As swollen polymer networks in water, hydrogels are usually brittle. However, hydrogels with
high toughness play critical roles in many plant and animal tissues as well as in diverse …

In response to a stimulus, a soft material deforms, and the deformation provides a function.
We call such a material a soft active material (SAM). This review focuses on one class of soft …

The fracture mechanics of hydrogels, especially those with significantly enhanced
toughness, has attracted extensive research interests. In this article we discuss the …

An elastomeric gel is a cross-linked polymer network swollen with a solvent, and certain gels
can undergo large reversible volume changes as they are cycled about a critical …

Thin poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAM) hydrogels were allowed to swell under two
conditions: as freestanding layers and as substrate-attached layers. Through a combination …

In the emerging field of soft machines, large deformation of soft materials is harnessed to
provide functions such as regulating flow in microfluidics, shaping light in adaptive optics …

An elastomeric gel is a mixture of a polymer network and a solvent. In response to changes
in mechanical forces and in the chemical potential of the solvent in the environment, the gel …

A polymer network can absorb a solvent and swell, forming an elastomeric gel. The model of
ideal elastomeric gels is based on two assumptions. First, the volume of a gel is the sum of …

When a hydrogel deforms, the water molecules inside the hydrogel move together with the
polymer network. At a particular time scale and length scale, the water migration within the …

Viscoelasticity and poroelasticity commonly coexist as time-dependent behaviors in polymer
gels. Engineering applications often require knowledge of both behaviors separated; …