Scaling laws of gelatin hydrogels for steady dynamic friction

Abstract

In this article, we use population balance based dynamic friction model for steady sliding to develop scaling laws in the terms of mesh size of gelatin hydrogels. First of all, it is observed in the sliding experiments that shear modulus of gelatin hydrogels depends on sliding velocity. This dependence is more evident in the case of low sliding velocity. Moreover, relaxation time constant of a dangling chain at the sliding interface scales with the same exponent as its stiffness. The scaling law is also developed for chain density and viscous retardation at the sliding interface. It is also established that the Hookean-based dynamic friction model is sufficient to study frictional behaviour of hydrogels. The reason for this observation is attributed to the weak bonding between a gelatin hydrogel and glass interface.