Hi,
I would like to perform a computational study on PMMA dissolution in a solvent. I have to pay attention to the % PMMA dissolved with time. Also how this value changes depending on the shape of the PMMA sample. The whole system is stationary and no evaporation of the sample is allowed. I was wondering if I can simulate such as system using COMSOL? I searched for few such literature but no luck yet. Thanks.
The dissolution of a solute into a liquid can be modeled using COMSOL' s 'transport of diluted species' toolbox.
Tracking the shape of the sample in time should be possible by implementing a moving boundary, but this seems quite tedious. A simpler approach could be to approach the problem iteratively. If you run a stationary simulation, this gives you the instantaneous flux of PMMA over the boundary. By integrating this flux over a certain time period, you can estimate how much material was removed from each point at the boundary over a certain period of time. Knowing this, you can remove an appropriate amount of material that corresponds to this and run a second simulation, etc.
Some differences between your simulation and reality may occur. The PMMA might swell as a result of solvent uptake by the polymer matrix. Also, dissolution of the PMMA might occur by convection, so perhaps a diffusion-based simulation will underestimate the dissolution rate.
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