Simulation of network shrinkage

We report numerical simulations oil shrinkage in a fiber network when the fibers shrink more in their transverse to length direction than the axial direction. The effect of network density and anisotropic fiber properties on sheet shrinkage, elastic modulus and segment strain distributions is explored. The macroscopic free shrinkage follows a simple mathematical expression that is consistent with the hygroexpansivity theory of Uesaka. The shrinkage of fiber segments agrees qualitatively with the microscopic measurements of Nanko and Wu. In addition, we found that in free drying the mean length changes of free and bonded fiber segments are almost independent of network density.