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Articles 1 - 18 of 18
Full-Text Articles in Structural Materials
Correlation Between Laboratory Testing Results And In-Situ Sidewalk Scaling, Brian R. Shea
Correlation Between Laboratory Testing Results And In-Situ Sidewalk Scaling, Brian R. Shea
Masters Theses
Scaling tests aim to induce scaling behavior in concrete specimens similar to environmental conditions. The efficacy of laboratory tests’ ability to match environmental conditions is important to be able to evaluate the durability of concrete exposed to freeze-thaw cycles and de-icers. This study attempts to correlate results between two existing scaling test standards, ASTM C672 and the BNQ NQ 2621-900. The correlation is done via scaling evaluation including computer-based photogrammetric analysis, visual ratings, and cumulative mass loss measurements. Then a correlation between the laboratory testing and in-situ sidewalk panel specimens is made via visual ratings.
Advanced Materials Design Using Application-Based Processing Techniques, Daniel S. Camarda
Advanced Materials Design Using Application-Based Processing Techniques, Daniel S. Camarda
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation pertains to generating advanced materials using application-based processing techniques. First, billets consisting of PTFE sintering powders are evaluated using Thermomechancal Analysis. It was found that both shape change and volume change are associated with enthalpic and entropic recoil, respectively. These phenomena, due to melting and stored energy during the powder compaction process, were found to be molecular weight dependent. Additionally, kinetics of the recovery and sintering process were found to be slower in blended specimens than pure samples. Next, the creation of graft copolymers by selectively grafting a second polymer to the amorphous fraction of a semi-crystalline polymer …
Material Property Heterogeneity In Dimensional Lumber And Its Relationship To Mass Timber Performance, Fiona O'Donnell
Material Property Heterogeneity In Dimensional Lumber And Its Relationship To Mass Timber Performance, Fiona O'Donnell
Doctoral Dissertations
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, buildings account for 38% of the United States' carbon dioxide emissions, providing architects and structural engineers a unique opportunity to mitigate a significant factor driving climate change by implementing innovative and sustainable technology in infrastructure design. Wood and mass timber products are becoming an increasingly popular alternative building material due to their economic and environmental benefits. The natural growth of wood leads to highly heterogeneous material properties. Defects such as checks, knots, and localized slope of grain contribute to some of this variation; however, wood properties vary significantly even in clear wood. Using mass …
Harnessing The Mechanics Of Thin-Walled Metallic Structures: From Plate-Lattice Materials To Cold-Formed Steel Shear Walls, Fani Derveni
Harnessing The Mechanics Of Thin-Walled Metallic Structures: From Plate-Lattice Materials To Cold-Formed Steel Shear Walls, Fani Derveni
Doctoral Dissertations
Thin-walled structures have received a lot of interest during the last years due to their light weight, cost efficiency, and ease in fabrication and transportation, along with their high strength and stiffness. This dissertation focuses on the mechanical performance of thin-walled metallic structures from cold-formed steel shear walls and connections (PART I) to plate-lattice architected materials (PART II) via computational, experimental, and probabilistic methods. Cold-formed steel (CFS) shear walls subjected to seismic loads is the focus of PART I of this dissertation. An innovative three-dimensional shell finite element model of oriented strand board (OSB) sheathed CFS shear walls is introduced …
Finite Element Simulation Of Bonded And Mechanically Anchored Shear Interfaces Of Externally Applied Frp Sheets To Concrete And Wood-Concrete Composites, Alaa Al-Sammari
Finite Element Simulation Of Bonded And Mechanically Anchored Shear Interfaces Of Externally Applied Frp Sheets To Concrete And Wood-Concrete Composites, Alaa Al-Sammari
Doctoral Dissertations
Composite construction is prevalent in advanced structural systems where components of different materials are combined in the same structure to improve the performance of strong and economic structural sections. Maintaining continuity between the different structural components to produce monolithic structural behavior is challenging because of differences in the mechanical properties of these materials in terms of stiffness, strength, and ductility. The different components of the composite section are typically joined using adhesives and/or mechanical anchors to produce partial or full composite action. This dissertation discusses two types of shear interfaces intended to result in structural composite behavior. The first type …
Northeastern Species In Hybrid Cross Laminated Timber, Hamid Kaboli
Northeastern Species In Hybrid Cross Laminated Timber, Hamid Kaboli
Doctoral Dissertations
Known in the building industry throughout the world, Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) is a massive timber building material with outstanding structural, fire, and seismic properties. CLT is a cost-competitive, sustainable construction material is a good candidate as a substitute material for concrete, masonry, and steel, in mid-rise and high-rise buildings. CLT is perpendicular layers of dimensional lumbers usually laminated together and forming a massive structural panel. This dissertation explores the viability of utilizing Massachusetts grown Eastern Hemlock and Eastern White Pine in CLT panels as pure or in conjunction with other high-value wood products. 59% of Massachusetts’ lands are covered …
Engineering Next Generation Anisotropic Materials And Composites, Nihal Kanbargi
Engineering Next Generation Anisotropic Materials And Composites, Nihal Kanbargi
Doctoral Dissertations
Polymer-based composite systems have been developed for a wide variety of applications ranging from aerospace to electronics. My work has focused on the structure-process-property relationships of anisotropic polymeric materials and composites, aimed primarily for structural applications. Anisotropic materials such as fibers have superior mechanical properties along the axial direction and this property can be exploited to engineer exceptionally strong and light materials. In the first chapter, we discuss the physics of degradation of Poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers. PBO, a fiber of extraordinary tensile modulus and strength has been found to degrade rapidly under moderate conditions of humidity and heat. Solid-state NMR …
Computational Studies Of Structure–Function Relationships Of Supported And Unsupported Metal Nanoclusters, Hongbo Shi
Computational Studies Of Structure–Function Relationships Of Supported And Unsupported Metal Nanoclusters, Hongbo Shi
Doctoral Dissertations
Fuel cells have been demonstrated to be promising power generation devices to address the current global energy and environmental challenges. One of the many barriers to commercialization is the cost of precious catalysts needed to achieve sufficient power output. Platinum-based materials play an important role as electrocatalysts in energy conversion technologies. In order to improve catalytic efficiency and facilitate rational design and development of new catalysts, structure–function relationships that underpin catalytic activity must be understood at a fundamental level. First, we present a systematic analysis of CO adsorption on Pt nanoclusters in the 0.2-1.5 nm size range with the aim …
Fabrication Of Functional Nano-Structured Materials And Devices Using Supercritical Fluids, Shengkai Li
Fabrication Of Functional Nano-Structured Materials And Devices Using Supercritical Fluids, Shengkai Li
Doctoral Dissertations
Nano-structured materials possess unconventional properties and enable miniaturization of devices. However, fabrications of such materials and devices are challenging and in many cases cumbersome, and development of nanofabrication techniques are essential to realizing novel designs and commercializing scientific ideas. Supercritical fluids possess a unique combination of gas-like diffusion properties and liquid-like dissolution power, and are suitable reaction media for fabricating materials at the nanometer scale. This dissertation focuses on developing supercritical fluids-related techniques for fast and large-scale fabrication of novel composite materials and devices. Using supercritical fluid deposition (SFD) technique, cobalt thin films were deposited on a variety of substrates, …
Development Of High Early-Strength Concrete For Accelerated Bridge Construction Closure Pour Connections, Stephanie Castine
Development Of High Early-Strength Concrete For Accelerated Bridge Construction Closure Pour Connections, Stephanie Castine
Masters Theses
Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) has become a popular alternative to using traditional construction techniques in new bridge construction and existing bridge deck replacement because of the reduction of time spent in field activities. A key feature of bridges built using ABC techniques is the extensive use of prefabricated components. Prefabricated components are joined in the field using small volume closure pours involving high performance materials (steel and concrete) to ensure adequate transfer of forces between components. To date, the materials developed for closure pours have been based on proprietary components, so a need has arisen for development of mixes that …
Nanoscience At Interfaces And Surfaces: From Jamming To Electrode Texturing, Mengmeng Cui
Nanoscience At Interfaces And Surfaces: From Jamming To Electrode Texturing, Mengmeng Cui
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation focuses on the nanoparticle self-assembly on the liquid/liquid interface and the nanomaterial modification on surface. The self-assembly of nanoparticles at the liquid/liquid interface was utilized to trap non-equilibrium morphology when the nanoparticles reach jamming state. The dynamics of jammed systems were further studied by X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. For the surface part, the nanomaterials were modified on the electrodes to improve the performance of microbial electrosynthesis. Also, a novel and simple method was developed to prepare nanomaterials including nanoparticle surfactants and carbon nanotubes (CNTs).
Integrated Solar Technologies With Outdoor Pedestrian Bridge Superstructure Decking, Richard K. Racz
Integrated Solar Technologies With Outdoor Pedestrian Bridge Superstructure Decking, Richard K. Racz
Masters Theses
Solar technology has been a major topic in sustainable design for many years. In the last five years, however, the solar technology industry has seen a rapid growth in installations and technological advances in cell design. Combined with a rapidly declining overall system cost, the idea of introducing solar technology into a wider range of applications is becoming a focus for engineers and scientists around the world. So many variables which alter solar energy production, such as the sun and surrounding environment, determine whether a solar design is beneficial. This thesis presents a bridge deck surface integrated with solar cells …
Solution, Interfacial, And Interlayer Studies Of Electronically Active Polymers, Hsin-Wei Wang
Solution, Interfacial, And Interlayer Studies Of Electronically Active Polymers, Hsin-Wei Wang
Doctoral Dissertations
This thesis describes the solution behavior and interfacial properties of electronically active polymers. The performance of such polymers in devices is often determined by their chain conformation and morphology in solution and in thin films. For example, the intricate balance between polymer domain size and crystalline packing of electron donor and acceptor components, as well as the properties at the polymer-metal interface, are crucial for achieving optimal performance in devices, such as solar cells. Chapter 1 presents the current progress in polymer-based solar cells, their fundamental principles, and key factors to improve their efficiency. Literature precedents on the development of …
Morphology Evolution Mechanisms Of Low Band Gap Polymer-Based Photovoltaics, Sunzida Ferdous
Morphology Evolution Mechanisms Of Low Band Gap Polymer-Based Photovoltaics, Sunzida Ferdous
Doctoral Dissertations
An optimal nanoscale phase separation between the donor (generally, a conjugated polymer) and the acceptor (generally, a fullerene derivative) materials is one of the major requirements for obtaining high efficiency organic photovoltaic (OPV) device. Recent methods of controlling such nanostructure morphology in a bulkheterojunction (BHJ) OPV device involve addition of a small amount of solvent additive to the donor and acceptor solutions. The idea is to retain the acceptor materials into the solution for a longer period of time during the film solidification process, thus allowing the donor material to crystallize earlier. The ultimate morphology resulting from the solvent casting …
Functional Nanocomposites From Self-Assembly Of Block Copolymers With Nanoparticles, Xinyu Wang
Functional Nanocomposites From Self-Assembly Of Block Copolymers With Nanoparticles, Xinyu Wang
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation studied the proper distribution and location control of nanoparticles (NPs) within block copolymer (BCP) templates. A facile ligand exchange reaction was introduced for the hydrophilic magnetic NPs (MNPs) that are readily dispersed in polar solvents with outstanding stability. Small molecule ligands were selected to associate strongly with particle surfaces, provide hydrophilic termini for polarity matching with polar solvents, and offer the potential for hydrogen-bonding interactions to facilitate NP incorporation into polymers. Areal ligand densities of NPs indicated a significant increase in the ligand coverage after the exchange reaction. Hydrophilic MNPs were shown to drive the self-assembly of BCPs …
Material Characterization And Computational Simulation Of Steel Foam For Use In Structural Applications, Brooks H. Smith
Material Characterization And Computational Simulation Of Steel Foam For Use In Structural Applications, Brooks H. Smith
Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014
Cellular metals made from aluminum, titanium, or other metals are becoming increasingly popular for use in structural components of automobiles, aircraft, and orthopaedic implants. Civil engineering applications remain largely absent, primarily due to poor understanding of the material and its structural properties. However, the material features a high stiffness to weight ratio, excellent energy dissipation, and low thermal conductivity, suggesting that it could become a highly valuable new material in structural engineering. Previous attempts to characterize the mechanical properties of steel foam have focused almost exclusively upon uniaxial compression tests, both in experimental research and in computational simulations. Further, computational …
Torsional Shear Strength And Size Effect In Structural Composite Lumber, Zhuo Yang
Torsional Shear Strength And Size Effect In Structural Composite Lumber, Zhuo Yang
Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014
The natural variation of strength properties within brittle materials leads to size effect, a well-known phenomenon whereby the mean strength of a material is observed to decrease as the stressed volume increases. An important implication of size effect is that size adjustment parameters must be incorporated into multi-axial constitutive and failure models used in numerical simulations to predict material response to loading. This experimental study seeks to verify and quantify the presence of depth effect under shear failure in the orthotropic principal material directions of parallel strand lumber (PSL) and laminated veneer lumber (LVL). Torsion tests have been performed on …
Miami Furniture Study, Center For Economic Development
Miami Furniture Study, Center For Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
This research project, under the guidance of Dr. John Mullin and Professor Zenia Kotval, sought to study and examine Miami's fledgling furniture cluster as well as key elements of the American furniture industry. I believe that this report presents an honest unbiased "snapshot" of the American furniture industry and the City of Miami's furniture design district. All of the information contained within this report has been cited and referenced to the best of my ability.