Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

The Effects Of Rapid Stretch Injury On Rat Neocortical Cultures, George Constandinos Magou

Dissertations

Several key biological mechanisms of traumatic injury to axons have been elucidated using in vitro stretch injury models. These models, however, are based on the experimentation of single cultures keeping productivity slow. Indeed, low yield has hindered important and well founded investigations requiring high throughput methods such as proteomic analyses. To meet this need, a multi-well high throughput injury device is engineered to accelerate and accommodate the next generation of traumatic brain injury research. This modular system stretch-injures neuronal cultures in either a 24-well culture plate format or six individual wells simultaneously. Custom software control allows the user to accurately …

Foaming Of Amorphous Drug Delivery Systems Prepared By Hot Melt Mixing And Extrusion, Graciela Terife

Dissertations

Currently there is considerable interest from both academe and pharmaceutical industry in exploring foaming processes and their products in drug delivery applications. However, there is still little knowledge of the impact of the morphology of the foamed structures on the performance of drug products in spite of some publications in this area. Therefore, the main objective of this dissertation is to gain a fundamental understanding of the correlation between foam morphology and performance of amorphous drug delivery systems, which are comprised of an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) and Polymer excipient.

The Hot Melt Extrusion (HME) process is used to compound …

Measurement Of Gas Flow Through Porous Structures Using Thz Spectroscopy, Yihui Wang

Theses

Comparing THz transmission through a sample with the transmission through free-space allows one to calculate the THz absorbance of a sample. Previous studies have focused on using THz absorbance to measure the diffusion of liquid through materials. In this study, the ability of THz spectroscopy to measure the flow of gas in a porous material, packaging foam, is investigated. Specifically, Terahertz spectroscopy from 0.5 to 0.7 THz is used to measure the THz absorption of 1, 1 -difluoroethane. Several experiments are performed to test the ability of THz spectroscopy to measure the flow of gas in a porous material: (1) …

Current Measurements In Electrospinning, Clinton K. Lien

Theses

Electrospinning provides an economical method of producing nanofibers. The current carried by the main spinning jet is found to be one of the factors in determining the diameter of the fiber product. However, current sources such as the corona discharge and secondary jets will lead to a systematic overestimation of the actual current value.

In this research, experiments with different configurations are set up to investigate the influence of various parameters on the measured current. It is noticed that the measured current is nearly independent on the flow rate of the solution and the external cover. A large amount of …

Study Of Poly (L-Lactic Acid)/Poly (D-Lactic Acid) Stereocomplex As Nucleating Agent For Poly (L- Lactic Acid) Crystallization, Yuan Lao

Theses

Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) is a biodegradable polymer with good renewability and processability. However, it has some drawbacks. The Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) stereocomplex formed via the interaction between optical isomers Poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and Poly (D-lactic acid) (PDLA), provides improvements on PLA thermomechanical properties. To investigate the nucleating effect brought by the PLA stereocomplex, samples of PLLA blended with different content of PDLA are prepared by the solution casting method. With different cooling rates (5, 15, 25 °C/min), DSC non-isothermal crystallization experiments are performed. The results suggest that in the presence of the stereocomplex, the PLLA crystallization temperatures …

Role Of Materials & Design On Performance Of Baseball Bats, Kim Benson-Worth

Theses

Baseball bat safety has become an increasing area of interest with more than 19 million people in the United States alone participating in this sport. An increase in injuries resulting from bat injuries has brought the performance of the bats into question. A review of several studies focusing on the effects of the material properties of various baseball bats designs were examined. From this review it is evident that player and spectator safety greatly rely on proper baseball bat design. There was a 30% reduction in the Multi-Piece Failures (MPF) of wooden bats once the requirement of a Slope of …

Stress Analysis Of Ramberg-Osgood And Hollomon 1-D Axial Rods, Ronald J. Giardina Jr

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this paper we present novel analytic and finite element solutions to 1-D straight rods made of Ramberg-Osgood and Hollomon type materials. These material models are studied because they are a more accurate representation of the material properties of certain metals used often in manufacturing than the simpler composite linear types of stress/strain models. Here, various types of loads are considered and solutions are compared against some linear models. It is shown that the nonlinear models do have manageable solutions, which produce important differences in the results - attributes which suggest that these models should take a more prominent place …

Fatigue Testing And Data Analysis Of Welded Steel Cruciform Joints, Alina Shrestha

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this study, ABS Publication 115, “Guidance on Fatigue Assessment of Offshore Structures” is briefly reviewed. Emphasis is on the S-N curves based fatigue assessment approach of non-tubular joints, and both size and environment effects are also considered. Further, fatigue tests are performed to study the fatigue strength of load-carrying and non-load-carrying steel cruciform joints that represent typical joint types in marine structures. The experimental results are then compared against ABS fatigue assessment methods, based on nominal stress approach, which demonstrates a need for better fatigue evaluation parameter. A good fatigue parameter by definition should be consistent and should correlate …

Studies On Structure And Property Of Polymer-Based Nano-Composite Materials, Yun Zhai

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The mixing of polymers and nanoparticles makes it possible to give advantageous macroscopic material performance by tailoring the microstructure of composites. In this thesis, five combinations of nano inclusion and polymer matrix have been investigated.

The first type of composites is titanium dioxide/ polyaniline combination. The effects of 4 different doping-acids on the microstructure, morphology, thermal stability and thermoelectric properties were discussed, showing that the sample with HCl and sulfosalicylic dual acids gave a better thermoelectric property. The second combination is titanium dioxide/polystyrene composite. Avrami equation was used to investigate the crystallization process. The best fit of the mass derivative …

The Effects Of A Collaborative Problem-Based Learning Experience On Students’ Motivation In Engineering Capstone Courses, Brett D. Jones, Cory M. Epler, Parastou Mokri, Lauren H. Bryant, Marie C. Paretti

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

We identified and examined how the instructional elements of problem-based learning capstone engineering courses affected students’ motivation to engage in the courses. We employed a two-phase, sequential, explanatory, mixed methods research design. For the quantitative phase, 47 undergraduate students at a large public university completed a questionnaire that measured the components of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation (Jones, 2009): empowerment, usefulness, success, situational interest, individual interest, academic caring, and personal caring. For the qualitative phase that followed, 10 students answered questions related to the MUSIC components. We identified several instructional elements that led to motivating opportunities that affected students’ …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2013, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Senior Design Experience

Part of every UNLV engineering student's academic experience, the Senior Design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. Working in teams, the senior design project encourages students to use everything learned in the engineering and computer design programs to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

Beyond the classroom ...

Because of the requirement to work in teams, students also build good communication skills, presentation skills and even business writing skills. They also have to …

Heterogeneous Relaxation Dynamics In Amorphous Materials Under Cyclic Loading, Nikolai V. Priezjev

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate heterogeneous dynamics in amorphous glassy materials under oscillatory shear strain. We consider three-dimensional binary Lennard-Jones mixture well below the glass transition temperature. The structural relaxation and dynamical heterogeneity are quantified by means of the self-overlap order parameter and the dynamic susceptibility. We found that at sufficiently small strain amplitudes, the mean square displacement exhibits a broad subdiffusive plateau and the system undergoes nearly reversible deformation over about 104 cycles. Upon increasing strain amplitude, the transition to the diffusive regime occurs at shorter time intervals and the relaxation process involves intermittent bursts of large …

Energy And Climate Interactions In The Urban Environment, David J. Sailor

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation focuses on sustainable design choices and characteristics

Analysis Of Bimetallic Adhesion And Interfacial Toughness Of Kinetic Metallization Coatings, Alec D. Guraydin

Master's Theses

Due to their ability to confer enhanced surface properties without compromising the properties of the substrate, coatings have become ubiquitous in heavy industrial applications for corrosion, wear, and thermal protection, among others. Kinetic Metallization (KM), a solid-state impact consolidation and coating process, is well-suited for depositing industrial coatings due to its versatility, low substrate heat input, and low cost. The ability of KM coatings to adhere to the substrate is determined by the quality of the interface. The purpose of this study is to develop a model to predict the interfacial quality of KM coatings using known coating and substrate …

Creep, Fatigue And Creep-Fatigue Interactions In Modified 9% Cr - 1% Mo (P91) Steels, Valliappa Kalyanasundaram

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Grade P91 steel, from the class of advanced high-chrome ferritic steels, is one of the preferred materials for many elevated temperature structural components. Creep-fatigue (C-F) interactions, along with oxidation, can accelerate the kinetics of damage accumulation and consequently reduce such components' life. Hence, reliable C-F test data is required for meticulous consideration of C-F interactions and oxidation, which in turn is vital for sound design practices. It is also imperative to develop analytical constitutive models that can simulate and predict material response under various long-term in-service conditions using experimental data from short-term laboratory experiments. Consequently, the major objectives of the …

Full Depth Reclamation: Bringing Developing Countries' Transportation Up To Speed, Sadie Smith

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Often, a direct correlation is observed between a country’s transportation network and economic development. Evidence of this is observed all over the world. Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) is a roadway recycling technique that mills and mixes the existing roadway with a stabilizing agent and then re-compacts the mixture to create a thicker, stabilized pavement layer. This method is both cost effective and environmentally friendly, making it a very appealing option as the need to rehabilitate or increase the structural capacity of existing roads grows. In this study, the material characterization of FDR was examined as a composite material of both …

An Experimentally Generated Constitutive Model For Peak Stress (Σ_Peak) In Compression Samples, Kevin Mathew Lopez Galang

Master's Theses

The hot working behavior of AISI 1018 steel was studied by hot-compression deformation tests on the Gleeble 1500 thermo-mechanical simulator at true strain values of -0.143 and -0.405, true strain rate values of 0.01 and 0.1, and working temperatures of 900^°C and 1000°C. The tests show that a lower working temperature and lower true strain value results in a greater maximum compressive force. The apparent activation energy Q_app was calculated by using the Zener-Hollomon parameter combined with the low stress law. Q_{app ­}was calculated to be 311 kJ mol^-1 K^-1.

Longitudinally Graded Optical Fibers, Alexander Evert

All Theses

Described herein, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, are optical fibers possessing significant compositional gradations along their length due to longitudinal control of the core glass composition. More specifically, MCVD-derived germanosilicate fibers were fabricated that exhibited a gradient of up to about 0.55 weight percent GeO₂ per meter. These gradients are about 1900 times greater than previously reported for fibers possessing longitudinal changes in composition. The refractive index difference is shown to change by about 0.001, representing a numerical aperture change of about 10%, over a fiber length of less than 20 m. The lowest …

Improving R-Value In Brick Systems Using Various Pore-Forming Agents, Graham Shepherd

All Theses

Energy efficiency and energy savings are two topics that have continued to gain momentum over the last decade. This topic is extremely important when it comes to the construction of buildings and homes. Efforts have been ongoing to increase the insulation value of brick systems to hinder the conductive heat transfer through the material. The use of pore-forming agents (PFA’s) have been studied to increase the porosity within a ceramic system, through sacrificial burnout or place–holder method, which leave a residual, defined pore size distribution. This increase in porosity leads to better insulating capabilities and inherently lower conductivity values. In …

Device Characterization And Compact Modeling Of The Sige Hbt In Extreme Temperature Environments, Beth Olivia Woods

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The silicon germanium heterojunction bipolar transistor, SiGe HBT, has very high frequency response but limited voltage range. Commercial communication applications in wireless and system integration have driven the development of the SiGe HBT. However, the device's excellent electrical performance goes beyond the commercial environment. The SiGe HBT performs exceptionally at low temperatures. The device DC current gain and AC small-signal gain significantly increase in the cryogenic temperature range. Applications at low temperatures with expansive temperature range specifications need an HBT compact model to accurately represent the device's performance.

In this work, a compact model referenced at 300K was developed to …