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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Polyvinyl Chloride Gels: Theoretical Modeling Of Their Actuation Mechanism And Characterization Of Their Properties, Zachary Frank Dec 2021

Polyvinyl Chloride Gels: Theoretical Modeling Of Their Actuation Mechanism And Characterization Of Their Properties, Zachary Frank

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gels are an electroactive polymer smart material which has been considered in a variety of actuator applications. Their large deformation, fast response rates, optical transparency, and soft nature has made them a key area of interest in fields ranging from soft robotics to optics. PVC gels are made from PVC mixed with large quantities of plasticizer, such as dibutyl adipate (DBA). When a voltage is applied, the gel experiences an “anodophilic” deformation (in which it moves preferentially towards the anode). This unique characteristic is the result of a charge buildup near the anode surface, which creates electromechanical …


Silk Fibroin Supraparticles Created By The Evaporation Of Colloidal Ouzo Droplets, Ashley Lamb, Fengjie He, Shengjie Zhai, Hui Zhao Aug 2021

Silk Fibroin Supraparticles Created By The Evaporation Of Colloidal Ouzo Droplets, Ashley Lamb, Fengjie He, Shengjie Zhai, Hui Zhao

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Due to its high biocompatibility and biodegradability, supraparticles made from silk fibroin—produced from Bombyx mori (B. mori) cocoons—can find various applications in biomedical fields. The evaporation of Ouzo droplets by not requiring energy nor a surfactant is an environmentally friendly, easy, and cost-effective strategy to fabricate three-dimensional supraparticles, tackling the so-called “coffee ring effect” associated with droplet evaporation. Silk fibroins are dissolved into quaternary droplets, comprised of ultrapure water, ethanol, trans-anethole oil, and formic acid. The Ouzo droplet is able to form an oil ring that facilitates the droplet contraction to create a three-dimensional supraparticle. Using the Ouzo effect to …


A Hyperelastic Porous Media Framework For Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites And Characterization Of Transduction Phenomena Via Dimensional Analysis And Nonlinear Regression, Zakai J. Olsen May 2021

A Hyperelastic Porous Media Framework For Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites And Characterization Of Transduction Phenomena Via Dimensional Analysis And Nonlinear Regression, Zakai J. Olsen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMC) are smart materials that exhibit large deformation in response to small applied voltages, and conversely generate detectable electrical signals in response to mechanical deformations. The study of IPMC materials is a rich field of research, and an interesting intersection of material science, electrochemistry, continuum mechanics, and thermodynamics. Due to their electromechanical and mechanoelectrical transduction capabilities, IPMCs find many applications in robotics, soft robotics, artificial muscles, and biomimetics. This study aims to investigate the dominating physical phenomena that underly the actuation and sensing behavior of IPMC materials. This analysis is made possible by developing a new, hyperelastic …


Universal Image Segmentation For Optical Identification Of 2d Materials, Joshua Island, Randy M. Sterbentz, Kristine L. Haley Mar 2021

Universal Image Segmentation For Optical Identification Of 2d Materials, Joshua Island, Randy M. Sterbentz, Kristine L. Haley

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

Machine learning methods are changing the way data is analyzed. One of the most powerful and widespread applications of these techniques is in image segmentation wherein disparate objects of a digital image are partitioned and classified. Here we present an image segmentation program incorporating a series of unsupervised clustering algorithms for the automatic thickness identification of two-dimensional materials from digital optical microscopy images. The program identifies mono- and few-layer flakes of a variety of materials on both opaque and transparent substrates with a pixel accuracy of roughly 95%. Contrasting with previous attempts, application generality is achieved through preservation and analysis …


Under Pressure: Hydrogel Swelling In A Granular Medium, Jean François Louf, Nancy B. Lu, Margaret G. O'Connell, H. Jeremy Cho, Sujit S. Datta Feb 2021

Under Pressure: Hydrogel Swelling In A Granular Medium, Jean François Louf, Nancy B. Lu, Margaret G. O'Connell, H. Jeremy Cho, Sujit S. Datta

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Copyright © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC). Hydrogels hold promise in agriculture as reservoirs of water in dry soil, potentially alleviating the burden of irrigation. However, confinement in soil can markedly reduce the ability of hydrogels to absorb water and swell, limiting their widespread adoption. Unfortunately, the underlying reason remains unknown. By directly visualizing the swelling of hydrogels confined in three-dimensional granular media, we demonstrate that the extent of hydrogel swelling is …


Morphology Control Of One-Dimensional Gallium Nitride Nanostructures By Modulating The Crystallinity Of Sacrificial Gallium Oxide Templates, Yun Taek Ko, Mijeong Park, Jingyeong Park, Jaeyun Moon, Yong Ho Choa, Young In Lee Jan 2021

Morphology Control Of One-Dimensional Gallium Nitride Nanostructures By Modulating The Crystallinity Of Sacrificial Gallium Oxide Templates, Yun Taek Ko, Mijeong Park, Jingyeong Park, Jaeyun Moon, Yong Ho Choa, Young In Lee

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

In this study, we demonstrated a method of controllably synthesizing one-dimensional nanostructures having a dense or a hollow structure using fibrous sacrificial templates with tunable crystallinity. The fibrous ga2o3 templates were prepared by calcining the polymer/gallium precursor nanofiber synthesized by an electrospinning process, and their crystallinity was varied by controlling the calcination temperature from 500oC to 900oC. gaN nanostructures were transformed by nitriding the ga2o3 nanofibers using NH3 gas. All of the transformed gaN nanostructures maintained a one-dimensional structure well and exhibited a diameter of about 50 nm, but their morphology was clearly distinguished according to the crystallinity of the …


Direct Energy Deposition Of Mo Powder Prepared By Electrode Induction Melting Gas Atomization, Goo Won Roh, Eun Soo Park, Jaeyun Moon, Hojun Lee, Jongmin Byun Jan 2021

Direct Energy Deposition Of Mo Powder Prepared By Electrode Induction Melting Gas Atomization, Goo Won Roh, Eun Soo Park, Jaeyun Moon, Hojun Lee, Jongmin Byun

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Molybdenum (Mo) is used to form a barrier layer for metal wiring in displays or semiconductor devices. Recently, researches have been continuously attempted to fabricate Mo sputtering targets through additive manufacturing. in this study, spherical Mo powders with an average particle size of about 37 um were manufactured by electrode induction melting gas atomization. Subsequently, Mo layer with a thickness of 0.25 mm was formed by direct energy deposition in which the scan speed was set as a variable. According to the change of the scan speed, pores or cracks were found in the Mo deposition layer. Mo layer deposited …