Engineering Commons^™

Investigation Of Thermal, Elastic And Load-Biased Transformation Strains In Niti Shape Memory Alloys, Shipeng Qiu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Polycrystalline NiTi shape memory alloys have the ability to recover their original, pre-deformed shape in the presence of external loads when heated through a solid-solid phase transformation from a lower-symmetry B19' martensite phase to a higher-symmetry B2 austenite phase. The strain associated with a shape memory alloy in an actuator application typically has thermal, elastic and inelastic contributions. The objective of this work was to investigate the aforementioned strains by recourse to in situ neutron diffraction experiments during selected combinations of heating, cooling and/or mechanical loading. The primary studies were conducted on polycrystalline Ni49.9Ti50.1 specimens on the Spectrometer for MAterials …

Strengthening Potential Of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes In Phenolic Resin Composites, Brittany Kerr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Strengthening potential of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in a phenolic resin composite was evaluated by characterization of purified and phenyl sulfonated SWCNTs, investigation of the load transfer capability of the purified SWCNTs, and characterization of the composites. Purified and phenyl sulfonated SWCNTs, as well as their composites, were examined by Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultra violet-visible spectrometry. Fabrication of the SWCNT/phenolic resin composite was performed by first dispersing the SWCNTs in ethylene glycol and then homogenizing the mixture with phenolic resin. The ethylene glycol was …

Interplay Between The Lattice And Spin Degrees Of Freedom In (Sr1−Xcax)3ru2o7, Jin Peng, David Fobes, Tijian Liu, Xiaoshan Wu, H M. Pham, Leonard Spinu, Z Q. Mao

Physics Faculty Publications

The Sr1−xCax3Ru2O7 solid solution series exhibits complex magnetic ground states, ranging from an itinerant metamagnetic state, to a quasi-two-dimensional 2D heavy-mass nearly ferromagneticFM state, and finally to a long-range antiferromagnetically ordered state Z. Qu et al. Phys. Rev. B. 78, R180407 2008. In this paper, we investigate the evolution of structural distortion and magnetic anisotropy with Ca content in this material system. Our results show that both the magnetic phase transitions and magnetic anistropy of this system couple with the evolution of structure distortion. The transformation from the itinerant metamagnetic to the nearly ferromagnetic state is accompanied …

Synthesis And Characterization Of A [Ru(Bpy)2(Ncs)2] Derivative For Use As A Dye-Sensitizer In Nanocrystalline Solar Cells, Joel Thomas Kirner

Honors Program Theses

After extensive review of the field of dye-sensitized solar cells, the molecule [Ru(4,4’- dicarboxy-2,2’-bipyridine)(4,4’-di-(2-(2-pyridyl)ethenyl)-2,2’-bipyridine)(NCS)2] has been designed as an original contribution to the field. This dye sensitizer was chosen by derivatizing upon the structure of the standard sensitizer, cis-diisothiocyanatobis(4,4’-dicarboxylic acid-2,2’- bipyridine)ruthenium(II) (N3), by extending the conjugation of one bipyridine ligand. This structural derivatization should enhance light harvesting by red-shifting the dye’s absorbance and increasing the dye’s molar absorptivity, which should result in a dye-sensitized solar cell with higher efficiency. The Density Functional Theory (DFT) molecular orbital calculations of the new dye complex indicate that the HOMO is highly localized …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Ferromagnetic Nanowires, Poching Tsai

Material Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

Ferromagnetic nanocrystals with shape anisotropy have drawn great attention in the past decades because of their unique magnetic properties and for their potential applications in ultra-high-density magnetic recording media, exchange-coupled nanocomposite magnets and related nanodevices. In this thesis, synthesis and characterixation of ferromagnetic CoNi and CoFe nanowires are reported. CoNi nanocrystals with different size, shape and composition were successfully synthesized via a catalyst chemical solution method. It was found out that the structure and morphology can be controlled by altering the NaOH concentration, and the elongation of the nanowires can be adjusted by changing surfactants ratio and catalyst amount. Unlike …

Solid-State Tunneling Spectroscopy Of Individual Quantum Dots, Ramkumar Subramanian

Material Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Quantum dots are gaining importance for their potential applications in the fields of energy harvesting, bio-labeling and treatment, in opto-electronic devices and in photonic devices. For all these applications, it is imperative to know their electronic structure. Although currently several spectroscopic techniques exist to study the electronic structure of these quantum dots, they are accompanied by other effects and do not give purely the electronic structure of the individual quantum dot. The main goals of this research are to:o To study the energy level structure of `single' quantum dots.o Develop a new spectroscopic technique that allows the measurement of the …

Transmission Electron Microscopy Studies Of Lamno₃ And La₁₋Xsrxmno₃Thin Films Grown On Various Substrates, Yinsheng Fang

Material Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

LaMnO₃ (LMO) and La₁₋xSrxMnO₃ (LSMO) thin films with colossal magnetoresistance have attracted considerable interest for potential applications in many technological devices, such as magnetic sensors and read-head of computer memory. In this work, polycrystalline and epitaxial LMO and LSMO thin films were deposited on various substrates including (001) Si, (001) MgO, and (001) LaAlO₃ (LAO) using RF magnetron sputtering. The microstructures of the thin films were initially studied using X-ray diffraction. Detailed microstructure information such as crystallite of the films, grain size, epitaxial quality, crystallographic structure and film/substrate interface were studied using high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). More specifically, Effects …

Rf And Structural Characterization Of Srf Thin Films, A.M. Valente-Feliciano, H.L. Phillips, C.E. Reece, J. Spradlin, X. Zhao, D. Gu, H. Baumgart, D. Beringer, R.A. Lukaszew, B. Xiao, K. Seo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In the past years, energetic vacuum deposition methods have been developed in different laboratories to improve Nb/Cu technology for superconducting cavities. JLab is pursuing energetic condensation deposition via Electron Cyclotron Resonance. As part of this study, the influence of the deposition energy on the material and RF properties of the Nb thin film is investigated. The film surface and structure analyses are conducted with various techniques like X-ray diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Auger Electron Spectroscopy and RHEED. The microwave properties of the films are characterized on 50 mm disk samples with a 7.5 GHz surface impedance characterization system. This paper …

Localized Mechanical Deformation And Dissolution Of 45s5 Bioglass, Ding Li

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Bioactive glasses react with the human physiological solution in control of their biofunctionality. The stress state in bioactive glasses determines the chemomechanical reaction and their biofunctionality. Using the microindentation technique, the effect of the indentation deformation on the surface damage and material dissolution of 45S5 bioglass was investigated.

The indentation-induced residual stresses were calculated. Complete anelastic recoveries of the indentation depths and the impression marks were observed for the first time, which was likely driven by the stored strain energy over the anelastic deformation zone. The indentation-induced local surface damages were revealed before and after the immersion tests in phosphate …

Characteristics Of Proton Conducting Pva-Chitosan Polymer Blend Electrolytes., Mohd Fakhrul Zamani Abdul Kadir

Student Works (2010-2019)

The main focus of this present work is to build a good conducting solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) based on chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) blend. Solution cast technique has been employed to produce sample films in this work. From the scanning electron micrographs (SEM) the surface morphology of the blend containing 40 wt.% chitosan and 60 wt.% PVA (C4P6) is homogenous and miscible in one and another. The C4P6 film is the most amorphous and is the best candidate for the polymer host in the electrolyte systems studied in the present work. Ammonium Nitrate (NH4NO3) is the doping salt that provides …

Mechanical And Thermodynamic Properties Of Bacteriorhodopsin Langmuir Film., Vijayandren Kuppusamy

Student Works (2010-2019)

Bacteriorhodopsin is a photoactive protein found in the purple membranes of the highly halophilic bacterium Halobacterium Salinarium. Due to highly efficient and simple in its function, Bacteriorhodopsin has been extensively researched and successfully incorporated into many practical applications. In this regard, the fabrication of compactly packed and functionally active Bacteriorhodopsin thin film is crucial in realizing a highly efficient device. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the mechanical and thermodynamic properties of the Bacteriorhodopsin-Langmuir monolayer film from the surface pressure-area per molecule isotherm to produce a compactly pact and functionally active monolayer film. For this, we have proposed …

Electrodeposition Of Tin Using Tin (Ii) Methanesulfonate From Mixture Of Ionic Liquid And Methane Sulfonic Acid., Yang Kok Kee

Student Works (2010-2019)

The electrodeposition of tin from Tin(II) Methane Sulfonate (MSA) with varying concentration in air and water stable 1-butyl-1-methyl-pyrrolidinium trifluoromethanesulfonate, (BMPOTF) ionic liquid at room temperature was studied. Cyclic Voltammetry served to characterize the electrochemical behavior of tin reduction and oxidation. The diffusion coefficient of stannous ions in the mixture of BMPOTF ionic liquid and MSA based electrolyte obtained via Randles-Sevcik and Cottrell equation was 2 × 10-7 cm2/s. Electroplating on copper panel was conducted under different current densities to determine BMPOTF based tin plating solution current efficiency. Mixture of BMPOTF and MSA based tin plating solution gave current efficiency as …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Zinc Oxide Nanostructures., Khalifa Said Zahran Al-Azri

Student Works (2010-2019)

The growth mechanism, morphology, structure and optical properties of the ZnO nanostructures grown on bare and gold-coated silicon substrates using carbothermal reaction at atmospheric pressure were investigated under different growth conditions. The ZnO nanostructures formed were studied as a function of substrate location, furnace temperature, Ar gas flow rate, deposition time and ZnO powder to carbon powder mass ratio. The morphology and structure of the samples were characterized using the fieldemission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy(EDX) spectrum, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). It was found that in both silicon and gold-coated silicon …

Thermo-Electrical And Mechanical Studies On Polymer-Organically Modified Montmorillonite Composite., Norhana Abdul Halim

Student Works (2010-2019)

The field of polymer-nanoclay composite has attracted a lot of attention in materials studies due to the dramatic improvement on polymers characteristics. For example mechanical and thermal properties, chemical resistance as well as the reduced gas permeability. However, structural changes and the mechanisms that may contribute to these improvements are not fully understood. In this work, the study on polymer nanoclay composite concentrates on the effects of OMON inclusion within different polymer matrix systems. The matrixes are a series of natural rubbers (Standard Malaysia Rubber – Latex grade (SMRL); Deproteinized Natural Rubber (DPNR) and Epoxidized Natural Rubber (ENR-50)), plasticized Polyvinyl …

Electrical And Structural Studies Of Polyacrylonitrile (Pan) Complexed With Inorganic Salts., Khairul Bahiyah Md Isa

Student Works (2010-2019)

In the present study, polymer electrolyte films composed of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as a host polymer, ethylene carbonate (EC) as the plasticizer and lithium triflate (LiCF3SO3) and sodium triflate (NaCF3SO3) as dopant salts were prepared by the solution cast technique. Five systems of polymer electrolytes films have been prepared; these systems are the plasticized-PAN system i.e. PAN-EC system, two salted-PAN systems i.e. PAN-LiCF3SO3 and PAN-NaCF3SO3, and two plasticized-salted PAN systems i.e. PAN-EC-LiCF3SO3 and PAN-EC-NaCF3SO3. The pure PAN film was prepared as a reference. The ionic conductivity for each system is characterized using impedance spectroscopy. The room temperature conductivity of the pure …

The Thermoluminescence Properties Of Manganese Doped Zns Nanophosphor., Khalid Humaid Zahir Al-Hinai

Student Works (2010-2019)

The thermoluminescence (TL) properties of Manganese (Mn) doped ZnS nanophosphors were investigated after gamma irradiation at room temperature. The ZnS:Mn nanophosphors were prepared by chemical precipitation method by using Zinc sulfate, Sodium sulfide and Manganese sulfate. 1 mole, 2 moles and 3 moles of Manganese sulfate were used to have different concentrations of Mn in doped ZnS. The formation of the nanophosphors was characterized by high resolution scanning electron microscopy FESEM, XRD and EDX. The obtained products consist of particles with the dimension about 85–150nm. Comparison between ZnS nanophosphors and commercial ZnS powder glow curves was studied. It was observed …

Band Structure Of Fe Based Superconductors., Teh Yee Lin

Student Works (2010-2019)

Several iron containing superconductors are discovered in 2008. The discovery introduced a new class of high-temperature superconductors, which are iron-based. The iron-based superconductors do not resemble conventional superconductors and have properties on their own which differ from the cuprates. We have studied the iron selenium, FeSe compound by removing some Se atoms from the lattice forming Fe:Se = 2:1 and 8:6 and also by replacing the Se vacancy with tellurium, samarium and oxygen atoms forming Fe:Se:Te = 2:1:1 and 8:6:2, Fe:Se:O = 8:6:2 and 8:4:2, FeSeSmO, FeSeTeO, Fe2SeSm2O2, FeSeTeSmO and FeTeSmO. The band structures for each lattice are calculated by …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Silicon Oxide And Silicon Carbide Nanostructures., Majid Salim Mohammed Al-Ruqieshi

Student Works (2010-2019)

Silicon oxide nanostructures have attracted extensive interests in recent years due to their physical and optical properties. SiOx nanostructures are synthesized by catalytic and non-catalytic approaches. With catalytic approach, long and uniform amorphous silicon oxide nanowires, nanofibers (comet and tree like), nanocakes and nanocages were synthesized on Si substrate by carbothermal evaporation reactions of TiO2 at high temperature. The SiOx nanowires were about 13 nm to 243 nm in diameters and 194 nm to several microns in length and the nanofibres with diameter between 8 nm to 30 nm and around 50 nm to 2.5μm in length. The diameter and …

Electrodeposition Of Tin Using Tin(Ii) Methanesulfonate From Mixture Of Ionic Liquid And Methane Sulfonic Acid., Yang Kok Kee

Student Works (2010-2019)

The electrodeposition of tin from Tin(II) Methane Sulfonate (MSA) with varying concentration in air and water stable 1-butyl-1-methyl-pyrrolidinium trifluoromethanesulfonate, (BMPOTF) ionic liquid at room temperature was studied. Cyclic Voltammetry served to characterize the electrochemical behavior of tin reduction and oxidation. The diffusion coefficient of stannous ions in the mixture of BMPOTF ionic liquid and MSA based electrolyte obtained via Randles-Sevcik and Cottrell equation was 2 × 10-7 cm2/s. Electroplating on copper panel was conducted under different current densities to determine BMPOTF based tin plating solution current efficiency. Mixture of BMPOTF and MSA based tin plating solution gave current efficiency as …

Zinc Iron Phosphate Glasses For Enameling Applications, Sagnik Saha

Masters Theses

"New compositions of low temperature black glasses were developed that are suitable as frits for enameling soda-lime silicate (S-L-S) glass substrates. Zinc iron phosphate glasses are of interest for this application because they possess dilatometric low softening points (under 600ºC) and have coefficients of thermal expansion that are compatible with S-L-S glass (in the range 90-110x10⁻⁷/ºC). The development of compositions with excellent chemical durability, particularly in acidic conditions, is also desired. Compositional modification were made to the (Na₂O+K₂O)·ZnO·MnO·Fe₂O₃·P₂O₅ glass system using design of experiments. The compositional boundaries used in the design were based on earlier work at Missouri S&T. The …

Controlling Strength And Permeability Of Silica Investment Casting Molds, Darryl M. Kline

Masters Theses

"Investment casting is a metal casting process in which a ceramic mold is created around a disposable pattern using dip coating. The fine silica flour making up most of the mold gives the benefits of a smooth internal mold surface and high density. The high density allows for investment casting molds to be thinner and lighter than sand-based molds, but gives substantially smaller gaps between particles for air flow. This research focused on the design and improvement of the formulation for making investment casting molds with customizable physical properties. Properties of the molds, specifically flexural strength, permeability, and physical structure, …

Resistance Switching In Electrodeposited Magnetite Thin Films, Samantha Glen Matthews

Masters Theses

"The resistance switching phenomenon has been extensively studied in metal oxide thin films for its applications in the non-volatile memory industry. The research presented here focuses on magnetite thin films which have been electrodeposited onto gold-sputtered glass substrates via the electrochemical reduction of a Fe(III)-triethanolamine complex in aqueous alkaline solution. Magnetite was chosen for its usefulness in read/write memory applications, its high Curie temperature, its metal-to-insulator (Verwey) transition, and its half-metallic character and attendant spintronic properties. Resistance switching behavior caused by a reversible redox reaction at the anode was observed in the films, demonstrating that electrodeposited films show the same …

Evaluation Of Alternative Methods For Surface Preparation And Deposition Of Cerium-Based Conversion Coatings On Aluminum Alloys, William J. Gammill

Masters Theses

"This thesis investigates alternative surface preparation and deposition methods for cerium-based conversion coatings (CeCC) on high strength aluminum alloys. Cerium-based conversion coatings are being investigated as a more environmentally friendly replacement for chromium-based conversion coatings. Currently, the alloys are immersed in strong alkaline and acidic solutions to prepare the aluminum surfaces for conversion coating, in which immersion may not be suitable for all situations. Alternatives to this method were investigated, including wipe application of solution, ultrasonic processing in deionized water, and abrasive blasting with alumina. AI 7075-T6 test panels were prepared using each of these methods and compared to a …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Limpo[4] (M=Mn, Ni And Fe) Olivine Materials., Azlin Sanusi

Student Works (2010-2019)

Lithium transition metal phosphate, LiMPO4 compounds with olivine structure namely LiMnPO4, LiNiPO4 and LiFePO4 were successfully synthesized in the present work. LiMnPO4 and LiNiPO4 were synthesized by the sol-gel method with tartaric acid as the chelating agent. LiFePO4 was synthesized via the chemical precipitation and low temperature sterilizer heating method. TGA was carried out on LiMnPO4 and LiNiPO4 samples to determine the firing temperature of the gel precursor and the thermal stability of the prepared samples. LiMnPO4 was heated for 15 hours at various temperatures and LiNiPO4 was formed at 1000 oC with firing time of 24 hours. Firing of …

Inductively Coupled Plasma Dry Etching Process On Planar Lightwave Circuit Fabrication., Chuah Khoon Seah

Student Works (2010-2019)

The main objective of this project is to master state-of-the-art techniques and knowledge in silica etching in order to achieve high quality waveguide circuit on Planar Lightwave Circuit devices. Another objective is to optimize the clean room research strength, surface characterization, microscopy techniques and similar semiconductor manufacturing processes.Initially, these processes were conducted with wet etching method that utilized diluted hydrofluoric acid (HF) and buffered oxide etch (BOE). Several problems arising such as mask peel-off, poor sidewall profile and defect waveguide channel during the pattern transfer process due to its’ isotropic nature. Alternatively, dry etching method was conducted via Inductively Coupled …

Strain-Stiffening In Synthetic And Biopolymer Networks, Kendra Erk, Kevin J. Henderson, Kenneth R. Shull

School of Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Strain-stiffening behavior common to biopolymer networks is difficult to reproduce in synthetic networks. Physically associating synthetic polymer networks can be an exception to this rule and can demonstrate strain-stiffening behavior at relatively low values of strain. Here, the stiffening behavior of model elastic networks of physically associating triblock copolymers is characterized by shear rheometry. Experiments demonstrate a clear correlation between network structure and strain-stiffening behavior. Stiffening is accurately captured by a constitutive model with a single fitting parameter related to the midblock length. The same model is also effective for describing the stiffening of actin, collagen, and other biopolymer networks. …

Studies Of Dynamic Crack Propagation And Crack Branching With Peridynamics, Youn Doh Ha, Florin Bobaru

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Faculty Publications

In this paper we discuss the peridynamic analysis of dynamic crack branching in brittle materials and show results of convergence studies under uniform grid refinement (m-convergence) and under decreasing the peridynamic horizon (δ-convergence). Comparisons with experimentally obtained values are made for the crack-tip propagation speed with three different peridynamic horizons.We also analyze the influence of the particular shape of themicro-modulus function and of different materials (Duran 50 glass and soda-lime glass) on the crack propagation behavior. We show that the peridynamic solution for this problem captures all the main features, observed experimentally, of dynamic crack propagation and branching, as well …

Understanding Materials, Petros J. Katsioloudis

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The article discusses the importance of understanding the characteristics of materials that will be used for different applications. Through the years, the inventions and innovations in the technology of materials are becoming more technologically complex. Innovations in the materials are divided in different categories, including metals, ceramics, polymers and composites. Example of such innovations in the technology of materials include the ceramic composite applied to the surface of the space shuttle panels to absorb and release high amounts of heat.

Investigation Of The Thermoelectric Behavior Of Cu-Doped Pbteagxse, Ben Ma

All Theses

Sustainable energy research is currently on the forefront of scientific exploration thus a major effort is devoted to the development of new energy conservation and production techniques. Thermoelectric materials can play a significant part both in energy conservation and energy production via the Seebeck effect (heat to electric power) and the Peltier effect (electricity to cooling power), since they can convert wasted heat to useful electrical energy.
Presented herein are the measured electrical and thermal transport properties and phenomenal analysis of the PbTeAgxSe (x=1.9, 2.0, 2.01) system. First, it would lead to a significant reduction in the thermal conductivity and …

Giant Raman Enhancement On Nanoporous Gold Film By Conjugating With Nanoparticles For Single-Molecule Detection, Lihua Qian, Biswajit Das, Yan Li, Zhilin Yang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

Hot spots have the contradictively geometrical requirements for both the narrowest interstices to provide strong near-field coupling, and sufficient space to allow entrance of the analytes. Herein, a two-step method is employed to create hot spots within hybrid nanostructures, which consist of self-supported nanoporous gold films with the absorbed probes and subsequent nanoparticle conjugates without surface agents or mechanical motion. The molecules confined into 1 nm interstice exhibit 2.9 × 10⁷ times enhancement in Raman scattering compared to pure nanoporous gold. Giant enhancement primarily results from strong near-field coupling between nanopore and nanoparticle, which is theoretically confirmed by finite-difference …