Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

Surface Wetting And Friction Studies Of Nano-Engineered Surfaces On Copper Substrate, Julius Sheldon Morehead

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nano-engineered-textures on a material surface can dramatically improve the wetting and non-wetting properties of a surface, and they also show promise to address friction issues that affect surfaces in contact. In this work, aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) was used to produce nano-textures on copper (Cu) substrates. A study was performed to examine the effects of changing the annealing conditions and a-Si thickness on nano-texture formation. The creation of various nano-topographies and chemically modifying them using octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8) was performed to control hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, and oil affinity of nano-textured surfaces. A video-based contact angle measurement system was used …

Degradation Of Polystyrene Foam Under Radiant Heat Flux, James Butler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the demand for liquefied natural gas has increased, safety concerns about the performance of transport vessels under fire conditions have been raised. Current codes for the sizing of the pressure relief systems require that the vessels are able to withstand an emmissive heat flux of 108kW/m2 and do not take into account the effects of insulation loss due to thermal decomposition of the insulation materials. To address this possible oversight in the current code models were presented to a working group organized by the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators Ltd. focusing on the decomposition rate of …

A Quantitative Study Of The Weldability Of Inconel 718 Using Gleeble And Varestraint Test Methods, Sean Quigley

Master's Theses

Nickel super alloy Inconel 718 was tested and compared to Haynes 230 using Gleeble and Varestraint mechanical test methods. Hot cracking susceptibility was examined in either alloy using a sub-scale Varestraint test method at 5 augmented strain levels: 0.25%, 05.%, 1%, 2%, and 4%. Maximum crack length, total crack length, and number of cracks were measured for each strain level. Gleeble hot ductility on-heating and on-cooling tests were performed on both alloys. Inconel 718 was tested on-heating at target temperatures of 1600˚F, 2000˚F, 2100˚F, 2200˚F, and on cooling at 1600˚F, 1700˚F, 1800˚F, 1900˚F, and 2100˚F. Haynes 230 was tested on-heating …

Quantitative Characterization Of Microstructure Features For 1st Generation Advanced High Strength Steels, Margarita Vidrio, Ellen Liu, Donsheng Li, Kyoo Sil Choi, Xin Sun

STAR Program Research Presentations

The role of Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) in the automotive industry is important because of its affordability and excellent mechanical properties. The 1st generation of AHSS achieves its preferred combination of strength and ductility by embedding harder martensite grains into softer ferritic matrix. Ductility and strength of these steels are important to safety, formability, application, and life. However, a noticeable degree of inconsistent forming behaviors has been observed in the 1st generation AHSS in production, which seems to be related to the microstructure-level inhomogeneity. The objective of this project is to grain fundamental understandings on how different microstructure level …

Recycling Waste Latex Paint In Overlays, Rigid Pavements, And Pervious Concrete, Oscar Inez Quiroz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With over 16 million gallons of latex paint (WLP) being disposed every year it is the largest by volume, liquid hazardous waste in the United States. WLP is difficult to recycle and hazardous to the environment due to the volatile organic compounds it contains. Several methods exist for disposing WLP including paint swaps, combustion, drying and discarding in a landfill, and by placing pigments in cement. Many communities are moving to dispose WLP by drying and placing in a landfill due to the reduced cost. However, this is the least preferred technique for the environment because it creates a need …

Mapping Mos2-Co Catalytic Nanostructures Using Hrtem And Tem Simulations, Eduan Martínez-Soto ^, Brenda Torres, Domingo Ferrer, Gilles Berhault, Russell Chianelli, Manuel Ramos *

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2011

No abstract provided.

Steel Angle Section Members Under Combined Axial Load And Unsymmetric Bending, Maheshchandra Rajasekharan Phanibhushan

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents the outcome of an investigation into the experimental and theoretical behavior of steel angle section members under combined axial load and unsymmetric bending. Tests are conducted on a series of six angle section members provided with biaxial pinned-end boundaries about the cross-sectional non-principal axes. The end bending moments and axial load are applied in a quasi-static manner until the member load-carrying capacity is reached. The experimental load-deflection and load-strain curves are recorded. The theoretical analysis is based on a system of both elastic as well as materially nonlinear differential equations. The equations were solved using an iterative …

The Effects Of Damage Arrestment Devices In Composite Plate Sandwiches With Fastener Holes, Mark Anderson, Nancy Hung Choy, Lacey Jones, Rita Kourskaya

Aerospace Engineering

Composite materials such as a carbon fiber are used in a variety of new technologies including aircraft, spacecraft, and motor vehicles. Carbon fiber has a high strength to weight ratio, a key advantage over other material options. This report discusses the use of composite damage arrestment devices (DADs) in composite sandwich panels with a foam core. There are three different curing cycles tested for the DADs: pressure only, vacuum only, and vacuum with 1000 lbs of pressure. Using a Tetrahedron Heat Press to cure the composite specimen and an Instron Machine to perform tensile testing, data was collected for each …

The Effects Of Cure Schedule On Properties Of Glass-Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Matrix Composites, Trevor J. Lee

Materials Engineering

Two different two-component resin systems were cured, via Differential Scanning Calorimetry, for the times recommended by their respective manufacturers. The resin cure schedules were designed to simulate typical and attainable processing conditions; they were cured at 120°F, 140°F, and 160°F, and in-mold post-cured at 200°F, 230°F, and 260°F. The resulting scans were then compared to a baseline cure for each resin system, consisting of two heating-cooling cycles at a constant rate of temperature change. These baseline cures were then used to determine the percent cure of each sample and the shift in glass transition temperature between the baseline cure and …

Materials Characterization Of Bamboo And Analysis Of Bonding Strength And Internal Strength As A Structural Member In Reinforced Concrete, Nithi Plangsriskul, Nicholas Dorsano

Materials Engineering

This study evaluates the potential to utilize bamboo as reinforcement in concrete structural members.  In this project, the mechanical properties of bamboo were tested, specifically force required to embed a 0.5” diameter ball 0.016” into the bamboo samples and its bonding strength with concrete.  One type of bamboo, Bambusa Oldhamii, was cut into eight sections, approximately 2.54 cm wide, along the length of the culm.  The compression test recorded the bamboo’s strength at eight points along the length of the internode and at three points along the transverse direction of each specimen.  Bambusa Oldhamii’s specimen base 1 data for inner, …

Characterization Of The Relationship Between The Microstructure And Tensile Strength Of Annealed Ti-6al-4v, Aldo Corona

Materials Engineering

Tensile coupons of Ti-6Al-4V were heat treated at varying annealing temperatures from 1200°F (648°C) to 1450°F (787°C)  at 50°F  (23°C) increments for 1 hour. The samples were air cooled to room temperature or furnace cooled to 800°F (426°C) followed by air cooling to room temperature. Four tensile coupons were treated at each annealing temperature and cooling rate. Alpha case was observed to form on the surface of the samples post heat treatment with a maximum depth of 25 µm (.001 in). Samples were tensile tested for their ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, and percent elongation.  Samples across all annealing temperatures …

Investigating The Mechanical Properties Of Compression Molded Carbon Fiber Reinforced Sheet Molding Compound, Bradley A. Jones

Materials Engineering

Callaway Golf receives a proprietary blend of prepreg material from Quantum Composites. Callaway processes the prepreg in-house and supplied 254mm x 254mm x 1.3mm panels of carbon fiber sheet molding compound (CFSMC) for characterizing. Tensile strength was analyzed by conducting tensile tests per ASTM D3039. Tensile coupons were cut to 254mm long by 25.4mm wide. Tabs were constructed from 1.6mm thick GFRP printed circuit board material. A commercial grade two part epoxy was used to bond the tabs to the CFSMC. Tensile results were inconclusive due to consistent fractures occurring outside the gauge lengths of the specimens.

Flexure strength was …

Experimental Investigation Of Natural Fiber Reinforced Composite, Irene Samy Fahim

Theses and Dissertations

There is a growing use of polymers in different applications worldwide. This phenomenon resulted in an enormous increase in the amount of plastic waste. These wastes have significant impacts on the environment including pollution and depletion of resources. Recycling plastic waste and reusing it helps in alleviating environmental degradation. The amount of recycled plastics all over the world not utilized is huge. U.S.A recycled 5.7% of the total plastics generated and Western Europe recycled 39% of total amount of plastics consumed [1]. This research studies the potential usage of virgin and recycled polymer reinforced with natural fiber such as rice …

Investigating Wood Welding Parameters Using A Prototype Welding Machine, Timothy R. Melin

Master's Theses

Understanding how different processing variables influence wood welded bonds is vital if the technique will ever be used to create engineered lumber without using adhesives. A variation of vibration welding, wood welding uses pressure and friction to bond materials together. During welding, heat causes a softening in the wood, a naturally occurring composite material. This softening leads to fiber entanglement and a bond forms upon cooling.

The goal of this research was to investigate several processing aspects of the wood welding procedure. A prototype wood welding machine, designed and fabricated from the ground up, was used to investigate the effects …

Plain And Steel-Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls With And Without Cfrp Retrofitting, Ali Mohammed Salih Al Aloosi

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents the outcome- of a study of the behavior and strength of plain and steel-reinforced concrete shear walls with and without a window opening and Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) retrofitting. A total of seven tests were conducted using six different shear walls. Each wall was subjected to a gradually increasing static load at one of it's top corners until the maximum load was reached. The load-deflection relations and the walls' failure patterns were observed and recorded. It was found that the window opening in the plain concrete wall reduced the wall load capacity by 18 percent. For the …

Design, Fabrication, Structural Testing, And Numerical Analysis Of A Small Scale Composite Wing, Jacob David Gaunt, Juan Carlos Flores, Vincent Andrew Perry

Aerospace Engineering

A small scale composite wing based on a design found on an experimental aircraft was designed, constructed, and tested dynamically and statically. The wing was constructed similarly to an experimental aircraft wing. The performed static test was intended to produce pure bending. Strain gages were used to measure strains on the wing structure. The strains were converted to stresses to aid in analysis. The static test results suggested that the wing was actually under torsion. Four structural modes were found from the static test. A finite element analysis model was made to compare experimental results to numerical analytical results. The …

Performance Of Nevada’S Aggregates In Alkali-Aggregate Reactivity Of Portland Cement Concrete, Mohammad Shahidul Islam

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR) is a form of distress that occurs in concrete and results in serviceability problems, cracks, spalling, and other deterioration mechanisms. There are two categories of AAR, namely, alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and alkali-carbonate reaction (ACR). Alkali-silica reaction is one of the most recognized deleterious phenomena in concrete, and has been a major concern since its discovery in the 1940s. The reaction which occurs between reactive silica or silicates present in some aggregates and alkalis of Portland cement produces an alkali-silica gel that expands in the presence of moisture resulting in concrete cracks. ACR is also a chemical reaction …

Mechanical Behavior Of Alloy 230 At Temperatures Relevant To Ngnp Program, Sudin Chatterjee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Identification and selection of suitable structural materials for heat exchanger application within the purview of the next generation nuclear plant (NGNP) program constitute a major challenge. This challenge stems from the lack of many desired metallurgical and mechanical properties of conventional metallic materials and alloys for applications at temperatures approaching 950 oC. Nickel (Ni)-base Alloy 230 has been highly recommended as a suitable structural material for such application due to its excellent resistance to high-temperature plastic deformation and superior corrosion resistance in many hostile environments. Systematic studies on tensile, fracture toughness, creep, stress-rupture and creep-fatigue behavior of this alloy have …

Time-Temperature Curing Relationship Of An Adhesive Binder With Rice Straw, Kevin Ka-Wan Ng

Master's Theses

Rice straw is a global and proliferate agricultural waste whose production grossly outstrips viable uses. Current disposal methods are not sustainable, and more convenient methods – such as incineration – exude poor environmental stewardship. Although the direct use of straw bales in building construction presents a practical and sustainable alternative, engineering challenges associated with using it prevent its wide adoption. The Stak Block – a composite formed from compressed rice straw and a heat-cured adhesive – may overcome challenges associated with straw bale building. However, the times and temperatures needed to cure the binder with straw are not well understood. …

Multiscale Transformation Field Analysis Of Progressive Damage In Fibrous Laminates, Yehia Bahei-El-Din, Ritesh Khire, Prabhat Hajela

Centre for Advanced Materials

As part of an ongoing effort to model uncertainty propagation across multiple scales in fibrous laminates, this paper presents a deterministic transformation field analysis for modeling damage progression under membrane forces and bending moments. In this approach, equivalent eigenstresses are computed in the phases and/or plies such that their respective stress components that satisfy the underlying failure criteria are reduced to zero. Superposition of the solutions found for the undamaged laminate under applied loads and under the eigenstress field provide the entire response. Failure criteria are based on stress averages in the fiber and matrix. Damage mechanisms considered are frictional …

Modified Sandwich Structures For Improved Impact Resistance Of Wind Turbine Blades, Yehia Bahei-El-Din, Mostafa Shazly, I. El-Habbal, Y. Elbahy

Centre for Advanced Materials

Wind turbine blades are susceptible to damage due to fatigue as well as impact by flying objects and parts broken off failed blades of nearby wind towers. Localized, permanent compression of the foam core and delamination of the fibrous composite face sheets are typical damage modes and can lead to progressive structural failure. Sandwich structures modified by inclusion of flexible polyurethane (PU) layers within the cross section are examined under both impact and dynamic loads. Finite element models of sandwich structures with conventional and modified designs show that sandwich designs modified with PU interlayes exhibit reduced foam core crushing and …

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 …

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 …

Design And Performance Of Load Bearing Shear Walls Made From Composite Rice Straw Blocks, Kevin Robert Camann

Master's Theses

Although rice straw and other grains have been used in building since pre-history, in the past two decades, there has been a move to utilize this rapidly renewable, locally available, agricultural byproduct as part of the sustainable construction movement. Up to this point, this has been done by simply stacking up the full straw bales. Stak Block, invented by Oryzatech, Inc., is a modular, interlocking block made of a composite of rice straw and binding agent that serves as an evolution in straw construction. This study investigates the feasibility of using these Stak Blocks as a structural system. The report …

Exploring Earth-Building Technology For Liberia., Isaac Dompo Mayon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper discusses earth as a building material and the extent to which earth building technology has evolved over the years. In particular it addresses the adobe, compressed and rammed earth techniques of earth building as suitable techniques for Liberia consumption. In addition, the paper investigates the suitability of the Latosols soils of Liberia for earth building construction purposes using standardized earth building principles and requirements. A local Johnson City, Tennessee, earth sample found to have the same physical characteristics of the Latosols of Liberia was used to simulate Liberia soils to produce specimen blocks at different configurations of moisture …

Design And Development Of Rapid Battery Exchange Systems For Electric Vehicles To Be Used As Efficient Student Transportation, Jonathan A. Bevier

Master's Theses

Rapid battery exchange systems were built for an electric van and pedal assist electric bike as a method of eliminating the need to recharge the vehicles batteries in order to increase the feasibility of using electric propulsion as a method of efficient student transportation. After selecting proper materials it was found that the systems would need a protective coating to ensure consistent operation. 1020 cold rolled steel samples coated with multiple thicknesses of vinyl resin paint, epoxy resin paint, and powder coating were subjected to environmental wear tests in order to determine if the type and thickness of common protective …

Gossamer Albatross, Steve Elliott

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

Steve Elliott was active in the hobby of hang gliding, and was invited to join the Gossamer Albatross team in 1979. He assisted in its development and testing, and was there in a Zodiac raft when it became the first human powered aircraft to cross the English Channel and win the £100,000 Kremer Prize.

Multiscale Modeling Of Impact On Heterogeneous Viscoelastic Solids With Evolving Microcracks, Flavio V. Souza

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Multiscale computational techniques play a major role in solving problems related to viscoelastic composite materials due to the complexities inherent to these materials. In the present work, a numerical procedure for multiscale modeling of impact on heterogeneous viscoelastic solids containing evolving microcracks is proposed in which the (global scale) homogenized viscoelastic incremental constitutive equations have the same form as the local scale viscoelastic incremental constitutive equations, but the homogenized tangent constitutive tensor and the homogenized incremental history dependent stress tensor depend on the amount of damage accumulated at the local scale. Furthermore, the developed technique allows the computation of the …

Creep And Fatigue Interaction Characteristics Of Pwa1484, Christian J. Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

One of the main methods for predicting the service life of jet engine turbine blades is through creep analysis. A sample of the turbine blade material will be mechanically tested to characterize its creep performance. This characterization will be used to determine safe operating conditions for the material. While methods for modeling creep behavior are generally well developed, this constant load creep testing does not fully represent the loading conditions present in a jet engine due to cyclic loading caused by the mission profile and throttle movements. As the industry seeks to become more accurate in physics based modeling of …

An Investigation Of Students’ Conceptual Understanding In Related Sophomore To Graduate-Level Engineering And Mechanics Courses, Devlin Montfort, Shane Brown, David Pollock

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Interviews were conducted with students from a sophomore-level mechanics of materials class, a sophomore/junior-level structures class, a senior-level steel design class and a graduate-level advanced steel design class to investigate students’ conceptual understanding of bending and normal stress. The graduate students generally demonstrated higher computational skill and confidence but they were not significantly different from the sophomores in terms of conceptual understanding. Interestingly, the seniors showed markedly lower confidence in their ability to solve the problems posed in the interviews. Common difficulties include a conceptual definition of stress and reasoning involving the normal stresses developed under bending.