Thomas J Pence

The internally balanced material theory, which can be viewed as a generalization of hyperelasticity, is extended to treat material swelling. Swelling problems involving eventual contact with fixed rigid surfaces are considered, first for a situation where the post-contact deformation is homogeneous, and then for a situation where the post-contact deformation is not homogeneous. The latter requires the solution of a boundary value problem in the internally balanced material setting. Both situations are considered in detail for a neo-Hookean-like constitutive specification in the internally balanced material framework.