Engineering Commons^™

Preparation,Structure And Properties Of Electrochromic Rhodium Oxide Films, Hai-Hong Wang, Tao Wang, Man-Ming Yan, Zhi-Yu Jiang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Electrochromic rhodium oxide films were prepared on ITO substrate by sol-gel method. The films exhibited reversible two-color (bright yellow at reduction and dark green at oxidation) electrochromic behavior in alkaline solution with good cycle stability. In-situ XRD, TGA-DTA, IR, XPS methods were used for studying the structure and chemical process of the films. The diffusion coefficient during the electrochromic process was measured by electrochemical impedance spectra method. It was found that the rhodium oxide films may be suitable for the use in electrochromic devices.

Development Of A Mechanistic Understanding Of High-Temperature Deformation Of Alloy Ep-823 For Transmutation Applications, Ajit K. Roy, Brendan O'Toole

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the elevated temperature tensile properties of Alloy EP-823, a leading target material for accelerator-driven waste transmutation applications. This alloy has been proven to be an excellent structural material to contain the lead-bismuth-eutectic (LBE) nuclear coolant needed for fast spectrum operations. However, very little data exist in the open literature on the tensile properties of this alloy. The selection of Alloy EP-823 as the test material in the proposed task is based on the recommendation of our collaborator at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The test material will be thermally treated prior …

Magnetic And Mössbauer Studies On Oxygen Deficient Perovskite, La₀.₆Sr₀.₄Feo3-Δ, Jinbo Yang, William B. Yelon, William Joseph James, X.-D. Zhou, Yixiang Xie, Harlan U. Anderson, Zili Chu

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Samples of La_0.6Sr_0.4Fe_3-δ with varying oxygen vacancy contents were prepared by heating them in different gas flows. Magnetization measurement showed that samples with low oxygen vacancies have a magnetic ordering temperature in the range of 300-325 K while those with 9%-12% oxygen vacancies have a magnetic ordering temperature of 800 K and higher. Mössbauer spectra at 300 K exhibit paramagnetic or weak magnetic characteristics for the N₂, O₂, and air-quenched samples, whereas an average hyperfine field of 52 T is found for the CO/CO₂ reduced samples. The heat treatment in …

Humidity And Temperature Boundaries For Biofilm Formation In Yucca Mountain, Terry Ann Else, Penny S. Amy, James Jay, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

To determine the long-term success of the recommended Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository, studies of bacterial colonization and biofilm development are needed. Bacteria involved in microbially-influenced corrosion and degradation are known to form biofilms with the potential to impact the integrity of repository packaging and structural materials. Temperature and humidity are environmental factors that can greatly affect biofilm formation. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the temperature and humidity conditions that affect biofilm formation. Microcosms, which simulated the repository environment of Yucca Mountain, were placed at temperatures ranging from 30° C to 70° C and in relative humidities ranging …

Phase Changes In Ni-Ti Under Laser Shock Loading, R. E. Hackenberg, D. C. Swift, J. C. Cooley, Katherine C. Chen, D. J. Thoma, D. L. Paisley, A. Hauer

Materials Engineering

Near-equiatomic Ni-Ti, known for its shape memory behavior, can decompose to martensitic phases and/or second phase compounds. This phase competition is investigated in Ni_xTi_100-x (494Ti₃ but no martensite in the AQ state, consistent with resistivity and dilatometry results which showed no hysteresis indicative of first order phase changes over 1.9 K4Ti₃ amounts (present in the AQ state) did change upon loading, indicating the importance of shock-induced heating. A thermodynamically complete equation of state (EOS) for NiTi in its B2 (CsCl) structure was generated by ab initio quantum mechanical calculations. This was tested by …

Simulations Of Nematic Liquid Crystals: Confined Geometries, Phase Transitions And Topological Defects, Nikolai V. Priezjev

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The physics of liquid crystals is an exciting field of research with important practical applications. In this dissertation we present the results of simulation studies of nematic liquid crystals using Monte Carlo and molecular dynamic techniques. In our first project we performed Monte Carlo Simulations of the Lebwohl-Lasher (LL) model of nematic liquid crystals confined to cylindrical cavities with perpendicular anchoring. In this particular geometry one has an interesting interplay between bulk and surface energies, which results in different director configurations inside the cylinder. Our work reconciled the apparent contradictions between the results of earlier simulations and approximate analytics theories. …

Optical Limiting In Srbi₂Ta₂O₉ And Pbzrxti₁₋ₓo₃ Thin Films, Pingxiong Yang, Jianfeng Xu, Robert W. Schwartz, David L. Carroll, John Ballato

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Optical limiting effects in SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) and PbZrxTi1-xO3 (PZT) ferroelectric thin films have been observed with nanosecond laser pulses at 1.064 µm. Limiting thresholds were found to be 5.84 J/cm2 for SBT and between 4.53 and 5.93 J/cm2 for PZT, depending on composition, whereas saturation thresholds for the films were about 2.92 J/cm2 and between 2.27 J/cm2 to 2.97 J/cm2, respectively. Damage thresholds around 10.0 J/cm2 and between 10.37 J/cm2 to 10.54 J/cm2, respectively for SBT and PZT, were also determined. A possible mechanism for the observed limiting, nonlinear optical scattering from the ferroelectric domains, is discussed. These results elucidate …

Electron–Phonon Interactions In Htsc Cuprates, Takeshi Egami, J-H Chung, Rj Mcqueeney, Mohana Yethiraj, Herbert A. Mook, C. Frost, Y. Petrov, Fatih Dogan, Yasuhiro Inamura, Masatoshi Arai, Setsuuko Tajima, Yasuo Endoh

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Phonons have been generally considered to be irrelevant to the high-temperature superconductivity in the cuprates. However, such a bias is usually based upon the assumption of conventional electron–phonon coupling, while in the cuprates the coupling can be rather unconventional because of strong electron correlation. We present the results of our recent measurements of phonon dispersion in YBa₂Cu₃O_6+x by inelastic neutron scattering. These suggest certain phonon modes interact strongly with electrons and are closely involved in the superconductivity phenomenon with possible contribution to pairing.

Evaluation Of Lead Anode Reactions In Acid Sulfate Electrolytes: Ii. Manganese Reactions, Pu Yu, Thomas J. O'Keefe

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Lead alloys containing calcium-tin, silver, or similar combinations are the primary insoluble anodes used for copper and zinc electrowinning. One potential concern with these anodes is the detrimental effect on cathode purity from incorporation of lead corrosion products. Other factors which are important to process economics are the reaction potential and overpotential required for oxygen evolution. In addition to the inherent overpotential, impurities in the electrolyte can have a significant polarization impact, such as the films that may form when manganese is present. In order to gain a better understanding of the fundamental behavior of various concentrations of manganese ions …

Room-Temperature Homogeneous Nucleation Synthesis And Thermal Stability Of Nanometer Single Crystal Ceo₂, X.-D. Zhou, Wayne Huebner, Harlan U. Anderson

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nanometer (about 4~5nm) CeO₂ single crystals were first synthesized by room-temperature homogeneous nucleation; the size was determined by electron microscopy and specific surfaced area of the particles. Modeling revealed that the surface energy of as-synthesized nanometer single crystals was in the range of 2.8-3.7J/m². Crystal growth mechanisms change over the temperature regimes, from boundary diffusion over low-temperature regime (E_α=0.16eV) to bulk diffusion (E_α=0.50eV) over high-temperature region.

Investigation Of The Electronic And Optical Properties Of The Strained Cdte/Znte (001) Superlattices, Amna Abdulla Ahmed Al-Zarouni

Theses

Semiconductors are distinguished among all materials by having a non-vanishing energy band gaps. They are often used in industry in the form of alloys or heterostructures in order to tailor energy gaps suitable for the desired applications. In general, semiconductor materials have broad applications in industry, ranging from micro-electronic devices, to light emitters and detectors, to laser and solar cells. In the last two decades, particular attention has been given to the II-VI semiconductor heterostructures because of their suitability as photoelectronic devices covering from the infra-red to the ultra-violet spectral ranges. The scope of this thesis belongs to the field …

Biodegradable Glass Compositions And Methods For Radiation Therapy, D. E. Day, James E. White

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A nonradioactive glass in particulate form adapted for radiation therapy in a mammal comprise a biodegradable rare earth-lithium borate glass material of a specified composition which, upon being subjected to an effective amount of neutron irradiation, will produce a beta or gamma emitting radioisotope, the radioisotope being distributed throughout the glass material, the glass upon being introduced into a body fluid for radiation therapy being adapted to react therewith causing the radioisotope to form an insoluble compound on the surface of the glass material which is retained in the glass material and thereby prevented from escaping from the treatment site. …

Design And Analysis Of A Process For Melt Casting Metallic Fuel Pins Incorporating Volatile Actinides, Yitung Chen, Darrell Pepper, Randy Clarksean

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

UNLV has developed and will continue to develop process models for the analysis of melt casting processes. This work will continue to be performed under the guidance of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) engineers to ensure that their knowledge and experience benefits the project. The research to be conducted during the second year will center on performing detailed analyses on a conceptual design of an inductively heated skull-crucible casting furnace. Processing conditions will be analyzed, basic models utilized, and detailed heat and mass transfer models will be developed to analyze the most promising processes. The goal of this second year is …

Modeling, Fabrication, And Optimization Of Niobium Cavities: Phase Ii, Robert A. Schill Jr., Mohamed Trabia

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

Niobium cavities are important parts of the integrated NC/SC high-power linacs. Over the years, researchers in several countries have tested various cavity shapes. They concluded that elliptically shaped cells are the most appropriate shape for superconducting cavities. The need for very clean surfaces led to the use of a buffered chemical polishing procedure for surface cleaning to get good performance of the cavities. This proposal discusses the second phase of research in the second year of the project.

The first phase (starting Summer 2001) has resulted in improving the basic understanding of multipacting and the process of chemical etching. Based …

Use Of Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy For Stress-Strain Measurements, Ajit K. Roy

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The purpose of this collaborative research project involving the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and Idaho State University (ISU) is to evaluate the feasibility of determining residual stresses of welded (after pre-straining) engineering materials using a new nondestructive technique based on positron annihilation spectroscopy. The proposed technique is to use γ-rays 2 from a small MeV electron Linac to generate positrons inside the sample via pair production. This method can be used for materials characterization and investigation of defects in thick samples that could not be accomplished by conventional positron techniques or other nondestructive methods. The data generated will …

Spectral Analysis Of Transition Metal-Doped Mgo “Matched Emitters” For Thermophotovoltaic Energy Conversion, Lucian G. Ferguson, Fatih Dogan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new, thermally excited Co/Ni-doped MgO ceramic emitter for TPV energy conversion is described in this work and termed the “matched emitter” because its emissive power spectrum is very efficiently matched with the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be converted directly into electrical energy by infrared responding GaSb photovoltaic cells. Ligand Field Theory calculations are used to estimate the crystal field splitting energies at high temperatures for Co and Ni-doped MgO matched emitters. Experimental measurements of the high temperature (1300–1400◦C) emissive power spectrums for Co and Ni-doped MgO emitters are compared with predictions obtained from ligand field calculations …

Synthesis Of Pmma-Ceramics Nanocomposites By Spray Process, X.-D. Zhou, H. C. Gu

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

PMMA-ceramics nanocomposites particles were synthesized by a spray process. PMMA-ZnO compositions showed a higher homogeneous than PMMA-SiO₂. The surface of PMMA-SiO₂ composites was SiO₂ rich. Donut shape particles were formed at high gas flow rate, which was due to the competition between surface tension and dragging force. The Zeta potential dramatically changed in PMMA-ZnO composites whereas there was a slight change in PMMA-SiO₂ system.

Cellular Array Morphology During Directional Solidification, Surendra N. Tewari, Y-Husuan Weng, G. L. Ding, R. Trivedi

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Cellular array morphology has been examined in the shallow cell, deep cell, and cell-to-dendrite transition regime in Pb-2.2 wt pct Sb and Al-4.1 wt pct Cu alloy single-crystal samples that were directionally solidified along [100]. Statistical analysis of the cellular spacing distribution on transverse sections has been carried out using minimum spanning tree (MST), Voronoi polygons, radial distribution factor, and fast Fourier transform (FFT) techniques. The frequency distribution of the number of nearest neighbors and the MST parameters suggest that the arrangement of cells may be visualized as a hexagonal tessellation with superimposed 50 pct random noise. However, the power …

The Effect Of Temperature On The Optical Absorptive And Reflective Behavior Of Metals, Thomas A. Hunyady

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In the five decades since its invention, the laser has been used to commercially process materials in an increasingly diverse number of ways. The precise control over the delivery of the incident energy that is afforded by a laser allows for a wide variety of applications. All of these processes depend in some way on two important physical properties of the material being treated. These properties are known as the optical reflectivity and absorptivity of a material. The values of each of these properties are different for each material and are influenced by a number of factors, including surface roughness, …

Integrating Passenger And Modulo As Learning Tools For Collaborative Engineering Education, Kalamullah Ramli, Frank Schwarz, Stefan Werner, A Halim Shamsuddin, Axel Hunger

Makara Journal of Technology

The University of Indonesia (UI), Gerhard Mercator University (GMU), the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) have agreed to cooperate as partners to develop a joint bachelor (3+1) and masters (1+1) degree, and collaborate in the research fi elds of multimedia- and internet-based learning and application level active networks. This paper describes the introduction of the Offshore Project and the extending of information technology applications to the partner institutions in this international cooperation which would very much enhance the operations of the new initiative in engineering education, which could provide students in far distance with more fl exible learning environment.

Study Effect Of Salt Washing Process On Content And Iodium Stability Of Salt, Nelson Saksono

Makara Journal of Technology

Effect of Salt Washing Process on Content and Iodium Stability of Salt. Salt washing process should increase the salt quality. It should clean the salt from sludge or clay and also reduce the impurity compound such as Mg, Ca and the reductor content. The objective of these reseach is to assess the effect of washing process on the content og hygroscopic impurities compound (Ca and Mg), and reductor content of salt. The research also investigate the water absorbing, pH, KIO3 content as function of time to obtain effect of washing process on KIO3 stability in salt. The experiment result shows …

Object Classfification In Computer Vision With Discriminant Analysis, Amir Hamzahan

Makara Journal of Technology

A robotic sensor system is always supported by a computer system called ‘computer vision’. The important concept of computer vision is object classfifi cation. In this study two algorithms for object classifi cation in this system will be compared. Firstly, A simple method that do not need complex computation and that considered as an informal method is called binary tree decision structure. This method is based on modest caracteristic decriptors of an object such as vertical line, horizontal line or ellipse line. Unfortunately this method has weakness in recognize an image that contaminated by a noise. Secondly, a more formal …

Making Alloys (Ti1 - Xalx) N Using Plasma Cvd Technique From Alcl3 Powder, H2 And N2 Gas ,With Solvent Ticl4, Keba Moto

Makara Journal of Technology

The substitution of Ti atoms by Al atoms in TiN lattice sites to form (Ti1-xAlx)N is clearly demonstrated by the coatings which were deposited on steel substrate and using plasma CVD technique. The presence of Al atoms in TiN lattice site is shown by means of XRD and EDX techniques: lattice parameters decreasing of TiN as the fraction of Al increases (XRD) and precipitation of hexagonal AlN phase (XRD) as the fraction of Al exceeding 0.8 (EDX). The hardness of these coating are just around 30 GPa, which is beyond the values reported in literatures.

Effects Of 0.25 % Mo (Molybdenum) Which Is Contained In The Ductile Cast Iron On Mechanical Properties Of Austempered Ductile Iron (Adi)., Nukman Nukman, Bustanul Arifin, Bambang Sugiarto

Makara Journal of Technology

The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of 0.25 % Mo (Molybdenum) which is contained in the ductile cast iron on mechanical properties of Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI). The various temperatures and the holding times are used in the heat treatment processes. Using a given 0.25 % Mo in the ductile iron, ADI's alloyed developes a higher ultimate tensile stress value and decreases the elongation if we compare with the as cast (non alloy ductile iron). The higher impact energy value obtained at 9000 C austenization and 375o C austempering temperatures during 60 minutes holding times. The …

The Manufacturing Properties Of Galvanised Steel Sheet With Hexagonal And Tetragonal Network Of Circle Holes, Rahmat Saptono

Makara Journal of Technology

Galvanized steel sheet of 0.8 mm in thickness was drilled with circle holes of 2.5 mm diameter and spacing arranged in tetragonal and hexagonal pattern. The manufacturing properties of specimen were studied through drawing and stretching simulative test. It was concluded from the results that, at high ratio of punch to hole diameter (40/2.5), the drawing properties (LDR) of both square and hexagonal perforated sheet were slightly lower than that of solid sheet, while hexagonal perforated showing LDR somewhat higher than the square one. The stretching properties (LDH) of sheet, however, were much lower than that of solid sheet while …

Develops The Software Of Dsp Processor For The Cdma Circuitry, Arman Djohan D.

Makara Journal of Technology

This research develops the software of DSP Processor type TMS320C54X for the CDMA circuitry. This research apply two algorithms namely Mathematic Algorithm and table lookup Algorithm. From both algorithms, the research examine what algorithm have the fasted processing time and the smallest memory occupation. From the examination results the Mathematic Algorithm have 20.62 milliseconds processing time and the Table lookup algorithm have 14.08 milliseconds processing time. The Table lookup algorithm have the fastest processing time because the Matematic algorithm need the rounding process of the fi gure. Eventhough such processing time is not exceed from the 125 millisecond of delay …

Improvements In Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy Using Ratios Of Higher Harmonics, James Michael Barrington

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Experiments in Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy have been conducted at Old Dominion University since 1996. The method provides a highly sensitive, nonintrusive method of probing gases. Research has concentrated on effectively modeling the higher harmonic shapes that are measured experimentally. Accurately modeling these signals will result in the ability to reliably extract the information contained in transition line shapes.

In order to accurately depict the signals, the theory must be thoroughly understood. This thesis develops the theory of Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy from two aspects: a direct Fourier series expansion of a time varying intensity profile and through communication theory. In addition, …

Environment-Induced Degradation And Crack-Growth Studies Of Candidate Target Materials: Aaa Task-4 Quarterly (December 1, 2001 – February 28, 2002) Report, Ajit K. Roy, Brendan O'Toole

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The primary objective of this task is to evaluate the effect of hydrogen on environment-assisted cracking of candidate materials for applications in spallation-neutron-target (SNT) systems such as accelerator production of tritium (APT) and accelerator transmutation of waste (ATW). The materials selected for evaluation and characterization are martensitic stainless steels including HT- 9, EP 823 and 422. The susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and hydrogen embrittlement (HE) of these alloys will be evaluated in environments of interest using tensile specimens under constant load and slow-strain-rate (SSR) conditions. The extent and morphology of cracking of these alloys will further be evaluated …

Development Of A Mechanistic Understanding Of High-Temperature Deformation Of Alloy Ep-823: Aaa Task-10 Quarterly (12/1, 2001 –02/28, 2002) Report, Ajit K. Roy, Brendan O'Toole

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The objective of this task is to evaluate the elevated temperature tensile properties of Alloy EP-823, a leading target material for accelerator-driven waste transmutation applications. The test material will be thermally treated prior to evaluation of its tensile properties at temperatures relevant to the transmutation applications. The deformation characteristics of tensile specimens, upon completion of testing, will be evaluated by surface analytical techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The overall results are expected to provide a mechanistic understanding of high-temperature deformation behavior of Alloy EP-823 as a function of heat treatment.

Highlights of Accomplishment

• …

Remote Resonant-Circuit Analyte Sensing Apparatus With Sensing Structure And Associated Method Of Sensing, Craig A. Grimes

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Patents

A resonant sensing apparatus for operative arrangement within a test environment to sense an analyte. A sensing structure is included having an antenna in electrical communication with a resonant circuit and a structural element made of a material that selectively responds to the analyte. This sensing structure will resonate at a particular characteristic resonant frequency in the presence of an applied interrogation electromagnetic field and the analyte upon the occurrence of the selective response. A receiver is used for remotely identifying a value for the characteristic resonant frequency by measuring a plurality of values for electromagnetic emission intensity of the …