title: Determination of the Polymer-Solvent Interaction Parameter for PEG Hydrogels in Water: Application of a Self Learning Algorithm.
abstract: Concentrating on the case of poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels, this paper introduces a methodology that enables a natural integration between the development of a so-called mechanistic model and experimental data relating material's processing to response. In a nutshell, we develop a data-driven modeling component that is able to learn and indirectly infer its own parameters and structure by observing experimental data. Using this method, we investigate the relationship between processing conditions, microstructure and chemistry (cross-link density and polymer-solvent interactions) and response (swelling and elasticity) of non-degradable and degradable PEG hydrogels. We show that the method not only enables the determination of the polymer-solvent interaction parameter, but also it predicts that this parameter, among others, varies with processing conditions and degradation. The proposed methodology therefore offers a new approach that accounts for subtle changes in the hydrogel processing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder.
authors.forename: Umut
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Akalp
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder.
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder.
authors.forename: Stacey C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Skaalure
authors.affiliation: Material Science and Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder ; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder ; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder.
authors.forename: Stephanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.affiliation: Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doostan
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder ; Material Science and Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder.
authors.forename: Franck J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Vernerey
keywords: Hydrogels; calibration; degradation rate constant; polymer-solvent interaction parameter; validation