Thermal dehydration of swollen heterogeneous soft materials.

Abstract

The dehydration of bi-layer soft materials under temperature variations is a key process in applications such as biomedical devices and responsive hydrogels. This study develops a multiphysics model to investigate the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of bi-domain materials. We present the governing equations capturing heat transfer, moisture diffusion, and mechanical deformation across two distinct material domains. Numerical simulations reveal that temperature gradients induce differential dehydration rates, leading to localized stresses and domain-specific shrinkage. Key findings include critical temperature thresholds, wet-bulb effect and the role of domain interface properties in material stability. These results provide insights into controlling the shape morphing of thermally responsive soft materials <i>via</i> tailored dehydration conditions.