The property of a raw or vulcanized rubber of absorbing organic liquid, such as benzene and gasoline, and swelling to many times it's original volume; the property is also shown by other colloids in contact with other liquids; in a general sense, it may be any increase in volume in a solid substance caused by the absorption of a liquid.
compatible fluids will migrate into the mass of a rubber article, which usually results in a gain in volume of the affected portion of the part; the more compatible the fluid, the greater the volume increase, which can sometimes be well over 100
An increase in the dimensions of wood resulting from an increase in moisture content. Swelling occurs tangentially, radially, and, to a lesser extent, longitudinally.