Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Adhesion And Deformation Mechanisms Of Polydopamine And Polytetrafluoroethylene: A Multiscale Computational Study, Matthew Brownell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Polydopamine (PDA) has been shown to bond via covalent bonding, van der Waals forces, and hydrogen bonding and is known to adhere strongly to almost any material. The application of PDA between a substrate and a PTFE surface coating has resulted in low friction and a greatly reduced wear rate. Previous research probing the capabilities and limitations of PDA/PTFE films have studied the wear and mechanical properties of the film, but the overall adhesive and deformation mechanisms remain unclear.

In this research, we investigate the tribological properties of PDA and PTFE molecules and composites from the atomic to the microscale …

Enhancement Of Phase Change Material Sorbitol By Nanoparticle Inclusion For Improving Thermal Energy Storage Capabilities, Joshua Kasitz

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Thermal management of electronic devices has become an increasingly vital field of study with the rapid miniaturization of many key electrical components. With the significant improvement of semiconductor manufacturing and intensified focus on interconnects, electronic devices have decreased in size at an incredible rate. Decreasing spatial requirements is essential to improving device capabilities as the electronic system is able to incorporate more components. Currently, electronic systems are drastically limited by the capabilities of their cooling mechanisms. Smaller devices lead to large increases in the energy density of the system and require more powerful cooling systems to maintain proper component operating …