Abstract
A polymer gel is a physically or chemically cross-linked polymer that is highly swollen by solvent. The gel properties can be tuned by varying the polymer chemistry, solvent type, polymer-solvent architecture and molecular weight, and solvent loading. In addition, small molecule additives and fillers can be incorporated into the gel formulation to enhance the properties further. This tunability offers the potential for gel implementation in an array of Army related technologies ranging from combat casualty care and tissue surrogates, to robotics and electronics devices. Several obstacles hinder widespread deployment of gel-based technologies including: (1) limited operational temperature windows and material lifetimes; (2) poor toughness and durability; (3) unstable performance in extreme mechanical, electrical, chemical, and radiation environments; and (4) limited multi-functional capability. We anticipate that a fundamental understanding of how to tailor the gel properties will have a broad impact on various technologies including robotics, smart clothing, armor, tissue simulants, sensors, energy storage, battlefield medicine, etc.
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Certain commercial equipment and materials are identified in this paper in order to specify adequately the experimental procedure. In no case does such identification imply recommendations by the Army Research Laboratory nor does it imply that the material or equipment identified is necessarily the best available for this purpose.
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© 2015 The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc.
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Mrozek, R.A., Sliozberg, Y.R., Andzelm, J.W., Lenhart, J.L. (2015). Polymer Gels for Defense Applications. In: Barthelat, F., Korach, C., Zavattieri, P., Prorok, B., Grande-Allen, K. (eds) Mechanics of Biological Systems and Materials, Volume 7. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06974-6_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06974-6_7
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