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Mechanics-Based Model For Non-Affine Swelling In Perfluorosulfonic Acid (Pfsa) Membranes, Ahmet Kusoglu, Michael H. Santare, Anette M. Karlsson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

A mechanics-based model is developed to predict the swelling pressure in perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer membranes during water uptake. The PFSA membrane is represented as a two-phase system, where the water-filled hydrophilic domains are dispersed throughout the hydrophobic polymer matrix. Two representative volume elements (RVEs) are used to represent the nanostructure: (i) a spherical RVE with a spherical hydrophilic domain at the center, and (ii) a cylindrical RVE with a cylindrical hydrophilic domain. The model starts with the non-affine swelling behavior of the membrane and interprets this as a structural reorganization of the RVEs to characterize the microscopic deformation. Swelling …