Engineering Commons^™

Micro-Cantilever Based Fiber Optic Hydrophone, Jie Liu

All Dissertations

Endoscopic photoacoustic imaging probe is becoming increasingly important for many clinical photoacoustic imaging applications in which the target tissue can only be accessed by introducing an endoscopic probe percutaneously or through a natural orifice. Miniature fiber optic hydrophone (FOH) has become an attractive choice for endoscopic photoacoustic imaging application. Fiber optic hydrophone has many proven advantages, including small size, light weight, immunity to electromagnetic interference, low cost for single-use application and capability of integration of excitation light source and acoustic wave receiver.

This dissertation demonstrates an open cavity, micro-cantilever based fiber optic Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) hydrophone. A fused silica micro-cantilever …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Glycidyl Methacrylate-Based Graft Copolymer Functional Interfaces, Nikolay Brordinov

All Dissertations

Modification of materials properties such as surface energy, wettability, ability to absorb, contain or release specific type of chemicals enables practical application of these materials in various scientific and engineering set-ups. However, designing protocol that could be easily adapted for different situations and simultaneously unlock multiple variations of the resulting properties is a non-trivial task. This dissertation is devoted to application of glycidyl methacrylate-based graft copolymers for the purposes of surface modification, establishing fundamental trends and dependencies of this process and exploring the possible range of applications. These materials have extremely valuable property to undergo controllable post-synthetic modifications including surface …

Role Of Surface Factors On Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation, Brittany Glatz

All Dissertations

Heterogeneous ice nucleation is the primary pathway for ice formation. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms by which surfaces promote or hinder ice nucleation are not well understood. We present results from extensive molecular dynamics and forward flux sampling (FFS) simulations of ice nucleation near modified surfaces. The surfaces are modified to investigate the effects of different surface factors on the rate and mechanism of ice nucleation. We find that the surface charge distribution has significant effects on ice nucleation. We also investigate the interplay of surface lattice and hydrogen bonding properties in affecting ice nucleation. We find that lattice matching …

Design, Synthesis And Sustainable Applications Of Animal Protein-Based Thermoset Polymers And Covalent Organic Frameworks, Xiaoyan Yu

All Dissertations

Extensive research has been undertaken in recent times on finding suitable, alternative, non-feed and non-fertilizer applications for proteinaceous materials in the animal rendering industry. In this regard, use of such proteins to derive plastics, especially thermoplastics and derived composites, has emerged as a potentially acceptable choice. However, the widespread use of such proteins for aforementioned applications is limited by their poor mechanical properties, high moisture absorption and their inherent odor. In this study, we have engineered, for the first time, high-strength, toughened thermoset polymers from proteinaceous materials obtained from the rendering industry so that they can be employed in high …

Target-Specific Capture Of Relevant Gaseous Compounds Using Natural And Synthetic Nano And Micro Materials, Fernanda Delbuque Guerra

All Dissertations

By definition, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that easily become vapor or gases. Many VOCs are hazardous air pollutants and often known for their low, often unpleasant, threshold odor, which can be below parts per billion in some cases. Nanotechnology-based materials for the remediation of gaseous pollutants has been the focus of many researchers due to their unique chemical and physical properties and enhanced reactivity when compared to bulkier materials. Among the many challenges preventing the global use of nanomaterials are the high costs of fabrication, on-site recovery, limited scale-up, potential toxicity since many of them rely on …