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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Imaging Thermal Conductivity With Nanoscale Resolution Using A Scanning Spin Probe, Abdelghani Laraoui, Halley Aycock-Rizzo, Yang Gao, Xi Lu, Elisa Riedo, Carlos A. Meriles Nov 2015

Imaging Thermal Conductivity With Nanoscale Resolution Using A Scanning Spin Probe, Abdelghani Laraoui, Halley Aycock-Rizzo, Yang Gao, Xi Lu, Elisa Riedo, Carlos A. Meriles

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The ability to probe nanoscale heat flow in a material is often limited by lack of spatial resolution. Here, we use a diamond-nanocrystal-hosted nitrogen-vacancy centre attached to the apex of a silicon thermal tip as a local temperature sensor. We apply an electrical current to heat up the tip and rely on the nitrogen vacancy to monitor the thermal changes the tip experiences as it is brought into contact with surfaces of varying thermal conductivity. By combining atomic force and confocal microscopy, we image phantom microstructures with nanoscale resolution, and attain excellent agreement between the thermal conductivity and topographic maps. …


System And Method For Estimating States Of Spacecraft In Planet-Moon Environment, Piyush Grover Aug 2015

System And Method For Estimating States Of Spacecraft In Planet-Moon Environment, Piyush Grover

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

A method estimates a state of a spacecraft in a planet-moon environment by executing iteratively a particle filter. The particle filter comprising integrates individually states of each particle of the particle filter according to a probability-evolution equation using a model of the state of the spacecraft represented as a planar circular restricted three-body problem and determines a prior probability of each particle as a previous posterior probability of a corresponding particle during a previous iteration. A joint probability distribution of the state of the spacecraft is determines using the states of each particle and the prior probabilities of each particle …


An Estimate Of The Second-Order In-Plane Acceleration Sensitivity Of A Y-Cut Quartz Thickness-Shear Resonator, Huijing He, Jiashi Yang, John A. Kosinski Aug 2015

An Estimate Of The Second-Order In-Plane Acceleration Sensitivity Of A Y-Cut Quartz Thickness-Shear Resonator, Huijing He, Jiashi Yang, John A. Kosinski

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

We perform a theoretical analysis of the second-order in-plane acceleration sensitivity of a Y-cut quartz thick-ness-shear mode resonator. The second-order nonlinear theory of elasticity for anisotropic crystals is used to determine the biasing fields in the resonator under in-plane acceleration. The acceleration-induced frequency shift is determined from a per-turbation analysis based on the plate equations for small-amplitude vibrations superposed on a finite bias. We show that, whereas the first-order acceleration-induced frequency shift is zero for a structurally symmetric resonator under in-plane ac-celeration, the second-order frequency shift is nonzero and is quadratic in the acceleration. As the fourth-order nonlinear elastic constants …


Biodegradable Medical Device Having An Adjustable Degradation Rate And Methods Of Making The Same, Yuebin Guo, Michael Sealy, Meisam Salahshoor Pirsoltan Jul 2015

Biodegradable Medical Device Having An Adjustable Degradation Rate And Methods Of Making The Same, Yuebin Guo, Michael Sealy, Meisam Salahshoor Pirsoltan

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Disclosed herein are biodegradable medical devices comprising biodegradable material (e.g., magnesium-calcium alloys) having an adjustable rate of degradation that can be used in various applications, including, but not limited to, drug delivery applications, cardiovascular applications, and orthopedic applications to make biodegradable and biocompatible devices. Also disclosed herein are methods of making biodegradable medical devices comprising biodegradable materials by using, for instance, hybrid dry cutting/hydrostatic burnishing.


Non-Wetting Surface-Driven High-Aspect-Ratio Crystalline Grain Growth For Efficient Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells, Cheng Bi, Qi Wang, Yongbo Yuan, Zhengguo Xiao, Jinsong Huang Jun 2015

Non-Wetting Surface-Driven High-Aspect-Ratio Crystalline Grain Growth For Efficient Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells, Cheng Bi, Qi Wang, Yongbo Yuan, Zhengguo Xiao, Jinsong Huang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Large-aspect-ratio grains are needed in polycrystalline thin-film solar cells for reduced charge recombination at grain boundaries; however, the grain size in organolead trihalide perovskite (OTP) films is generally limited by the film thickness. Here we report the growth of OTP grains with high average aspect ratio of 2.3–7.9 on a wide range of non-wetting hole transport layers (HTLs), which increase nucleus spacing by suppressing heterogeneous nucleation and facilitate grain boundary migration in grain growth by imposing less drag force. The reduced grain boundary area and improved crystallinity dramatically reduce the charge recombination in OTP thin films to the level in …


Local Control Robotic Surgical Devices And Related Methods, Eric Markvicka, Tom Frederick, Jack Mondry, Joe Bartels, Shane Farritor Apr 2015

Local Control Robotic Surgical Devices And Related Methods, Eric Markvicka, Tom Frederick, Jack Mondry, Joe Bartels, Shane Farritor

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The various robotic medical devices include robotic devices that are disposed within a body cavity and positioned using a support component disposed through an orifice or opening in the body cavity. Additional embodiments relate to devices having arms coupled to a device body wherein the device has a minimal profile such that the device can be easily inserted through smaller incisions in comparison to other devices without such a small profile. Further embodiments relate to methods of operating the above devices.


Methods And Systems For Handling Or Delivering Materials For Natural Orifice Surgery, Carl Nelson, Jeff Midday, Dimitry Oleynikov, Alan Goyzueta Mar 2015

Methods And Systems For Handling Or Delivering Materials For Natural Orifice Surgery, Carl Nelson, Jeff Midday, Dimitry Oleynikov, Alan Goyzueta

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The embodiments disclosed herein relate to various medical systems, including systems that can be used in conjunction with medical devices used in endoscopic surgery. Certain embodiments include various material handling devices that can transport materials between the inside and the outside of an endoscopic surgery patient.


Development And Preliminary Evaluation Of A Spray Deposition Sensing System For Improving Pesticide Application, Melissa A. Kesterson, Joe D. Luck, Michael P. Sama Jan 2015

Development And Preliminary Evaluation Of A Spray Deposition Sensing System For Improving Pesticide Application, Melissa A. Kesterson, Joe D. Luck, Michael P. Sama

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

An electronic, resistance-based sensor array and data acquisition system was developed to measure spray deposition from hydraulic nozzles. The sensor surface consisted of several parallel tin plated copper traces of varying widths with varying gap widths. The system contained an embedded microprocessor to monitor output voltage corresponding to spray deposition every second. In addition, a wireless module was used to transmit the voltage values to a remote laptop. Tests were conducted in two stages to evaluate the performance of the sensor array in an attempt to quantify the spray deposition. Initial tests utilized manual droplet placement on the sensor surface …


Enhanced Pool-Boiling Heat Transfer And Critical Heat Flux On Femtosecond Laser Processed Stainless Steel Surfaces, Cory M. Kruse, Troy Anderson, Chris Wilson, Craig Zuhlke, Dennis Alexander, George Gogos, Sidy Ndao Jan 2015

Enhanced Pool-Boiling Heat Transfer And Critical Heat Flux On Femtosecond Laser Processed Stainless Steel Surfaces, Cory M. Kruse, Troy Anderson, Chris Wilson, Craig Zuhlke, Dennis Alexander, George Gogos, Sidy Ndao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this paper, we present an experimental investigation of pool boiling heat transfer on multiscale (micro/nano) functionalized metallic surfaces. Heat transfer enhancement in metallic surfaces is very important for large scale high heat flux applications like in the nuclear power industry. The multiscale structures were fabricated via a femtosecond laser surface process (FLSP) technique, which forms self-organized mound-like microstructures covered by layers of nanoparticles. Using a pool boiling experimental setup with deionized water as the working fluid, both the heat transfer coefficients and critical heat flux were investigated. A polished reference sample was found to have a critical heat flux …


Quantification Of Plaque Stiffness By Brillouin Microscopy In Experimental Thin Cap Fibroatheroma, Giuseppe Antonacci, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Avinash Kondiboyina, Vikram V. Mehta, Ranil De Silva, Carl Paterson, Rob Krams, Peter Torok Jan 2015

Quantification Of Plaque Stiffness By Brillouin Microscopy In Experimental Thin Cap Fibroatheroma, Giuseppe Antonacci, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Avinash Kondiboyina, Vikram V. Mehta, Ranil De Silva, Carl Paterson, Rob Krams, Peter Torok

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Plaques vulnerable to rupture are characterized by a thin and stiff fibrous cap overlaying a soft lipid-rich necrotic core. The ability to measure local plaque stiffness directly to quantify plaque stress and predict rupture potential would be very attractive, but no current technology does so. This study seeks to validate the use of Brillouin microscopy to measure the Brillouin frequency shift, which is related to stiffness, within vulnerable plaques. The left carotid artery of an ApoE-/- mouse was instrumented with a cuff that induced vulnerable plaque development in nine weeks. Adjacent histological sections from the instrumented and control arteries …


Quantification Of Ultraprecision Surface Morphology Using An Algebraic Graph Theoretic Approach, Prahalad Rao, Satish T. S. Bukkapatnam, Zhenyu (James) Kong, Omer F. Beyca, Kenneth Case, Ranga Komanduri Jan 2015

Quantification Of Ultraprecision Surface Morphology Using An Algebraic Graph Theoretic Approach, Prahalad Rao, Satish T. S. Bukkapatnam, Zhenyu (James) Kong, Omer F. Beyca, Kenneth Case, Ranga Komanduri

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Assessment of progressive, nano-scale variation of surface morphology during ultraprecision manufacturing processes, such as fine-abrasive polishing of semiconductor wafers, is a challenging proposition owing to limitations with traditional surface quantifiers. We present an algebraic graph theoretic approach that uses graph topological invariants for quantification of ultraprecision surface morphology. The graph theoretic approach captures heterogeneous multi-scaled aspects of surface morphology from optical micrographs, and is therefore valuable for in situ real-time assessment of surface quality. Extensive experimental investigations with specular finished (Sa ~ 5 nm) blanket copper wafers from a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process suggest that the proposed method was …


Asphalt Composition, David Allen, Flavio Souza, Yong-Rak Kim, Roberto Soares Jan 2015

Asphalt Composition, David Allen, Flavio Souza, Yong-Rak Kim, Roberto Soares

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

A computational method is provided for predicting roadway failure due to degradation of the roadway over time as a function of the input loads, the roadway geometry, the material properties of the constituents in the asphaltic pavement, the shape, distribution, orientation and volume fractions of the constituents, and environmental conditions. The unique and new feature of the method is that it employs several physically based predictive methodologies simultaneously.


Voigt, Reuss, Hill, And Self-Consistent Techniques For Modeling Ultrasonic Scattering, Christopher M. Kube, Joseph A. Turner Jan 2015

Voigt, Reuss, Hill, And Self-Consistent Techniques For Modeling Ultrasonic Scattering, Christopher M. Kube, Joseph A. Turner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

An elastic wave propagating in a metal loses a portion of its energy from scattering caused by acoustic impedance differences existing at the boundaries of anisotropic grains. Theoretical scattering models capture this phenomena by assuming the incoming wave is described by an average elastic moduli tensorC0ijkl (x) that is perturbed by a grain with elasticityCijkl (x ') where the scattering event occurs when x = x. Previous models have assumed that C0ijkl (x) is the Voigt average of the singlecrystal elastic moduli tensor. However, this assumption …


Acoustic Nonlinearity Parameters For Transversely Isotropic Polycrystalline Materials, Christopher M. Kube, Joseph A. Turner Jan 2015

Acoustic Nonlinearity Parameters For Transversely Isotropic Polycrystalline Materials, Christopher M. Kube, Joseph A. Turner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

This article considers polycrystalline materials with macroscopic elastic anisotropy and the effect of the anisotropy on the quadratic nonlinearity parameter used to describe second harmonic generation in solids. The polycrystal is assumed to have transversely isotropic elastic symmetry, which leads to a directional dependence of the nonlinearity parameters. Additionally, the anisotropy leads to second harmonic generation from an input shear wave. Estimates of the longitudinal and shear wave nonlinearity parameters are given as a function of single-crystal elastic constants, macroscopic anisotropy constants, and propagation direction. An inverse model is presented that relates measured nonlinearity parameters to the macroscopic anisotropy constants. …


Acoustic Attenuation Coefficients For Polycrystalline Materials Containing Crystallites Of Any Symmetry Class, Christopher M. Kube, Joesph A. Turner Jan 2015

Acoustic Attenuation Coefficients For Polycrystalline Materials Containing Crystallites Of Any Symmetry Class, Christopher M. Kube, Joesph A. Turner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

This letter provides a theoretical extension to the elastic properties of polycrystals in order to describe elastic wave scattering from grain boundaries. The extension allows the longitudinal and shear attenuation coefficients for scattering to be derived and is valid for polycrystals containing crystallites of any symmetry class. Attenuation curves are given for polycrystalline SiO2, ZrO2, and SnF2, which contain monoclinic crystallites. This work will allow ultrasonic techniques to be applied to new classes of materials containing nontrivial microstructures.


Interfacial Electronic Structure At The Ch3nh3pbi3/Moox Interface, Peng Liu, Xiaoliang Liu, Lu Lyu, Haipeng Xie, Hong Zhang, Dongmei Niu, Han Huang, Cheng Bi, Zhengguo Xiao, Jinsong Huang, Yongli Gao Jan 2015

Interfacial Electronic Structure At The Ch3nh3pbi3/Moox Interface, Peng Liu, Xiaoliang Liu, Lu Lyu, Haipeng Xie, Hong Zhang, Dongmei Niu, Han Huang, Cheng Bi, Zhengguo Xiao, Jinsong Huang, Yongli Gao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Interfacial electronic properties of the CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3)/MoOx interface are investigated using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. It is found that the pristine MAPbI3 film coated onto the substrate of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate)/indium tin oxide by two-step method behaves as an n-type semiconductor, with a band gap of ~1.7 eV and a valence band edge of 1.40 eV below the Fermi energy (EF). With the MoOx deposition of 64A ° upon MAPbI3, the energy levels of MAPbI3 shift toward higher binding energy by 0.25 eV due to electron transfer …


The Operation Mechanism Of Poly(9,9-Dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-Diyl) Dots In High Efficiency Polymer Solar Cells, Chunyu Liu, Yeyuan He, Xinyuan Zhang, Zhiqi Li, Liang Shen, Zhihui Zhang, Wenbin Guo, Shengping Ruan Jan 2015

The Operation Mechanism Of Poly(9,9-Dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-Diyl) Dots In High Efficiency Polymer Solar Cells, Chunyu Liu, Yeyuan He, Xinyuan Zhang, Zhiqi Li, Liang Shen, Zhihui Zhang, Wenbin Guo, Shengping Ruan

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The highly efficient polymer solar cells were realized by doping poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO) dots into active layer. The dependence of doping amount on devices performance was investigated and a high efficiency of 7.15% was obtained at an optimal concentration, accounting for a 22.4% enhancement. The incorporation of PFO dots (Pdots) is conducted to the improvement of Jsc and fill factor mainly due to the enhancement of light absorption and charge transport property. Pdots blended in active layer provides an interface for charge transfer and enables the formation of percolation pathways for electron transport. The introduction of Pdots was proven an effective …


Phase Transformation And Magnetic Properties Of Rapidly Solidified Mn-Al-C Alloys Modified With Zr, Yunlong Geng, Micheal J. Lucis, Pamela Rasmussen, Jeffrey E. Shield Jan 2015

Phase Transformation And Magnetic Properties Of Rapidly Solidified Mn-Al-C Alloys Modified With Zr, Yunlong Geng, Micheal J. Lucis, Pamela Rasmussen, Jeffrey E. Shield

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Mn54-xAl43C3Zrx (x=1, 3) alloys were prepared by rapid solidification followed by heat treatment to produce the ferromagnetic s phase. The substitution of Zr for Mn in the structure resulted in an increase of the saturation magnetization (Ms) compared to that of Mn54-xAl43C3. While the highest Ms (12861 emu/g) was obtained in Mn54-xAl43C3Zr1, the coercivity was also improved to 1.62 kOe, compared to 1.25 kOe for Mn54-xAl43C3. To further improve the coercivity through grain …


Surface Analytical Investigation On Organometal Triiodide Perovskite, Chengong Wang, Xiaoliang Liu, Congcong Wang, Zhengguo Xiao, Cheng Bi, Yuchuan Shao, Jinsong Huang, Yongli Gao Jan 2015

Surface Analytical Investigation On Organometal Triiodide Perovskite, Chengong Wang, Xiaoliang Liu, Congcong Wang, Zhengguo Xiao, Cheng Bi, Yuchuan Shao, Jinsong Huang, Yongli Gao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In a little over a year, there has been an unexpected breakthrough and rapid evolution of highly efficient solid-state hybrid solar cells based on organometal trihalide perovskite materials. This technology has the potential to produce solar cells with the very highest efficiencies while retaining the very lowest cost. The authors have measured the electronic density of states of CH3NH3PbI3 using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS), inverse photoemission spectroscopy (IPES), and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The valence band maximum and conduction band minimum positions are obtained from the UPS and IPES spectra, respectively, by linear extrapolation of …


Extracting Continuum-Like Deformation And Stress From Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Lili Zhang, John Jasa, George Gazonas, Antoine Jerusalem, Mehrdad Negahban Jan 2015

Extracting Continuum-Like Deformation And Stress From Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Lili Zhang, John Jasa, George Gazonas, Antoine Jerusalem, Mehrdad Negahban

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

We present methods that use results from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to construct continuum parameters, such as deformation gradient and Cauchy stress, from all or any part of an MD system. These parameters are based on the idea of minimizing the difference between MD measures for deformation and traction and their continuum counterparts. The procedures should be applicable to non-equilibrium and inhomogeneous systems, and to any part of a system, such as a polymer chain. The resulting procedures provide methods to obtain first and higher order deformation gradients associated with any subset of the MD system, and associated expressions for …


Evaluation Of Peritoneal Microbubble Oxygenation Therapy In A Rabbit Model Of Hypoxemia, Nathan D. Legband, Jameel A. Feshitan, Mark A. Borden, Benjamin S. Terry Jan 2015

Evaluation Of Peritoneal Microbubble Oxygenation Therapy In A Rabbit Model Of Hypoxemia, Nathan D. Legband, Jameel A. Feshitan, Mark A. Borden, Benjamin S. Terry

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Alternative extrapulmonary oxygenation technologies are needed to treat patients suffering from severe hypoxemia refractory to mechanical ventilation. We previously demonstrated that peritoneal microbubble oxygenation (PMO), in which phospholipid-coated oxygen microbubbles (OMBs) are delivered into the peritoneal cavity, can successfully oxygenate rats suffering from a right pneumothorax. This study addressed the need to scale up the procedure to a larger animal with a splanchnic cardiac output similar to humans. Our results show that PMO therapy can double the survival time of rabbits experiencing complete tracheal occlusion from6.6 ± 0.6 min for the saline controls to 12.2 ± 3.0 min for the …


Electronic Structure Evolution Of Fullerene On Ch3Nh3Pbi3, Chenggong Wang, Congcong Wang, Xiaoliang Liu, John Kauppi, Yuchuan Shao, Zhengguo Xiao, Cheng Bi, Jinsong Huang, Yongli Gao Jan 2015

Electronic Structure Evolution Of Fullerene On Ch3Nh3Pbi3, Chenggong Wang, Congcong Wang, Xiaoliang Liu, John Kauppi, Yuchuan Shao, Zhengguo Xiao, Cheng Bi, Jinsong Huang, Yongli Gao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The thickness dependence of fullerene on CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite film surface has been investigated by using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), and inverse photoemission spectroscopy (IPES). The lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) can be observed directly with IPES and UPS. It is observed that the HOMO level in fullerene shifts to lower binding energy. The XPS results show a strong initial shift of core levels to lower binding energy in the perovskite, which indicates that electrons transfer from the perovskite film to fullerene molecules. Further deposition of fullerene …


Improving The Sensitivity Of A Near-Infrared Nanocomposite Photodetector By Enhancing Trap Induced Hole Injection, Liang Shen, Yanjun Fang, Qingfeng Dong, Zhengguo Xiao, Jinsong Huang Jan 2015

Improving The Sensitivity Of A Near-Infrared Nanocomposite Photodetector By Enhancing Trap Induced Hole Injection, Liang Shen, Yanjun Fang, Qingfeng Dong, Zhengguo Xiao, Jinsong Huang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

We report the enhancement of the photoconductive gain of nanocomposite near-infrared photodetectors by a zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) rich surface at the nanocomposite/cathode interface. An argon plasma etching process was used to remove polymer at the surface of nanocomposite films, which resulted in a ZnO NPs rich surface. The other way is to spin-coat a thin layer of ZnO NPs onto the nanocomposite layer. The ZnO NPs rich surface, which acts as electron traps to induce secondary hole injection under reverse bias, increased hole injection, and thus the external quantum efficiency by 2–3 times. The darkcurrent declined one order …


Efficiency Enhancement In Polymer Solar Cells With A Polar Small Molecule Both At Interface And In The Bulk Heterojunction Layer, Zhengguo Xiao, Qingfeng Dong, Qi Wang, Wenjing Tian, Hui Huang, Jinsong Huang Jan 2015

Efficiency Enhancement In Polymer Solar Cells With A Polar Small Molecule Both At Interface And In The Bulk Heterojunction Layer, Zhengguo Xiao, Qingfeng Dong, Qi Wang, Wenjing Tian, Hui Huang, Jinsong Huang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The polar molecules, including ferroelectric materials with large dipole moments, have been applied as interfacial layers to increase the efficiency of organic solar cells by increasing the bounded charge separation, tuning the energy levels, etc. Here, we report a small polar molecule 2-cyano-3- (4-(diphenylamino) phenyl)acrylic acid (TPACA) that can be either blended in the active layer or at the polymer/electrode interface to increase the efficiency of organic solar cell devices after poling. It is found that the built-in potential of the device is increased by 0.2 V after poling under negative bias. Blending TPACA into the active layer has shown …


Electron-Hole Diffusion Lengths >175 Μm In Solution-Grown Ch3Nh3Pbi3 Single Crystals, Qingfeng Dong, Yanjun Fang, Yuchuan Shao, Padhraic Mulligan, Jie Qiu, Lei Cao, Jinsong Huang Jan 2015

Electron-Hole Diffusion Lengths >175 Μm In Solution-Grown Ch3Nh3Pbi3 Single Crystals, Qingfeng Dong, Yanjun Fang, Yuchuan Shao, Padhraic Mulligan, Jie Qiu, Lei Cao, Jinsong Huang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Long, balanced electron and hole diffusion lengths greater than 100 nanometers in polycrystalline CH3NH3PbI3 are critical for highly efficient perovskite solar cells. We report that the diffusion lengths in CH3NH3PbI3 single crystals grown by a solution-growth method can exceed 175 μm under 1 sun illumination and exceed 3 mm under weak light for both electrons and holes. The internal quantum efficiencies approach 100% in 3 mm-thick single crystal perovskite solar cells under weak light. These long diffusion lengths result from greater carrier mobility, lifetime and dramatically smaller trap densities in …


Relevance Of Blood Vessel Networks In Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury, Yi Hua, Shengmao Lin, Linxia Gu Jan 2015

Relevance Of Blood Vessel Networks In Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury, Yi Hua, Shengmao Lin, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Cerebral vasculature is a complex network that circulates blood through the brain. However, the role of this networking effect in brain dynamics has seldom been inspected. This work is to study the effects of blood vessel networks on dynamic responses of the brain under blast loading. Voronoi tessellations were implemented to represent the network of blood vessels in the brain. The brain dynamics in terms of maximumprincipal strain (MPS), shear strain (SS), and intracranial pressure (ICP) weremonitored and compared. Results show that blood vessel networks significantly affected brain responses.The increased MPS and SS were observed within the brain embedded with …


Role Of Interphase In The Mechanical Behavior Of Silica/Epoxy Resin Nanocomposites, Yi Hua, Linxia Gu, Sundaralingam Premaraj, Xiaodong Zhang Jan 2015

Role Of Interphase In The Mechanical Behavior Of Silica/Epoxy Resin Nanocomposites, Yi Hua, Linxia Gu, Sundaralingam Premaraj, Xiaodong Zhang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

A nanoscale representative volume element has been developed to investigate the effect of interphase geometry and property on the mechanical behavior of silica/epoxy resin nanocomposites. The role of interphase–matrix bonding was also examined. Results suggested that interphase modulus and interfacial bonding conditions had significant influence on the effective stiffness of nanocomposites, while its sensitivities with respect to both the thickness and the gradient property of the interphase was minimal. The stiffer interphase demonstrated a higher load-sharing capacity, which also increased the stress distribution uniformity within the resin nanocomposites. Under the condition of imperfect interfacial bonding, the effective stiffness of nanocomposites …


Towards Tuning The Mechanical Properties Of Three-Dimensional Collagen Scaffolds Using A Coupled Fiber-Matrix Model, Shengmao Lin, Lauren A. Hapach, Cynthia Reinhart-King, Linxia Gu Jan 2015

Towards Tuning The Mechanical Properties Of Three-Dimensional Collagen Scaffolds Using A Coupled Fiber-Matrix Model, Shengmao Lin, Lauren A. Hapach, Cynthia Reinhart-King, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Scaffold mechanical properties are essential in regulating the microenvironment of three-dimensional cell culture. A coupled fiber-matrix numerical model was developed in this work for predicting the mechanical response of collagen scaffolds subjected to various levels of non-enzymatic glycation and collagen concentrations. The scaffold was simulated by a Voronoi network embedded in a matrix. The computational model was validated using published experimental data. Results indicate that both non-enzymatic glycation-induced matrix stiffening and fiber network density, as regulated by collagen concentration, influence scaffold behavior. The heterogeneous stress patterns of the scaffold were induced by the interfacial mechanics between the collagen fiber network …


In Situ Longitudinal Pre-Stretch In The Human Femoropopliteal Artery, Alexey Kamenskiy, Andreas Seas, Grant Bowen, Paul Deegan, Anastasia Desyatova, Nick Bohlim, William Poulson, Jason N. Mactaggart Jan 2015

In Situ Longitudinal Pre-Stretch In The Human Femoropopliteal Artery, Alexey Kamenskiy, Andreas Seas, Grant Bowen, Paul Deegan, Anastasia Desyatova, Nick Bohlim, William Poulson, Jason N. Mactaggart

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In situ longitudinal (axial) pre-stretch (LPS) plays a fundamental role in the mechanics of the femoropopliteal artery (FPA). It conserves energy during pulsation and prevents buckling of the artery during limb movement. We investigated how LPS is affected by demographics and risk factors, and how these patient characteristics associate with the structural and physiologic features of the FPA. LPS was measured in n=148 fresh human FPAs (14–80 years old). Mechanical properties were characterized with biaxial extension and histopathological characteristics were quantified with Verhoeff-Van Gieson Staining. Constitutive modeling was used to calculate physiological stresses and stretches which were then analyzed …


Multiscale Modeling Of Skeletal Muscle Active Contraction In Relation To Mechanochemical Coupling Of Molecular Motors, Jiangcheng Chen, Xiaodong Zhang, Shengmao Lin, He Wang, Linxia Gu Jan 2015

Multiscale Modeling Of Skeletal Muscle Active Contraction In Relation To Mechanochemical Coupling Of Molecular Motors, Jiangcheng Chen, Xiaodong Zhang, Shengmao Lin, He Wang, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this work, a mathematical model was developed to relate the mechanochemical characterizations of molecular motors with the macroscopic manifestation of muscle contraction. Non-equilibrium statistical mechanics were used to study the collective behavior of myosin molecular motors in terms of the complex conformation change and multiple chemical states in one working cycle. The stochastic evolution of molecular motor probability density distribution during the contraction of sarcomere was characterized by the Fokker-Planck Equation. Quick muscle contraction was demonstrated by the collective dynamic behavior of myosin motors, the muscle contraction force, and the muscle contraction velocity-force relation. Our results are validated against …