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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Maximizing Poly(3-Butylthiophene-2,5-Diyl) Electrical Conductivity By Maximizing Transcrystal Growth, Edward Alexander Bicknell Jun 2019

Maximizing Poly(3-Butylthiophene-2,5-Diyl) Electrical Conductivity By Maximizing Transcrystal Growth, Edward Alexander Bicknell

Materials Engineering

Polymers are generally considered electrical insulators. Despite this, research in the mid 1970’s found that polymers consisting of a conjugated backbone structure could become electrically conductive upon doping.1 The conjugated polymer analyzed for this project was poly(3-butylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3BT). Transcrystals have been found as a way to promote electrical conductivity through mechanisms including π bond atomic orbital overlap and electron mobility.2 In theory, maximizing transcrystal length would also maximize P3BT electrical conductivity, increasing its applicable use in electronic devices. The goal of this project was to determine a methodological way to maximize P3BT electrical conductivity by producing the longest transcrystal length …


Nano-Enhanced Composite Membranes For Water Desalination, Benjamin Fredrik Victor Sundling Von Fürstenrecht Jun 2019

Nano-Enhanced Composite Membranes For Water Desalination, Benjamin Fredrik Victor Sundling Von Fürstenrecht

Materials Engineering

In theory single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) will aid in ion rejection due hydrophobicity and smoothness of the SWCNT. An efficient means of water desalination utilizing SWCNT in a membrane seems plausible. A lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) solution was made with a synthesized polymerizable surfactant methacryloxy ethyl hexadecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide (C16MA) to help with vertical alignment of SWCNT. Due to SWCNT lack of solubility and tendency to agglomerate in water, a dispersion performed using an inert surfactant centrimonium bromide (CTAB) to make sure that the SWCNT were homogeneously dispersed in the solution without altering the hexagonal packing factor of …


Compositional Optimization Of Amyloid-Graphene Oxide Nanohybrids For Biomaterials, Claire L. Drewery Jun 2019

Compositional Optimization Of Amyloid-Graphene Oxide Nanohybrids For Biomaterials, Claire L. Drewery

Materials Engineering

Amyloid nanofibrils are natural materials capable of self-assembling into precise structures with tunable functionalities, while exhibiting excellent mechanical properties. In combination with highly conductive graphene oxide (GO), the 1-D amyloid nanofibrils and 2-D nanosheets of GO can produce a robust and bio-functional nanohybrid, hypothesized to exhibit multi-domain functional properties useful for enzyme sensing, water purification, drug delivery, and tissue scaffolding applications. Here, we examine the properties of an amyloid-graphene oxide nanohybrid film made with amyloids derived from hen egg white lysozymes in an attempt to explore the diverse toolbox of amyloid derivatives and establish ideal fabrication methods and formulations of …


Photooxidation Of Biopolymers, Marlon H. Dieguez Jun 2019

Photooxidation Of Biopolymers, Marlon H. Dieguez

Materials Engineering

The lack of degradation of plastic products have imposed problems in the preservation of natural environments and their ecosystems through plastic accumulation. This collection of plastics promotes toxin exposure to wildlife, finding its way into the food chain, affecting both land and marine ecosystems. The project goal is to understand the degradation mechanisms of biodegradable materials and other comparable materials through UV radiation testing. Polylactide (PLA) films and polycarbonate (PC) films will be compared for their relative deterioration from constant UV radiation in a Q-U-V accelerated weather tester for 28 days. Five 3” by 5” samples of 14 mil thick …


Effects Of Heat Treatment On The Dimensional Stability And Mechanical Properties Of Guadua Bamboo, Kade Schmitz, Skye Dascher, Shalto Dascher Jun 2019

Effects Of Heat Treatment On The Dimensional Stability And Mechanical Properties Of Guadua Bamboo, Kade Schmitz, Skye Dascher, Shalto Dascher

Materials Engineering

Contributing to about 4% of particulate emissions, the construction industry is one of the largest polluters of the environment. In an effort to reduce emissions, BamCore has produced a dual panel wall system made of Guadua bamboo with a Douglas fir veneer. Bamboo is a highly renewable material with a fast growth rate and carbon sequestration abilities. This project investigates how heat treating Guadua bamboo influences its dimensional changes and mechanical properties for building applications. It was found that a dimensional increase in every direction occurred for all samples when exposed to higher relative humidity (50% to 90%), and that …


Non-Toxic Soil Thickeners For Reducing Mudslide Intensity, Miranda Miao, Isaac Blackburn, Erika Haley Yao Jun 2019

Non-Toxic Soil Thickeners For Reducing Mudslide Intensity, Miranda Miao, Isaac Blackburn, Erika Haley Yao

Materials Engineering

Non-toxic food thickeners were investigated as a solution for thickening mud to mitigate the effects of mudslides. All soil was obtained from a site on the California Polytechnic State University campus where a mudslide occurred in 2017. Guar gum was mixed into the soil at 1 wt% and 10 wt% of the moisture content in the soil. Whey protein was mixed into the soil at 2 wt% and 19 wt% of the moisture content in the soil. The soils’ liquid limit was found using the Casagrande cup testing method. Liquid limit testing indicated that thickeners raised the liquid limit, most …


Minimizing The Dimensional Change In Two Component Epoxy Based Thermoset Adhesives Through Adapting Mix Ratio And Initial Crosslink Density, Jefferson Peter Norman Jun 2019

Minimizing The Dimensional Change In Two Component Epoxy Based Thermoset Adhesives Through Adapting Mix Ratio And Initial Crosslink Density, Jefferson Peter Norman

Materials Engineering

Meissner Filtration uses amine-hardened epoxy as a high-performance adhesive to encapsulate hollow fiber membranes at the ends of rigid filter housings. Dimensional change of the epoxy while curing can result in residual stress formation that is detrimental to the manufacturing of the filter and causes structural integrity issues when the filter is used in industrial processes where heating and cooling cycles are implemented. The residual stresses can cause cracks, microscopic fractures, and delamination from the housing, resulting in failure of the filter. The goal of this project was to evaluate how changes in processing conditions could minimize dimensional variability due …