Influence of polymer network structure on the elastic and fracture properties of polyacrylamide hydrogel

. The needle insertion induced cone crack fracture, showing that the fracture energy is proportional to . Furthermore, the periodicity of the cone cracks and cone angles are strongly influenced by the crosslinker concentration and polymer volume fraction. The periodicity of the cone crack linearly increased with . These results provide a better understanding of the fracture processes of soft tissues with various water concentrations and different ECM structures, such as the lungs, liver, and brain, during needle biopsies.