Engineering Science and Materials Commons^™

Electrospinning Applications Air Filtration And Superhydrophobic Materials, Negar Ghochaghi, Adetoun Taiwo

Graduate Research Posters

Electrospinning is a widely applicable technique that generates non-woven fibers in the micro and nano range. In this project two of its applications are highlighted namely filtration media and enhancement of wettability. The first project demonstrates that electrospinning can be used to produce new fiber filtration media with controlled microstructure. The bimodal and unimodal orthogonal and random filters were made and characterized against their filtration efficiency and pressure drop. Figure of Merit (FOM) was also calculated and discussed. It is shown that the FOM increases when the electrospun fibers are arranged into alternating layers of aligned course and fine fibers. …

Applying Spiking Neural Network Simulation To Neuromodulatory Autonomous Robot Control, Cameron Muhammad

Phi Kappa Phi Research Symposium (Archived)

In this paper, simulation of the brain based on an artificial spiking neuron model is used to create a self-learning algorithm. The spiking neuron simulation is used to demonstrate a neuromodulation program in which the reward seeking properties of dopamine, the risk-adverse effects of serotonin, and the attention-focusing effects of the cholinergic and noradrenergic systems are applied to a mobile robotic platform as it moves autonomously throughout an environment. External stimuli is recorded by the program as spiking “events” that result in corresponding amounts of dopamine and serotonin influenced spiking patterns. These spiking patterns affect how the robot adapts to …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Novel Polyester Scaffolds From Sugarcane Industry By-Products For Use In Skin And Bone Tissue Engineering, Akanksha Kanitkar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this work was to synthesize non-toxic, biodegradable polyesters of aconitic acid, cinnamic acid and glycerol from by-products of the sugarcane industry as scaffolds for skin and bone tissue engineering. Utilizing the by-products, molasses and sugarcane bagasse, not only add value to the cane industry, but also paves path for synthesizing novel bio-based materials from the isolated specialty chemicals. Molasses contain an economically recoverable quantity of aconitic acid and its extraction was studied in detail as a part of this work. The yields of recovered aconitic acid varied from 25–69% depending on the extraction conditions. Under all the …

Biomechanical Strain As A Trigger For Pore Formation In Schlemm’S Canal Endothelial Cells, Sietse T. Braakman, Ryan M. Pedrigi, A. Thomas Read, James A. E. Smith, W. Daniel Stamer, C. Ross Ethier, Darryl R. Overby

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The bulk of aqueous humor passing through the conventional outflow pathway must cross the inner wall endothelium of Schlemm’s canal (SC), likely through micron-sized transendothelial pores. SC pore density is reduced in glaucoma, possibly contributing to obstructed aqueous humor outflow and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Little is known about the mechanisms of pore formation; however, pores are often observed near dome-like cellular outpouchings known as giant vacuoles (GVs) where significant biomechanical strain acts on SC cells. We hypothesize that biomechanical strain triggers pore formation in SC cells. To test this hypothesis, primary human SC cells were isolated from three non-glaucomatous …

Altered Mechanobiology Of Schlemm’S Canal Endothelial Cells In Glaucoma, Darryl R. Overby, Enhua H. Zhou, Rocio Vargas-Pinto, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Rudolf Fuchshofer, Sietse T. Braakman, Ritika Gupta, Kristin M. Perkumas, Joesph M. Sherwood, Amir Vahabikashi, Quynh Dang, Jae Hun Kim, C. Ross Ethier, W. Daniel Stamer, Jeffrey J. Fredberg, Mark Johnson

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Increased flow resistance is responsible for the elevated intraocular pressure characteristic of glaucoma, but the cause of this resistance increase is not known. We tested the hypothesis that altered biomechanical behavior of Schlemm’s canal (SC) cells contributes to this dysfunction. We used atomic force microscopy, optical magnetic twisting cytometry, and a unique cell perfusion apparatus to examine cultured endothelial cells isolated from the inner wall of SC of healthy and glaucomatous human eyes. Here we establish the existence of a reduced tendency for pore formation in the glaucomatous SC cell—likely accounting for increased outflow resistance—that positively correlates with elevated subcortical …

Polymer Aggregation Correlated Transition From Schottky-Junction To Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells, Bin Yang, Zhengguo Xiao, Jinsong Huang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The fullerene-based organic Schottky-junction solar cells have recently attracted intensive research interest because of their unique electrical performance, such as significant photocurrent generation from excitons created in fullerenes and large open-circuit voltage (V_OC) output induced by high Schottky-barrier height between the anode and the fullerene acceptor. This manuscript reports another remarkably appealing advantage that the fullerene-based Schottky-junction solar cells are more stable than the bulk heterojunction counterparts. The better stability is likely due to mitigative polymer photo-oxidation and/or little morphological change of active film in the aged Schottky-junction devices. The transition from Schottky-junction to bulk heterojunction appears at …

Equipment Fragility Due To Shock Response, Christopher Y. Tuan

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Because of its simplicity, the shock response spectrum has become widely used as a means of describing the shock responses and fragilities of structures and equipment. This paper focuses on the drawbacks of using the shock response spectrum for defining equipment shock tolerance. A cantilever beam with a tip mass was used to model a hypothetical piece of equipment subjected to strong ground motion such as that caused by an explosion. The exact solution from a detailed modal analysis shows that multiple modes of response were excited. Contributions from higher modes can be more predominant than that from the fundamental …

Combustion Synthesis Of Molybdenum Silicides And Borosilicides For Ultrahigh-Temperature Structural Applications, Mohammad Shafiul Alam

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Molybdenum silicides and borosilicides are promising structural materials for gas-turbine power plants. A major challenge, however, is to simultaneously achieve high oxidation resistance and acceptable mechanical properties at high temperatures. For example, molybdenum disilicide (MoSi₂) has excellent oxidation resistance and poor mechanical properties, while Mo-rich silicides such as Mo₅Si₃ (called T₁) have much better mechanical properties but poor oxidation resistance. One approach is based on the fabrication of MoSi₂−T₁ composites that combine high oxidation resistance of MoSi₂ and good mechanical properties of T₁. Another approach involves the …

Design Of Three Different Particle Size Distributions In Silver Paste Through Computer Simulation For Higher Electrical Conductivity, Kyungdeok Jang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the field of printed electronics technology, researchers have tried to print highly conductive electrodes with fine width and height in order to manufacture high performance devices.

The purpose of this research is to print particle monolayer silver patterns which have better electrical conductivity than existing ones. The key idea of this experiment is to analyze silver inks with different sized particles. Let us consider a particle monolayer pattern printed with silver ink consisting of mono-sized particles. Inside of the pattern, there are some vacant spaces between the particles, which can lead to low electrical conductivity and discontinuity of the …

Fabrication Of A Nickel-Based Superalloy In Electron Beam Melting And Process Improvements Using Thermal Feedback From A Multi-Wavelength Pyrometer, Jonathan Minjares

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this research was to fabricate parts composed of a nickel-based superalloy containing high levels of aluminum and titanium (NSAT) by using electron beam melting (EBM) additive manufacturing (AM) technology and utilizing thermal feedback from a multi-wavelength pyrometer to perform process improvements leading to near defect-free parts. EBM is an AM technology that utilizes metal powder to fabricate parts in layer-by-layer manner. A multi-wavelength pyrometer was implemented in an Arcam S12 (Arcam AB, Sweden) EBM system to observe and record surface temperatures throughout fabrication. Temperature data from the EBM system and the multi-wavelength pyrometer were graphed using MATLAB …

Effect Of Rhenium On Short Term Oxidation Of Niobium Based Alloys For High Temperature Applications, Ruth M. Sierra

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The effect of adding Re to Nb-based alloys and is intended to analyze in depth the microstructures of Nb based alloys with Re, Si and Cr additions, in atomic percentages. The binary alloys (Nb-5Re, Nb-5Si and Nb-5Cr) reveal the formation of a single phase, NbSS, NbSS+ Nb3Si and NbSS+NbCr2 respectively. The formation of the single phase was confirmed by TEM studies for the Nb-5Re alloy. Addition of Re to form ternary alloys, has helped in the formation of Nb5Si3 and (Nb, Re) Cr2, in Nb-5Re- 5Si and Nb-5Re-5Cr respectively. Quaternary alloy Nb-5Re-5Si-5Cr has Nb5Si3, NbCr2 and NbSS. The oxidation behavior …

Nanometric Structure-Property Relationship In Hafnium Oxide Thin Films Made By Sputter-Deposition, Mirella Vargas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hafnium oxide (HfO2) is technologically an important material, which exhibits a unique set of properties such as a high dielectric constant (k~25) and wide band gap (~5.7 eV) which make this material attractive in the fields of microelectronics and optoelectronics. HfO2 has become the leading candidate to replace SiO2 dielectrics in gate oxides due to a higher permittivity and reportedly lower electron tunneling effects. HfO2 exhibits various polymorphs; the thermodynamic stability and phase existence depends on the temperature and pressure conditions. In addition, the controlled growth and manipulation of specific HfO2 crystal structures at the nanoscale dimensions is the driving …

Characterization Of High-Purity Niobium Structures Fabricated Using The Electron Beam Melting Process, Cesar Adrian Terrazas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Additive Manufacturing (AM) refers to the varied set of technologies utilized for the fabrication of complex 3D components from digital data in a layer-by-layer fashion. The use of these technologies promises to revolutionize the manufacturing industry. The electron beam melting (EBM) process has been utilized for the fabrication of fully dense near-net-shape components from various metallic materials. This process, catalogued as a powder bed fusion technology, consists of the deposition of thin layers (50 - 120µm) of metallic powder particles which are fused by the use of a high energy electron beam and has been commercialized by Swedish company Arcam …

Localized Corrosion Behavior Of Sensitized 304 Stainless Steel By Scanning Reference Electrode Technique, Chen-Qing Ye, Rong-Gang Hu, Rui-Qing Hou, Xiao-Ping Wang, Rong-Gui Du, Chang-Jian Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

Based on a home-built setup of scanning reference electrode technique, and combined with conventional electrochemical measurements, the localized corrosion behavior of sensitized 304 stainless steel (304ss) had been investigated in this work. The results showed that, the non-sensitized 304ss or 304ss sensitized at 550 oC was susceptible to pitting; while 304ss sensitized at 650 oC or 750 oC suffered severe intergranular corrosion in 10% FeCl3 solution.

Application Of Synchrotron Radiation Based Electrochemical In-Situ Techniques To Study Of Electrode Materials For Lithium-Ion Batteries, Zheng-Liang Gong, Wei Zhang, Dong-Ping Lv, Xiao-Gang Hao, Wen Wen, Zheng Jiang, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Due to its merits of high brightness and high intensity, high level of polarization and wide tunability in energy, etc., synchrotron radiation technique provides an unique platform for analysis of the relationship among composition–structure–performance of materials for lithium ion batteries, especially for in-situ, real time dynamic investigation of the electrochemical reaction mechanism, aging process and failure mechanism during charge-discharge cycling. In this paper, we review the latest developments in application of synchrotron based electrochemical in-situ experimental methods to studies of lithium ion batteries. The paper mainly focuses on the application of electrochemical in-siu XRD and XAFS techniques to the investigations …

Controllable Synthesis Of Dispersed Spherical Fe3O4 Nanoparticles As Lithium-Inserted Materials, Hong-Li Zou, Wei-Shan Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

Dispersed spherical Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The influences of odecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB) concentration on the morphology and particle size of the as-prepared Fe₃O₄ were studied. Electrochemical performance of the as-prepared sample as anode materials of lithium ion battery was investigated. It is found that the as-prepared sample exhibits superior rate performance and cycle performance. The nano-sized materials provide structural stability and favor the transfer of lithium ions.

An Investigation On The Solid Electrolyte Interphase Of Silicon Anode For Li-Ion Batteries Through Force Curve Method, Jie-Yun Zheng, Hao Zheng, Rui Wang, Hong Li, Li-Quan Chen

Journal of Electrochemistry

Non-aqueous electrolyte has been widely used in commercial Li-ion batteries. Optimized choices are proceeding among the various types of salts and solvents in an effort to achieve higher performance of electrolyte. However, the electrolyte will be reduced in low potential and the reductive product will be deposited on the surface of anode to form a passivating layer, solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Herein an atomic force microscopy (AFM) based method was introduced to study the structure and mechanical property of SEI on silicon thin film anode during the first cycle. Silicon has been known as the most potential candidate anode for …

Preparation And Electrochemical Properties Of Flake-Like Liv3O8 By Soft Template Assisted Sol-Gel Method As Anode Material For Aqueous Li-Ion Battery, Shuai Tan, Dan Sun, Hai-Yan Wang, Tian-Li Hou, Zhong-Xing Xiao, You-Gen Tang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Composite electrode of CuF₂/MoO₃/C was fabricated through high energy mechanical milling. The properties of CuF₂/MoO₃/C were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the grain sizes of CuF₂ and MoO₃ after milling were 200 ~ 300 nm, and the initial discharge capacity of CuF₂/MoO₃/C was 647 mAh·g^-1 at room temperature and at a current density of 10 mAh·g^-1. However, the …

Synthesis And Electrochemical Performance Of Nano Licopo4 By Polyol Method, Fei Wang, Yang Jun

Journal of Electrochemistry

High potential LiCoPO₄ cathode material was synthesized by polyol method. Carbon layer of ca. 3 nm thick was coated on the LiCoPO₄ surfaces by chemical vapor deposition from methylbenzene. Crystalline structure, morphology and electrochemical performance of the sample were studied by XRD, SEM, TEM, CV and galvanostatic charge/discharge curve. The synthesized material via polyol method showed a pure phase of LiCoPO₄. The LiCoPO₄/C electrode delivered a high discharge capacity of 132 mAh·g^-1 and maintained 78% of the initial capacity after 50 cycles at 0.1C rate. The two-step extraction/insertion behavior of Li⁺ in …

Aqueous Solution-Evaporation Route Synthesis And Phase Structural Research Of The Li-Rich Cathode Li1.23Ni0.09Co0.12Mn0.56O2 By In-Situ Xrd, Chong-Heng Shen, Shou-Yu Shen, Zhou Lin, Xiao-Mei Zheng, Hang Su, Ling Huang, Jun-Tao Li, Shi-Gang Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Li-rich Li_1.23Ni_0.09Co_0.12Mn_0.56O₂ material was synthesized via aqueous solution-evaporation route. The structure and morphology of the material were characterized by means of XRD and SEM. The results indicated that the single particle of the product was polygonal with the size of 330 nm and the structure was layered solid solution with a certain amount of Li₂MnO₃. Electrochemical tests showed that the first discharge capacity of the Li-rich layered material was 250.8 mAh·g^-1 at 0.1C, the capacity retention was 86.5% after 40 cycles. Through in-situ XRD study …