Physics-informed constitutive modelling of hydrated biopolymer aerogel networks

Hydration induces significant structural rearrangements in biopolymer aerogels, resulting in a completely different mechanical behaviour compared to the one in the dry state. A network decomposition concept was earlier introduced to account for these changes, wherein the material network was decomposed into an open-porous aerogel one and a hydrogel-like one. Recent experimental evidences have supported this idea of the formation of a hydrogel-like network. Using these observations as a basis, in this paper, we present a micromechanical model describing the effect of hydration on the structural and mechanical properties of aerogels. The aerogel network is modelled based on the mechanics of their pore-walls, while the hydrogel-like network is modelled based on the statistical mechanics of their polymer chains by means of the Arruda-Boyce eight-chain model. The influence of diverse structural and material parameters on the mechanical behaviour is investigated. The effect of different degrees of wetting, from a pure aerogel to a pure hydrogel-like state, is captured by the model. The results are shown to be in good agreement with available experimental data.