Engineering Science and Materials Commons^™

Flame Retardant Mattress Pads, Manjeshwar Ganeshaq Kamath

Doctoral Dissertations

Focus of this research is on developing cotton-based nonwoven mattress pads with flame retardant (FR) properties by blending cotton with other commercially available fibers, binders, and followed by chemical treatments; offering a cost-effective recipe to meet the upcoming flammability standards. Furthermore this research explores the opportunities taking advantage of possible synergistic effects to achieve maximum performance.

Recent changes in the flammability regulations require improvements in the flame resistance of cotton-containing consumer goods such as upholstered furniture, mattresses, and pillows. Cotton, synthetic fibers, fabrics, and foam are the basic constituents of these goods that are often the first to be engulfed …

Helical Force Flow: A New Engineering Mechanics Model For Biological Materials, Jeffery S. Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations

"The author has long speculated that the prevalence of helical structures in botany and zoology hints to an optimized pathway for force and/or energy transfer. His goal has been to realize an alternative approach to the standard stress analysis used in engineering in order to more efficiently and accurately deal with biological materials. Improved tools for these natural materials should in turn aid the design and analysis of engineered materials. Following the role of a navigator in leaf C. Levesque's book "Breakthrough Creativity", the author typically searches for ideas in a variety of places, including physics, materials science, biomimetics, dimensional …