Mechanics of Materials Commons^™

Fabrication And Characterization Of Zirconium Oxide Thin Films, Vemnkata Rama Sesha Ravi Kumar Vemuri

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) is an important material with a potential for a wide range of technological applications. The outstanding chemical stability, electrical and mechanical properties, high dielectric constant, and wide band gap of ZrO2 make it suitable for several industrial applications in the field of optics, electronics, magneto-electronics, and optoelectronics. ZrO2 is frequently used as a high refractive index material in multilayer optical coatings in high power laser systems. ZrO2 is employed in super plastic structural ceramics that demonstrate excellent strength and fracture toughness. ZrO2 has been considered as a promising dielectric to replace SiO2 in advanced metal oxide semiconductor …

Temperature-Induced Phenomena In Systems Of Magnetic Nanoparticles, Abdul Wazed Bhuiya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Magnetic nanoparticle ensembles have received a lot of attention, stemming in part from their current and potential applications in biomedicine and in the development of high-density magnetic storage media. Key to the functionality of these systems are microscopic structures and mechanisms that make them exhibit unique properties and behave differently from their bulk counterparts.

We studied microscopic structures and processes that dictate macroscopic properties, behavior and functionality of magnetic nanoparticle ensembles. As the temperature T strongly influences the magnetic behavior of these systems, we studied temperature dependent magnetic properties using AC-susceptibility and DC-magnetization measurements carried out over a broad range …

Exploring Poly(Ethylene Glycol) As A Suitable Material For Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Scaffolds Manufactured By Stereolithography, Nubia Zuverza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

One of the challenges in tissue engineering is to have spatial and temporal control over the biological elements within a scaffold used to guide regeneration for example of transected nerves. Some of the physical and chemical characteristics to regulate include incorporation of bioactive domains and release of chemical signals. This study presents the use of stereolithography (SL) to incorporate localized domains for cell adhesion in addition to include releasable nerve growth factor (NGF) in the process of building poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate (PEGda) hydrogel scaffolds. Besides providing sites for cell attachment, an ideal nerve guidance conduit (NGC) should be able to release …

Stereolithography Of Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Hydrogels With Application In Tissue Engineering As Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Scaffolds, Karina Arcaute

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, rapid prototyping (RP) technologies initially developed to create prototypes prior to production for the automotive, aerospace, and other industries, have found applications in tissue engineering (TE). Several different RP technologies are being used to fabricate biocompatible 3D structures with controlled micro- and macro-scale characteristics. The focus of this research was to explore the capabilities of the RP technology, stereolithography (SL), for creating complex, 3D scaffolds with applications in TE using a photocrosslinkable biopolymer, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The primary objective was to create an implantable multi-lumen nerve guidance conduit (NGC) for the regeneration of peripheral nerves.

Studies of …

Stress Analysis Of Silicon Carbide Microeletromechanical Systems Using Raman Spectroscopy, Stanley J. Ness

Theses and Dissertations

During the fabrication of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), residual stress is often induced in the thin films that are deposited to create these systems. These stresses can cause the device to fail due to buckling, curling, or fracture. Government and industry are looking for ways to characterize the stress during the deposition of thin films in order to reduce or eliminate device failure. Micro-Raman spectroscopy has been successfully used to analyze poly-silicon MEMS devices made with the Multi-User MEMS Process (MUMPS trade name). Micro-Raman spectroscopy was selected because it is nondestructive, fast and has the potential for in situ stress monitoring. …

Simultaneous Design Of Active Vibration Control And Passive Damping, Michele Lynn Devereaux Gaudreault

Theses and Dissertations

A modified form of the standard linear quadratic regulator LQR cost functional is used to optimally blend active vibration control and passive structural damping, whether viscous or viscoelastic. Viscoelastic damping is first modelled by a standard linear model, and then by a fractional derivative model. For the viscous damping case and the classically modelled viscoelastic damping case, a sub-optimal closed form solution is derived that is independent of the initial conditions. An iterative technique that minimizes the average value of the cost functional and one that minimizes the maximum value are developed. Both techniques are applicable to viscous and viscoelastic …