Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Concurrent Spatial Mapping Of The Viscoelastic Behavior Of Heterogeneous Soft Materials Via A Polymer-Based Microfluidic Device, Wenting Gu

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation presents a novel experimental technique, namely concurrent spatial mapping (CSM), for measuring the viscoelastic behavior of heterogeneous soft materials via a polymer-based microfluidic device. Comprised of a compliant polymer microstructure and an array of electrolyte-enabled distributed resistive transducers, the microfluidic device detects both static and dynamic distributed loads. Distributed loads deform the polymer microstructure and are recorded as resistance changes at the locations of the transducers.

The CSM technique identifies the elastic modulus of soft materials by applying a precisely controlled indentation depth using a rigid probe to a sample placed on the device. The spatially-varying elastic modulus …

Computational Assessment Of Neural Probe And Brain Tissue Interface Under Transient Motion, Michael Polanco, Sebastian Bawab, Hangsoon Yoon

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The functional longevity of a neural probe is dependent upon its ability to minimize injury risk during the insertion and recording period in vivo, which could be related to motion-related strain between the probe and surrounding tissue. A series of finite element analyses was conducted to study the extent of the strain induced within the brain in an area around a neural probe. This study focuses on the transient behavior of neural probe and brain tissue interface with a viscoelastic model. Different stages of the interface from initial insertion of neural probe to full bonding of the probe by astro-glial …