Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Methods For Film Coating Electrospun Fibers, Kristopher Dejean
Methods For Film Coating Electrospun Fibers, Kristopher Dejean
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
Electrospinning uses high voltages to form polymer nanofiber membranes. These membranes have potential for use in filtration, tissue engineering, drug delivery, and catalysis. The nonwoven fiber mat is malleable but has a low tensile strength compared to a solid film of the same polymer. Joining the fibers with a thin film is desired to balance the strength and flexibility. Three methods of producing a film on fiber membrane were tested. The techniques are spraying then melting, spin coating, and dip coating. Electrospinning setup conditions, solvent ratios, damage to fibers, and spin coating speeds were determined. Research was abruptly stopped and …
A Comparison Of Fiber Mat Thickness Measurement Techniques Using Laser Interferometry And Water Displacement, Ryan Seabeck
A Comparison Of Fiber Mat Thickness Measurement Techniques Using Laser Interferometry And Water Displacement, Ryan Seabeck
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
Polymer fiber mats may often be very thin which leads to complications in measuring thickness. The thickness of fiber mats, however, is crucial in understanding their behavior. Thickness affects how well the mat works as a filter as well as the pressure drop across the mat, and herein lies the need for accurate measurement techniques. Currently two of the available techniques for measuring mat thickness are by laser interferometry[1] and by buoyancy force when submerged in water[2]. Instead of measuring the buoyancy force in this experiment, an enclosure intended to measure the thickness via water displacement was …
Filtration Apparatus Design For Oil-Water Separation Using Membranes And Sponges, Alec Jerger
Filtration Apparatus Design For Oil-Water Separation Using Membranes And Sponges, Alec Jerger
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
It can be difficult to separate water and oil emulsions through traditional filtration. Therefore, investigations of filtering using thermo-responsive (TR) polymers, in this case poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME), was conducted. It’s hypothesized that below its lower critical solution temperature (LCST), PVME has an affinity for water while oil substances do not. Above the LCST the opposite will be true. To verify this hypothesis, iterations of filtration designs were created to provide optimum control over the parameters to measure flow. The final optimized experimental apparatus was a Chromaflex glass column which was air tight and controlled all parameters besides fluid flow. …