Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

Rheo-Physical Characterization Of Microstructure And Flow Behavior Of Concentrated Surfactant Solutions, Eduard Caicedo Casso, Jason E Bice, Lisa R. Nielsen, Jessica L Sargent, Seth Lindberg, Kendra Erk

School of Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Processing-relevant relationships between the microstructure and flow behavior of concentrated surfactant solutions were determined by a combination of basic rheological experiments, rheo-flow velocimetry tests, and flow birefringence measurements. The most common surfactant microstructures found in liquid soaps and other consumer care products—spherical, worm-like, and hexagonally packed micelles and lamellar structures—were recreated by varying the concentration of sodium laureth sulfate in water from 20 to 70 wt% and adding salt in some cases. It was found that common features of flow curves, such as power-law shear thinning behavior, resulted from a wide variety of material responses including shear-induced wall slip in …

Application Of Computational Tools To Spaghetti-Based Truss Bridge Design, Jin Xu, Jiliang Li, Nuri Zeytinoglu, Jinyuan Zhai

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Application of Computational Tools to Spaghetti-Based Truss Design

Statics and Strength of Materials are two foundational courses for Mechanical/Civil Engineering. In order to assist students in better understanding and applying concepts to a meaningful design task, SolidWorks and theoretical calculation were used for a spaghetti-bridge design contest with the constraints of given maximum weight and allowable support-material weight. As the first step of this iterative designing process, both extrude feature and structural member were introduced to model planar bridge trusses. Then SolidWorks’ Statics module was used to run FEA analysis of the structural performance in efforts to optimize the …

Design Of A Carburizing Treatment Of Steel Base Gear In The Materials Science Course, Jiliang Li, Jin Xu, Nuri Zeytinoglu, Jinyuan Zhai

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Diffusion PDE Application to Carburizing Treatment of Steel Base Gear

An introductory materials-science course is required in the mechanical engineering curriculum of many universities. This article describes an example effort to incorporate programming, diffusion transfer, heat treatment process and mechanical-property determination as an integral part of the materials-science course instruction. This effort was undertaken in order to give students additional experience in Fick’s 1^st and 2^nd laws and in-depth understanding of physics and mathematics involved in diffusion analysis. We chose to focus on Fick’s second law because its applications are not restricted to the materials-science field [1]. As …

Latex Modified Concrete - Very Early Strength, Bobby Steele

Purdue Road School

INDOT came out with specifications for a very early strength concrete to use on bridge deck overlays. This concrete is fast setting, which allows overlays to be performed over a weekend and benefits the traveling public with a short duration of traffic interference. Cure time to reach the strength requirement is 3 hours. E&B Paving performed the first application with the new spec on August 26, 2018. Many changes were also made to the INDOT Specification Section 722.

Effect Of Salt Valency And Concentration On Shear And Extensional Rheology Of Aqueous Polyelectrolyte Solutions For Enhanced Oil Recovery, Anna V. Walter, Leidy N. Jimenez, Jelena Dinic, Vivek Sharma, Kendra Erk

School of Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The injection of polymer solutions into an oil basin can lead to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) by increasing the microscopic sweep of the reservoir, improving the water-oil motility ratio, and thus leading to greater yield from oil fields. In this contribution, we characterize both shear and extensional rheological response of aqueous solutions of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM), the most commonly used polymer for EOR, for velocity gradients in both the flow direction (extensional) and perpendicular to flow (shear) arise in EOR applications. As HPAM is a charged polymer, to better emulate the environment in oil basins, the rheological response was …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Polymer-Silica Composite Hydrogel Particles And Influence Of Hydrogel Composition On Cement Paste Microstructure, Matthew J. Krafcik, B Bose, Kendra Erk

School of Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The objective of this research is to define the fundamental structure-property relationships of water-swollen polymer hydrogel particles that are employed as internal curing agents in cementitious mixtures, in addition to reporting a novel synthesis procedure for combining pozzolanic materials with hydrogel particles. Solution polymerization was performed to incorporate amorphous nanosilica particles within acrylic-based polymer hydrogel particles of varying chemical compositions (i.e., monomer ratio of acrylic acid (AA) to acrylamide (AM)). Experiments were designed to measure the absorption capacity and kinetics of hydrogel particles immersed in pure water and cementitious pore solution, as well as determine the impact of particles on …

Tool For Correlating Ebsd And Afm Data Arrays, Andrew Krawec, Matthew Michie, John Blendell

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Ceramic and semiconductor research is limited in its ability to create holistic representations of data in concise, easily-accessible file formats or visual data representations. These materials are used in everyday electronics, and optimizing their electrical and physical properties is important for developing more advanced computational technologies. There is a desire to understand how changing the composition of the ceramic alters the shape and structure of the grown crystals. However, few accessible tools exist to generate a dataset with the proper organization to understand correlations between grain orientation and crystallographic orientation. This paper outlines an approach to analyzing the crystal structure …

Solid Solution Strengthened Fe Alloys, Sidharth Krishnamoorthi, Ruizhe Su, Yifan Zhang, Xinghang Zhang

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Iron (Fe)-based alloys (such as steel) are widely used structural materials in industry. Numerous methods have been applied to improve their mechanical properties. In this study, we used a technique know as magnetron sputtering to deposit various Fe-based binary alloy coatings to investigate the influence of solutes on solid solution hardening. Several factors contribute to the solid solution hardening of the alloys, such as composition, atomic radius, modulus, and lattice parameter. After preliminary calculations and analysis, we selected several solutes, including molybdenum (Mo), niobium (Nb), and zirconium (Zr). The compositions of solutes were varied to be 2.5, 5, 8 atomic …

High Performance Mortar With 100% Recycled Aggregate Using Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles, Molly Schrager, Vito Francioso, Arjun Kadakia, Mirian Velay-Lizancos

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Concrete and mortar are materials commonly used in construction. Their main compounds are cement, aggregates (sand and gravel) and water. In an effort to increase the sustainability of these materials, the idea of using recycled aggregates from ground old concrete and using it to make mortar and concrete has gained more interest. It has two advantages: it reduces the need to mine for raw materials and lessens the amount of old and defective concrete that is typically put in landfills. But, the use of recycled concrete aggregate lowers the strength of mortars and concretes because the residual compounds in the …

Validation Of Wrinkling-To-Delamination Adhesion Measurement Technique, Allison Chau, Hyeyoung Son, Chelsea S. Davis

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Polymer thin films have a wide range of applications that span several different industries. Their optical clarity as well as their mechanical rigidness result in their versatile use in applications such as contact lenses, wearable sensors, and flexible electronics. These applications require precise adhesion, so the need for a simple, quantitative adhesion measurement technique is critical. Several methods have already been developed that quantify the adhesion of flexible thin films attached to rigid substrates. However, when the thin films are rigid and the substrates compliant, these methods are insufficient. In the authors’ previous work, an adhesion measurement technique was developed …

Determining The Optimal Traffic Opening Time Using Piezoelectric Sensors, Adlan Amran, Yen-Fang Su, Na Lu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) requires a reliable method of determining the early age quality of concrete to improve traffic opening time. We propose to develop an in-situ method that enables an accurate, efficient, and non-destructive health monitoring of concrete using the electromechanical impedance (EMI) technique coupled with a piezoelectric sensor named Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT). The test was conducted by mounting a PZT sensor on mortar samples. The PZT sensor was then excited by a voltage to track the strengthening of samples. The data obtained from the EMI technique was refined using the Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) …

Building Modern Cloud Accessible Tools For Materials Simulations, Nicholas J. Finan, Saaketh Desai, Samuel Reeve, Alejandro Strachan

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In recent years, commercial computer systems have grown more user friendly, allowing for new users to quickly and easily make contributions. Unfortunately, this trend is not as apparent in the field of computational materials simulations. The tools used by researchers in this field have remained just as esoteric as the systems of the past. While the methods used in materials simulations continue to grow in complexity and accuracy, the user experience has been neglected entirely. This project aims to eliminate the need for hours spent adjusting file formats and searching for preexisting code, and instead allow researchers to focus on …

Developing Strategies To Toughen Bio-Inspired Adhesives, Narelli P. Narciso, Samuel Lee Huntington, Jonathan J. Wilker

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Mussels and other marine creatures adhere very well in underwater environments, having the ability to withstand the force of the sea. These animals have inspired synthetic biomimetic adhesives for wet systems, presenting potential for biomedical applications. However, most current commercial adhesives tend to be brittle, not resisting repetitive movements. This study assesses toughening strategies to improve the mussel-inspired adhesives’ ductility while maintaining its strength. The strategies included altering the polymer’s chemical structure by changing the percentage of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in the molecule and by adding fillers, such as calcium carbonate, silica and nacre - a calcium carbonate compound found …

Thermophotovoltaic Devices: Combustion Chamber Optimization And Modelling To Maximize Fuel Efficiency, Arnold Chris Toppo, Ernesto Marinero, Zhaxylyk Kudyshev

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Currently, 110 billion cubic meters of natural gas (primarily methane), a potent greenhouse gas, are flared off for environmental and safety reasons. This process results in enough fuel to provide the combined natural gas consumption of Germany and France. The research team developed a thermophotovoltaic device to convert thermal energy to electricity at a high efficiency using proprietary emitters and combustion system. With the current focus being fuel efficiency and the combustion process, the assembly was simulated using ANSYS Fluent modelling software and the following parameters were optimized: air/fuel ratios, flow rates, and inlet sizes. Simultaneously the heat transfer across …

Spatial Variation Of Surface Residual Stress In Metallic Materials, Chengyang Zhang, David Bahr, Siavash Ghanbari, Raheleh Mohammad Rahimi

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Shot peening is commonly used to reduce fatigue failures in industrial parts by introducing compressive residual stress into the surface of a material. However, it is challenging to assess the performance of the parts without destroying them. Solving this problem requires a combined model that predicts both recrystallization and residual stress using experimental measurements and predictive computational modelling. Experiments were performed to prove that the surface properties of materials after thermal treatments can be accessed, and the spatial variation of residual stress in metallic materials, including the relationship between surface and subsurface behavior can be evaluated. This process involves investigating …

Computational Catalysis: Creating A User-Friendly Tool For Research And Education, Kevin P. Greenman, Peilin Liao

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Catalysis is used in a significant portion of production processes in the industrialized world, including most processing of chemicals and fuels. This makes maximizing the efficiency of catalysts a high priority. However, the immense number of candidates for new catalysts precludes the possibility of testing all of them by experiments. Density functional theory (DFT) has been widely and successfully used to calculate material properties relevant to catalysis and to screen promising candidates for experimental testing, but there currently exists no publicly- available, user-friendly tool for performing these DFT calculations. This work details the development of such a tool for nanoHUB.org …

Grain Boundary Motion Analysis, Jeremy Marquardt, Xiaorong Cai, Marisol Koslowski

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Grain growth is a mechanism to relax residual stresses in thin films. These grains grow out of the thin film surface and are known as whiskers. These whiskers can cause short circuits, so developing scalable and cost effective solutions would increase the reliability and utility of tin electronics. A popular of method of examining tin whiskering is microscopic simulation, as it provides an accurate and cost effective way to predict the consequences of proposed models. Specifically examining the evolution of grain boundaries, this paper aims to present the results of grain boundary motion simulations through a generalized program that streamlines …

Thienoisatin Oligomers As N-Type Molecular Semiconductors, Natalie M. Kadlubowski, Xuyi Luo, Jianguo Mei

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Organic field effect transistors (OFETs) offer many advantages compared to traditional inorganic transistors, such as flexibility and solution processability. In this study we design and synthesize two thienoisatin-based organic semiconducting small molecules, then investigate their electronic properties in n-type OFETs. To introduce n-type charge transport, electron-withdrawing dicarbonitrile moieties were installed on thienoisoindigo and bis-thienoisatin molecules, which led to a quinoidal conjugation on thienoisoindigo, while maintaining an aromatic conjugation on the bis-thienoisatin. Following the syntheses, the molecules were characterized to determine highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels via cyclic voltammetry, as well as any potential …

Reliability Of Lead-Free Solder Joints Under Combined Shear And Compressive Loads, Ian Bernander, Travis Dale, Yuvraj Singh, Ganesh Subbarayan

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In electronic assemblies, solder joints are used to create electrical connections, remove heat, and mechanically support the components. When an electronic device is powered on, the solder joints and the board they are attached to heat up, expanding at different rates. Due to the difference in expansion, shear stress is imposed on the solder joints. As the device is powered on and off, this shear stress can eventually fracture the solder joint, causing the device to fail. Therefore, to increase the lifespan of electronics, it is important to investigate the mechanical properties of solder alloys. The present study investigates how …

A Rheometry Method To Assess The Evaporation-Induced Mechanical Strength Development Of Polymer Solutions Used For Membrane Applications, Eduard Caicedo Casso, Jessica L Sargent, Rachel M. Dorin, Ulrich B. Wiesner, William A. Phillip, Bryan M. Boudouris, Kendra Erk

School of Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Rotational and oscillatory shear rheometry were used to quantify the flow behavior under minimal and significant solvent evaporation conditions for polymer solutions used to fabricate isoporous asymmetric membranes by the self-assembly and non-solvent induced phase separation (SNIPS) method. Three different A-B-C triblock terpolymer chemistries of similar molar mass were evaluated: polyisoprene-^-polystyrene-6-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (ISV); polyisoprene-6- polystyrene-6-poly(V,A-dimethylacrylamide) (ISD); and polyisoprene-Z>-polystyrene-h-poly(fer/- butyl methacrylate) (ISB). Solvent evaporation resulted in the formation of a viscoelastic film typical of asymmetric membranes. Solution viscosity and film viscoelasticity were strongly dependent on the chemical structure of the triblock terpolymer molecules. A hierarchical magnitude (ISV>ISB>ISD) was observed …

Controllable Internal Mixing In Coalescing Droplets Induced By The Solutal Marangoni Convection Of Surfactants With Distinct Headgroup Architectures, Jerome J. Nash, Patrick T. Spicer, Kendra Erk

School of Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Through several complementary experiments, an investigation of the bulk and interfacial flows that emerged during the coalescence of two water-in-oil droplets with asymmetric compositional properties was performed. By adding surfactant to one of the coalescing droplets and leaving the other surfactant-free, a strong interfacial tension gradient (i.e., solutal Marangoni) driving energy between the merging droplets generated pronounced internal mixing. The contributions of two distinct types of surfactant, anionic ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) and cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) on the rate of coalescence bridge expansion and on the generation of opposing flows during coalescence were investigated. All coalescence experiments supported the …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Polymer-Silica Composite Hydrogel Particles And Influence Of Hydrogel Composition On Cement Paste Microstructure, Matthew J. Krafcik, B Bose, Kendra Erk

School of Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The objective of this research is to define the fundamental structure-property relationships of water-swollen polymer hydrogel particles that are employed as internal curing agents in cementitious mixtures, in addition to reporting a novel synthesis procedure for combining pozzolanic materials with hydrogel particles. Solution polymerization was performed to incorporate amorphous nanosilica particles within acrylic-based polymer hydrogel particles of varying chemical compositions (i.e., monomer ratio of acrylic acid (AA) to acrylamide (AM)). Experiments were designed to measure the absorption capacity and kinetics of hydrogel particles immersed in pure water and cementitious pore solution, as well as determine the impact of particles on …

Comparing Laser Diffraction And Optical Microscopy For Characterizing Superabsorbent Polymer Particle Morphology, Size, And Swelling Capacity, Cole R. Davis, Stacey L. Kelly, Kendra Erk

School of Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

In this study, we determined the accuracy and practicality of using optical microscopy (OM) and laser diffraction (LD) to characterize hydrogel particle morphology, size, and swelling capacity (Q). Inverse-suspension-polymerized polyacrylamide particles were used as a model system. OM and LD showed that the average particle diameter varied with the mixing speed during synthesis for the dry (10–120 lm) and hydrated (34–240 lm) particles. The LD volume and number mean diameters showed that a few large particles were responsible for the majority of the water absorption. Excess water present in the gravimetric swelling measurements led to larger Qs (8.2 6 0.37 …

Influence Of Adsorbed And Nonadsorbed Polymer Additives On The Viscosity Of Magnesium Oxide Suspensions, Lisa R. Murray, Jason E Bice, Emily G. Soltys, Christopher Perge, Sebastien Manneville, Kendra Erk

School of Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Adsorbed polymer additives have been employed to reduce water content and improve cement workability through lowering viscosity, but the influence of over-dosage and the presence of nonadsorbed chains have yet to be fully understood. Model magnesium oxide (MgO) suspensions were used to investigate the potential processing effect of “free” chain concentration on cementitious mixtures. The rheological impact of the free chains was measured through incorporation of nonadsorbing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to suspensions stabilized with an adsorbed comb-polymer superplasticizer. Analyses of the rheological data, that showed viscosity-increases and viscosity-reduction due to free PEG concentrations revealed a transition from depletion flocculation to …

Microstructure Evolution During Compaction Of Powder Blends, Ayush Giri, Marcial Gonzalez, Yasasvi Bommire

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Powder compaction is a manufacturing technology used to transform powder particles into a solid material with unique anisotropic microstructure and low porosity. It is widely used by pharmaceutical companies to manufacture tablets with desired properties. These properties are the result of the microstructure obtained during the compaction process. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the mechanics underneath the constituent granular particles that eventually contribute to properties of the manufactured tablets. Computational simulation tools have been developed in the past to study powder compaction for pharmaceutical tablets. However, most of the already existing tools limit their scope to study individual particles …

Investigating Tantalum As A Plasma-Facing Component For Nuclear Fusion Reactors, Arvind Sundaram, Jitendra K. Tripathi, Theodore J. Novakowski, Ahmed Hassanein Ph. D.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Nuclear fusion is a potential source for producing unlimited environment-friendly energy. Tungsten (W) is selected as the primary candidate material for plasma facing component in nuclear fusion reactors due to its high melting temperature (3695 K), low sputtering erosion yield and strong mechanical properties. However, recent investigations on W have confirmed that it undergoes severe surface morphology changes during low energy He plasma and/or ion irradiation similar to a harsh fusion environment. Additionally, our previous studies indicate that tantalum (Ta) may show better resistance to the harsh radiation environment and is therefore worthy of investigation. Hydrogen retention properties, specifically deuterium …

Understanding Powder Compaction With Single Particle Measurements, Wentao Chen, Ankit Agarwal, Marcial Gonzalez

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Powder compaction is the process of transforming granular media into a solid body with a high relative density (low porosity) and a unique anisotropic microstructure. It is critical to understand the physical mechanisms of the compaction process in order to identify powder properties and optimal process parameters for achieving desired properties of the final product. Tools that can simulate particle rearrangement and deformation during the compaction process are usually developed to guide such fundamental understanding. This study aims at understanding powder compaction using particle mechanics approach. Specifically, it employs the nonlocal contact formulation to predict the contact behavior of a …

Simulating Dynamic Failure Of Polymer-Bonded Explosives Under Periodic Excitation, Rachel Kohler, Camilo Duarte Cordon, Marisol Koslowski

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Accidental mishandling of explosive materials leads to thousands of injuries in the US every year. Understanding the mechanisms behind the detonation process is crucial to prevent such accidents. In polymer-bonded explosives (PBX), high-frequency mechanical excitation generates thermal energy and can lead to an increase in temperature and vapor pressure, and potentially the initiation of the detonation process. However, the mechanisms behind this energy release, such as the effects of dynamic fracture and friction, are not well understood. Experimental data is difficult to collect due to the different time scales of reactions and vibrations, so research is aided by running simulations …

Modelling Catalytic Structures With Python And Ase, Tommie L. Day, Peilin Liao, Pilsun Yoo

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Voltaic cells hold great potential as a source of clean electricity generation. These fuel sources are more efficient than combustion engines, and they do not produce environmentally harmful by-products. The electrochemical reaction which occurs within the cell is typically catalyzed by platinum, which increases the cost. The search for a better performing, less expensive catalyst is hindered by the lack of a complete, predictive theory of catalysis. Using Quantum Espresso and the Atomic Simulation Environment library for Python, we created a tool for nanoHUB.org which can visually and computationally model catalytic surfaces. This tool can simulate nanoparticles and metallic surfaces …

Irradiation-Induced Nanocluster Evolution, Didier Ishimwe, Matthew J. Swenson, Janelle P. Wharry

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Oxide dispersion strengthened steel (ODS) and commercial ferritic-martensitic (F-M) alloys are widely accepted candidate structural materials for designing advanced nuclear reactors. Nanoclusters embedded in the steel matrix are key microstructural features of both alloy types. Irradiation from nuclear fusion and fission affects the morphology of these nanoparticles, altering the performance of the alloys and potentially decreasing their usable lifetime. Thus, it is important to understand the effect of irradiation on these nanoparticles in order to predict long-term nuclear reactor performance. It was found that the evolution of nanoclusters in each material is different depending on the experimental irradiation parameters. The …