountered by anti-vibration devices that are deformed to medium dynamic strains (0.5 to 3.5) at medium strain rates (0.5/s to 10/s). An [...] Read more.
Component design of rubber-based anti-vibration devices remains a challenge, since there is a lack of predictive models in the typical regimes encountered by anti-vibration devices that are deformed to medium dynamic strains (0.5 to 3.5) at medium strain rates (0.5/s to 10/s). An approach is proposed that demonstrates all non-linear viscoelastic effects such as hysteresis and cyclic stress softening. As it is based on a free-energy, it is fast and easily implementable. The fitting parameters behave meaningfully when changing the filler volume fraction. The model was implemented for use in the commercial finite element software ABAQUS. Examples of how to fit experimental data and simulations for a variety of carbon black filled natural rubber compounds are presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Finite Element Methods in Smart Materials and Polymers)
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Graphical abstract

18 pages, 4877 KiB  
Article
Fracture Resistance Analysis of 3D-Printed Polymers
by Ali Zolfagharian, Mohammad Reza Khosravani and Akif Kaynak
Polymers 2020, 12(2), 302; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12020302 - 02 Feb 2020
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 6736
Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D)-printed parts are an essential subcategory of additive manufacturing with the recent proliferation of research in this area. However, 3D-printed parts fabricated by different techniques differ in terms of microstructure and material properties. Catastrophic failures often occur due to unstable crack propagations [...] Read more.
Three-dimensional (3D)-printed parts are an essential subcategory of additive manufacturing with the recent proliferation of research in this area. However, 3D-printed parts fabricated by different techniques differ in terms of microstructure and material properties. Catastrophic failures often occur due to unstable crack propagations and therefore a study of fracture behavior of 3D-printed components is a vital component of engineering design. In this paper, experimental tests and numerical studies of fracture modes are presented. A series of experiments were performed on 3D-printed nylon samples made by fused deposition modeling (FDM) and multi-jet fusion (MJF) to determine the load-carrying capacity of U-notched plates fabricated by two different 3D printing techniques. The equivalent material concept (EMC) was used in conjunction with the J-integral failure criterion to investigate the failure of the notched samples. Numerical simulations indicated that when EMC was combined with the J-integral criterion the experimental results could be predicted successfully for the 3D-printed polymer samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Finite Element Methods in Smart Materials and Polymers)
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14 pages, 5311 KiB  
Article
In-Plane Mechanical Behavior of a New Star-Re-Entrant Hierarchical Metamaterial
by Wenjiao Zhang, Shuyuan Zhao, Rujie Sun, Fabrizio Scarpa and Jinwu Wang
Polymers 2019, 11(7), 1132; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11071132 - 03 Jul 2019
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 3928
Abstract
A novel hierarchical metamaterial with tunable negative Poisson’s ratio is designed by a re-entrant representative unit cell (RUC), which consists of star-shaped subordinate cells. The in-plane mechanical behaviors of star-re-entrant hierarchical metamaterial are studied thoroughly by finite element method, non-dimensional effective moduli and [...] Read more.
A novel hierarchical metamaterial with tunable negative Poisson’s ratio is designed by a re-entrant representative unit cell (RUC), which consists of star-shaped subordinate cells. The in-plane mechanical behaviors of star-re-entrant hierarchical metamaterial are studied thoroughly by finite element method, non-dimensional effective moduli and effective Poisson’s ratios (PR) are obtained, then parameters of cell length, inclined angle, thickness for star subordinate cell as well as the amount of subordinate cell along x, y directions for re-entrant RUC are applied as adjustable design variables to explore structure-property relations. Finally, the effects of the design parameters on mechanical behavior and relative density are systematically investigated, which indicate that high specific stiffness and large auxetic deformation can be remarkably enhanced and manipulated through combining parameters of both subordinate cell and parent RUC. It is believed that the new hierarchical metamaterial reported here will provide more opportunities to design multifunctional lightweight materials that are promising for various engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Finite Element Methods in Smart Materials and Polymers)
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12 pages, 522 KiB  
Article
Effects of Intrinsic Properties on Fracture Nucleation and Propagation in Swelling Hydrogels
by Jingqian Ding, Ernst W. Remij, Joris J. C. Remmers and Jacques M. Huyghe
Polymers 2019, 11(5), 926; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11050926 - 27 May 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3395
Abstract
In numerous industrial applications, the microstructure of materials is critical for performance. However, finite element models tend to average out the microstructure. Hence, finite element simulations are often unsuitable for optimisation of the microstructure. The present paper presents a modelling technique that addresses [...] Read more.
In numerous industrial applications, the microstructure of materials is critical for performance. However, finite element models tend to average out the microstructure. Hence, finite element simulations are often unsuitable for optimisation of the microstructure. The present paper presents a modelling technique that addresses this limitation for superabsorbent polymers with a partially cross-linked surface layer. These are widely used in the industry for a variety of functions. Different designs of the cross-linked layer have different material properties, influencing the performance of the hydrogel. In this work, the effects of intrinsic properties on the fracture nucleation and propagation in cross-linked hydrogels are studied. The numerical implementation for crack propagation and nucleation is based on the framework of the extended finite element method and the enhanced local pressure model to capture the pressure difference and fluid flow between the crack and the hydrogel, and coupled with the cohesive method to achieve crack propagation without re-meshing. Two groups of numerical examples are given: (1) effects on crack propagation, and (2) effects on crack nucleation. Within each example, we studied the effects of the stiffness (shear modulus) and ultimate strength of the material separately. Simulations demonstrate that the crack behaviour is influenced by the intrinsic properties of the hydrogel, which gives numerical support for the structural design of the cross-linked hydrogel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Finite Element Methods in Smart Materials and Polymers)
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