Other Engineering Science and Materials Commons^™

Radiation-Induced Radicals In Polyurea-Crosslinked Silica Aerogel, Benjamin Michael Walters

Masters Theses

Free radicals are atoms or molecules with an odd number of electrons in an outer shell. Since electrons typically occur in pairs, this leaves one electron that is unpaired. In seek of another electron to pair with, free radicals react with and steal electrons from neighboring molecules, which then become free radicals themselves. This can start a chain reaction, cascading into large scale damage.

Ionizing radiation can tear through molecules, just as bullets can tear through things that we see. If free radicals can be detected, and seen to increase in a material upon radiation exposure, this can indicate molecular …

Lightweight Uav Launcher, Ben Miller, Christian Valoria, Corinne Warnock, Jake Coutlee

Mechanical Engineering

This report discusses the design, construction, and testing of a lightweight, portable UAV launcher. There is a current need for a small team of soldiers to launch a US Marine Tier II UAV in a remote location without transport. Research was conducted into existing UAV launcher designs and the pros and cons of each were recorded. This research served as a basis for concept generation during the initial design development stage. It was required that the design weigh less than 110 lbs, occupy a smaller volume than 48" x 24" 18" in its collapsed state, be portable by a single …

Self-Assembly Of Block Copolymers By Solvent Vapor Annealing, Mechanism And Lithographic Applications, Xiaodan Gu

Doctoral Dissertations

Block copolymers (BCP) are a unique class of polymers, which can self-assemble into ordered microdomains with sizes from 3 nm to about 50 nm making BCPs an appealing meso-scale material. In thin films, arrays of BCP microdomains with longrange lateral order can serve as ideal templates or scaffolds for patterning nano-scale functional materials and synthesizing nanostructured materials with size scales that exceed the reach of photolithography. Among many annealing methods, solvent vapor annealing (SVA) is a low-cost, highly efficient way to annihilate defects in BCP thin films and facilitates the formation of highly ordered microdomains within minutes. Directing the self-assembly …

Waste Heat Reclamation For Commercial Use, Andrew Webber

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

The purpose of this project was to capture waste heat to raise the temperature of groundwater for commercial applications.