Initially, TTI samples were cut in 4.0 cm 2 area slices, and the samples were then kept in a desiccator with silica-gel for 7 d. The samples were weighed after this procedure and then subjected to immersion in beakers (250 ml) containing distilled water for different time intervals (0.5 min, 1 min, 3 min, 5 min, 7 min, 10 min, 15 min, and 20 min) at room temperature (25 °C), and the samples were removed, dried, and weighed at each time interval. All experiments were conducted in triplicate. The Swelling Index (Si%) was calculated by Equation 1 as follows: