Experiments on electromechanical coupling in aqueous gels of the polysaccharide agarose are described. The gels are prepared as free self-supporting discs between 1 and 4.5 mm thick immersed in water and in contact with a stainless-steel electrode system on a solid substrate. Mechanical vibrations, excited in the gel when a small (< 1 V r.m.s. ) alternating voltage is applied to the electrodes, are determined in magnitude and phase using an interferometer capable of measuring displacements down to 1 pm. The typical gel response exhibits two major and two minor resonances having frequencies that vary with gel thickness and concentration in a range below 2 kHz. The major resonances are interpreted in terms of a bulk transverse shear wave and a related surface wave, while the minor resonances give evidence of combination wave interactions. There is excellent agreement between the rigidity modulus deduced from the velocity of the surface wave and that obtained earlier by conventional rheological methods. Evidence is given to suggest that the gel vibrations are generated by voltage-induced oscillatory motion of ions within the double layers at the gel-electrode contacts. The magnitude and phase of the vibrations in the gel can be changed by applying bias voltages at the electrodes and by adding KC1 to the water surrounding the gel.
Посилання на статтю:
Electromechanical coupling in a biopolymer gel* / T. J. Lewist, J. P. Llewellyn and M. J. van der Sluijs // Polymer. – 1992. – Vol 33. – P. 2636-2642.
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