Engineering Commons^™

Leveraging Biomimicry And Additive Manufacturing To Improve Load Transfer In Brittle Materials, Ana Paula Bernardo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the emergence of Additive Manufacturing (i.e., 3D printing) in construction, new strategically designed shapes can be created to improve load transfer through structural members and foundations. Cross-sections can be optimized to carry load using less material, or even using weaker constituent materials, like soils, which are cheap and abundant. The goal of this research is to investigate the benefits of using cellular patterns which leverage biomimicry in civil engineering applications, since nature has perfectly engineered materials and patterns which carry loads with the least amount of material possible. Most of the periodic cellular work to date has focused on …

Rational Design Of Cell Configurations For High-Performance Na-O2 Batteries, Xiaoting Lin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Na-O₂ batteries are considered as the promising candidates for electric vehicles due to their ultrahigh theoretical energy densities. However, state-of-the-art Na-O₂ batteries suffer from serious challenges including 1) pore clogging and insufficient O₂ transportation within the air electrode; 2) degradation of air electrode, 3) Na dendrite growth; and 4) Na corrosion induced by O₂/O₂^- crossover. This thesis, therefore, focuses on rational design of cell configurations to address these problems and understanding the insight mechanisms.

3D printing of “O₂ breathable” air electrodes for Na-O₂ batteries were first developed. The unique air electrode …