Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

Modeling And Control Of A Flexible Ionic Polymer Metal Composite(Ipmc) Actuator For Underwater Propulsion, Shivakanth Gutta

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The goal of this research is to model and control the underwater vehicle propelled by IPMC actuator. IPMC consists of an ionic membrane sandwiched between two metallic electrodes. When an external voltage is applied, IPMC undergoes large deformation due to transport of ions. Due to its ability to work in aqueous environments, it can be used for developing small scale underwater vehicles.

First, Finite element approach is used to describe the dynamics of the both single and segmented IPMC actuator. In the approach presented, each element is attached with a local coordinate system that undergoes rigid body motion along with …

Direct Contact Pyrolysis Of Hydrocarbons: A Source Of Hydrogen And Interesting Carbon Formations, Peter G. Faught

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The work detailed in this document looks at a novel liquid metal supported catalytic system for the generation of hydrogen by decomposition of ethanol through direct contact pyrolysis. The hydrogen is produced at relatively low temperatures (500-600°C) and has carbon and water as co-products. It should be noted that CO is not observed as a product at these low temperatures. This is to be contrasted with the hydrogen produced at higher temperature from ethanol which does contain carbon monoxide. The presence of carbon monoxide in hydrogen complicates fuel cell operation and catalytic chemical processes. Thus, the lack of CO in …

Modeling Of A Novel Solar Down Beam Test Facility Utilizing Newtonian Optics, Ryan J. Hoffmann

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As advances in concentrated solar energy progress there will inevitably be an increase in the demand of resources for testing new conceptions. Currently, there are limited facilities available for taking concentrated solar energy concepts from the laboratory bench scale to the engineering test scale. A proposed solution is a scientific and developmental facility that provides highly concentrated solar energy at ground level. The design presented is a solar down beam test facility utilizing a Newtonian optics approach with a flat rectangular down beam mirror to reflect and concentrate the sun's rays at ground level.

Literature review suggests a hyperbolic reflector …

Novel Oxadiazole Containing Monomers For Polymeric Light Emitting Devices, Alexandra Foguth

All Theses

Organic light emitting diodes (OLED) have received a great deal of
attention in the research community in the past few decades. This
work focuses on OLEDs utilizing the donor-acceptor operational
approach. In specific a single layer device architecture with an
emissive layer of copolymerized hole and electron transport moieties
in an effort to frustrate phase segregation that can occur during
device operation. A new methacryalate based oxadiazole monomer,
4-[5-(biphenly-4-yl)- 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl] phenyl methacrylate (mPBD) an electron transporter, was successfully synthesized. The new monomer was copolymerized with N-vinylcarbazole (VK), a hole transporter, to form statistical copolymers. The glass transition of the copolymers …

Influence Of Aging And Severe Plastic Deformation On The Shape Memory Behavior Of Ti-50.6at%Ni, William Shirley

All Theses

Martensitic phase transformations were investigated for Ti -50.6 at % Ni processed via severe plastic deformation (SPD) and subsequent aging for temperatures between 400 and 550C and times ranging from 1hr to 100hrs. Phase transformations of the SPD material were compared to material processed via solution treated at 800C and 850C for 1hr. Transformations were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) with optical microscopy being used to determine grain size. Solution treated samples displayed a single (1-1) B2↔B19' transformation prior to and upon initial aging, i.e. 400C/1h, 450C/1/10h. Intermediate aging conditions, 450C/100h; 500C/1/10/100h; and …

Printing Carbon Nanotube Based Supercapacitors For Packaging, Alexandra Hartman

All Theses

Living in a world full of portable electronics, there is great need for energy storage devices. Currently, limitations for storage involve power inefficiencies as well as bulkiness. This is why printable charge storage devices that display good electrochemical performance are needed. It is for this reason that research into the production and packaging of carbon nanotube based super capacitors was carried out.
A super capacitor can be built by using high surface area multi-walled carbon nanotubes suspended in an ionic liquid. The two active electrodes are made from a combination of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes and an ionic liquid, ground …

Effect Of Selected Phase Change Materials Concentration And Manufacturing Process On The Properties Of Plaster Mixture Systems, Rong Cui

All Theses

Phase change materials (PCM) are generally used in building construction materials for their ability to absorb and release large amounts of energy when their phase change happens at their specific melting temperature. This results in a significant increase in thermal mass of the building, a reduction in temperature fluctuations and therefore a reduction in heating and cooling loads. However, in order to properly select a PCM and optimize its integration in a specific building, the properties of building construction materials enhanced with PCM must be known. This research focuses on studying the effects of the concentration of a micro-encapsulated PCM …

Fabrication Of Horizontal Silicon Nanowires Using A Thin Aluminum Film As A Catalyst, Khaja Hafeezuddin Mohammed

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silicon nanowires have been the topic of research in recent years for their significant attention from the electronics industry to grow even smaller electronic devices. The semiconductor industry is built on silicon. Silicon nanowires can be the building blocks for future nanoelectronic devices. Various techniques have also been reported in fabricating the silicon nanowires. But most of the techniques reported, grow vertical silicon nanowires. In the semiconductor industry, integrated circuits are designed and fabricated in a horizontal architecture i.e. the device layout is flat compared to the substrate. When vertical silicon nanowires are introduced in the semiconductor industry, a whole …

Highly Conductive Carbon Nanotube Fibers For Biomedical Applications, Vijoya Sa

All Dissertations

We developed a wet spinning process for the formation of polymeric fibers with high loading of single walled carbon nanotubes. The dissertation consists of five chapters. In the first chapter, the research goals were formulated and the art and technologies of fiber spinning from carbon nanotubes were critically analyzed. The next three chapters report the original results. Last chapter summarizes all the findings.
In the second chapter, we describe a surfactant based method of stabilization of carbon nanotube dispersions. The conditions of stability of nanotube dispersions in aqueous solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate were analyzed. Using surface tension isotherms, the …

Spectral Engineering Of Optical Fiber Through Active Nanoparticle Doping, Tiffany Lindstrom-James

All Dissertations

The spectral engineering of optical fiber is a method of intentional doping of the core region in order to absorb/emit specific wavelengths of light therby providing enhanced performance over current fibers. Efforts here focused on developing an understanding of optically active nanoparticles based on alkaline earth fluorides that could be easily and homogeneously incorporated into the core of a silica based optical fiber preform and result in efficient and tailorable spectral emissions.
Doped and undoped calcium, strontium and barium fluoride nanoparticles were successfully synthesized and characterized for their physical, chemical, and optical behavior. Distinct spectroscopic differences as a result of …

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 …

Photodetectors And Photovoltaic Devices Based On Semiconductor Nanomaterials, Jiang Wu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Photodetectors based various nanostructures and plasmon enhanced solar cells are investigated in this dissertation. The motivation of the dissertation rise is driven by urgent need of both high efficiency photodetectors and solar cells.

First, quantum dot infrared photodetectors have been intensely investigated due to their promise in high performance photodetectors. However, the strain-driven growth of quantum dots has hindered the progress of quantum dot photodetectors. The presence of strain in the device presents complexity in designing as well as defects. Therefore, in this project, new designs of quantum dot photodetector structures are presented to improve the control over detection wavelength. …

Nondestructive Electrothermal Detection Of Corrosion, Brittany Ambeau, Harris Enniss, Stefan Schnake

Mathematical Sciences Technical Reports (MSTR)

Nondestructive testing and imaging plays an important role in many industries, e.g., the monitoring and maintenance of corrosion in aircraft. The general technique is to input energy in some form into an object, observe the object’s response, and from this input-output information determine the internal structure. New techniques are always being explored, and recently there has been much interest in methods that use multiple forms of energy. In this vein, we examine a new technique for imaging corrosion or material loss in an object by combining electrical and thermal measurements on some accessible portion of the object’s outer boundary. The …

Structure And Properties Of The Low-Density Phase Ι-Al2o3 From First Principles, Sitaram Aryal, Paul Rulis, Lizhi Ouyang, Wai-Yim Ching

Mathematical Sciences Faculty Research

Of the various phases of transition alumina, iota-alumina (ι-Al2O3) is the least well known. It is considered to be the end member of the mullite series in the limit of zero Si content. The structural details of ι-Al2O3 are not available and its physical properties are totally unknown. Based on an appropriately modified structure of a high alumina content mullite phase close to the 9-1 mullite, we have successfully constructed a structural model for ι-Al2O3. The simulated x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of this model agrees well with a measured XRD pattern obtained from samples that claim to belong to ι-Al2O3. …

In-Situ Ellipsometry Characterization Of Anodically Grown Silicon Dioxide And Lithium Intercalation Into Silicon, Eric A. Montgomery

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this thesis, in-situ ellipsometry and electroanalytical investigations of two electrochemical processes are reported: including the formation of anodically grown silicon dioxide and the intercalation of lithium into silicon. Analysis of the ellipsometry data shows that the anodically grown silicon dioxide layer is uniform and has similar properties as thermally grown silicon dioxide. The lithium-ion intercalation data reveals non-uniform thin film formation, which requires further studies and development of appropriate ellipsometric optical models.

Advisers: Eva Schubert and Mathias Schubert

A Brief Review Of Research Progress In The Development Of Engineering Models For Lithium Ion Batteries, Da-Wei Wang, Dong-Jiang Li, Jun Li, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Lithium ion battery has become an important and popular electrochemical device for energy storage.Suitable evaluation and understanding of electrochemical performance and state of charge play a key role in the applications of lithium ion batteries.Construction and utilization of engineering modeling for lithium ion batteries is an effective way to fulfill this target.In this paper,engineering models of lithium ion batteries based on electrochemical reaction,ionic diffusion and migration are introduced.The emphasis is placed on the development of engineering models by the introduction of side reaction,phase transition,stress and energy.The applications of engineering models in such simulations as charge-discharge,concentration distribution,current distribution,state of charge,stress and …

Electrochemical Properties Of Tungstogermanate And Electrocatalysis Of H2O2 On Gew11Co/P-Opd/Gc Electrode, Li-Li Zhu, Jian-Ying Qu, Jue Wang, Hao-Yue Feng

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electrochemical properties of Co-substituted trimeric tungstogermanate containing Keggin fragments were studied. Cyclic voltammograms revealed two couples of reversible redox peaks on glassy carbon (GC) electrode in acid solutions. They corresponded to two-electron reductions accompanying by the additions of four protons and three protons, respectively, both were controlled by adsorption. The differences in the peak potentials of 2-electron-4-proton and 2-electron-3-proton reactions were 31 mV and 35 mV, respectively..Furthermore, the tungstogermanate (GeW11Co) modified GC electrode with functionalization by poly(o-phenylenediamine) (P-oPD) was prepared readily by electropolymerization. The GeW11Co/P-oPD/GC electrode could electrocatalyze the reduction of hydrogen peroxide, which showed good stability and quick …

Preparation And Characterization Of Casno3 Anode Material For Lithium Ion Batteries, Ran Sun, Zi-Geng Liu, Ya-Qi Jiang

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this study the precursor CaSn(OH)₆ was prepared via a hydrothermal process, and its composition, surface feature and phase-transition were characterized by XRD, SEM and DSC-TGA. The shapes of CaSn(OH)₆ crystals were effectively controlled by adjusting the volumn ratio of H₂O and CH₃CH₂OH solvents. Perovskite CaSnO₃ could be obtained by calcination of CaSn(OH)₆ at 800 ℃. The reversible capacity of 334.4 mAh/g with good cycling stability could be achieved with the CaSnO₃ electrode.

Preparation And Characterization Of The Lani0.6Fe0.4O3-δ Cathode For Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Hang Liu, Bo Huang, Xin-Jian Zhu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The LaNi_0.6Fe_0.4O_3-δ as cathode material for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell was prepared using a combustion synthesis technique. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern showed that the single-phase LaNi_0.6Fe_0.4O_3-δ perovskite could be obtained after heat treatment at 600°C. The TEM and SEM images of the synthesized powders revealed that the grains were 50-100nm. According to the electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS), the polarization resistance of the symmetric cell LaNi_0.6Fe_0.4O_3-δ/ScSZ/LaNi_0.6Fe_0.4O_3-δ sintered at 1050°C was the smallest (0.70Ω·cm², 0.27Ω·cm^{2 …}

Preparation And Application Of Macroporous Ato/Sio2 Electrode In Electrochemical Degradation Of 4-Chlorophenol, Zhang-Lin Chai, Rui-Feng Zhang, Tong-Hu Xiao, Yun-Xiao Liang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The macroporous ATO/SiO₂ materials were prepared through multiple steps of hydrolysis deposition in ethylene glycol and acetonitrile mixed solutions of SnCl₂/SbCl₃ and subsequent calcination at high temperature. The structures of the obtained materials were characterized by means of SEM and XRD. The results showed that the nano-ATO chemically deposited on the SiO₂ support underwent well-controlled aggregation and recrystallization to form a sandwich structure (ATO-SiO₂-ATO). Through four times loading of ATO the volume resistivity and the specific surface area reached 10·cm and 77 m²·g^-1, respectively. The oxygen evolution potential on …

Dynamic Modeling And Characteristic Analysis Of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, Qiu-Hong Jia, Ming Han, Bin Deng, Cai-Zhi Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this paper, a dynamic model of PEMFC is developed to estimate the dynamic performance of PEMFC by analyzing in detail the influence factors of voltage of PEMFC including various losses. The partial pressure of hydrogen and oxygen is obtained using the differential form of the ideal-gas equation in this model. The steady-state model is obtained by setting reasonable parameter values. The simulation results and experimental results have good consistency, which shows that the simulation model is correct, reasonable and effective. It analyzed the dynamic response characteristics of the output voltage and the partial pressure of hydrogen in condition of …

Indirect Electrochemical Reduction And Cotton Dyeing Process In Fe(Ⅲ)-Oxalate-Calcium Gluconate System, Qing-Zhi Wang, Wei Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electrochemical behavior and possible reaction mechanism in Fe(Ⅲ)-oxalate-calcium gluconate system were studied by cyclic voltammetry. The results showed that Fe(Ⅱ)-gluconate was the final reductant. The reduction time, the working voltage and the cathode area influenced the current efficiency. The high current efficiency of 89% for the indirect electrochemical reduction of Vat Scarlet R could be achieved with reduction time of 10 min, working voltage of 4 V and cathode area of 40 cm² in Fe(Ⅲ)-oxalate-calcium gluconate system.

Preparation And Capacitance Characteristics Of Nickel Oxide Electrode With Mesh-Like Structure, Hui Xu, Zhen-Jun Peng, Dong-Hong Guo, Jun-Ling Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

The mesh-like structure of NiO electrode was obtained by first preparing the precursors via hydrothermal process using nickel sulfate and carbamide as reactants, sodium hexametaphosphate as a surfactant, and followed by calcination of the precursors at 400 ℃. The structure, morphology and capacitance characteristics of NiO electrode were characterized by XRD, SEM and constant current charge-discharge testing techniques. The effects of hydrothermal temperatures on the electrochemical properties of NiO electrode were investigated. The results showed that the better property of nickel oxide was obtained when the mole ratio of nickel to urea was 1:4 and the hydrothermal temperature was 140℃. …

Preparation And Application Of Nano-Nio As Anode In Lithium-Ion Batteries, Cheng-Dong Bai, Jia-Jia Chen, Qi Zhang, Ming-Sen Zheng, Quan-Feng Dong

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this work, the nano-NiO material was prepared by hydrothermal method. The surface morphologies and electrochemical properties of nano-NiO material were investigated. The special nano-NiO material with porous surface assembling honeycombs(100-200nm) was obtained by using surface active agents. The discharge capacity of nano-NiO electrode up to 2385.7 mAh/g was achieved at current density of 0.1A/g in the first circle,while 1100mAh/g could be maintained after 100 circles. At current density of 2.0A/g, the discharge capacity of 600 mAh/g was obtained. And when the current density was reduced to 0.1A/g, the discharge capacity was restored to 1050 mAh/g. The nano-NiO electrode exhibited …

Corrosion Behaviors Of 316 Stainless Steel Weldment Studied By Array Reference Electrodes, Wang-Huo Yang, Rong-Gang Hu, Chen-Qing Ye, Wei Hang, Ning Li, Chang-Jian Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

The array reference electrodes were developed to in situ measure the potential distributions of the welded 316 stainless steel in 12% FeCl3 solution, combined with metallographic analysis, polarization curve, EIS measurement and Kelvin volta potential imaging. It was indicated that the weld zone of metal suffered a serious preferential corrosion when immersed in the environment due to the distinct changes of structure and composition during the welding process. With time prolonging, the corrosion potential of the welding zone was negatively shifted to a maximum value, and then declined gradually. At 45 min immersion, the corrosion development from welding zone to …

Microemulsion Preparation And Electrochemical Characterization Of Pt/C, Ptir/C Electrocatalysts, Ya-Ping Zeng, Sheng Sui

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Pt/C electrocatalysts were prepared by three different systems and the PtIr/C electrocatalysts were prepared with four different Ir contents. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), potentiostatic and potentiodynamic polarizations measurements. The experimental results confirmed that the electrocatalyst particles prepared by the microemulsion method were well distributed on XC-72R supports with the active particle sizes of 5～10nm and good electrocatalysts activity. The Pt85Ir15/C electrocatalysts showed the highest overall electrochemical activity in unitized regenerative fuel cell.

The Electrochemical Properties Of Cathode Materials LimXV3-XO8, Hui Yang, Gang-Gang Zhao, Juan Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

The cathode material of LiM_xV₃-xO₈ was fabricated by sol-gel method using citric acid as a chelating agent and doping transition metal ions M (Mn, Ti, Co and Ni). The structure, morphology and electrochemical proprieties of the LiMxV3-xO8 samples were investigated by XRD, TGA/DTA, SEM, charge-discharge and CV measurements. The results showed that different calcining temperatures result in different structures and morphologies, which lead to different discharge capacities. The specific discharge capacity of the sample calcined at 500℃ for 6 h was up to 300.4 mAh/g in the first cycle, and the capacity decreased with the …

Electrocatalytic Determination Of 15 Kinds Of Phenolic Compounds By Novel Gold Nanoparticles-Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode, Yan-Ping Cui, Wei-Xing Wang, Chang-Zhu Yang, Wen-Hong Pu

Journal of Electrochemistry

A gold nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode (Au/GCE) was used to detect 15 kinds of phenolic compounds. In the cyclic voltammetry measurements, the peak currents of phenolic compounds at Au/GCE were all increased as compared with GCE and planar gold electrodes, and the oxidation potentials were determined by the activity of analytes. Besides, electrocatalysis of salicylic acid was studied at Au/GCE. The results showed that, there was a good linear relationship between the oxidation current and the concentration of salicylic acid, and the current sensitivity was 1.8 fold higher than that obtained on GCE. Trace phenolic compounds determination could be …

Electrochemical Behaviors Of Hydroquinone On Polypyrrole/Stab-Nammt/Gc Electrode, Rong Li, Jian Xiong, Wei-Qiong Zhu, Yuan-Yuan Han, Jin Xu, Xiao-Ying He

Journal of Electrochemistry

The PPy/STAB-MMT/GC electrode was made using montmorillonite modified by STAB and polypyrrole (PPy). The electrochemical behaviors of hydroquinone on the PPy/STAB-MMT/GC electrode were researched by cyclic voltammetry and square wave stripping voltammetry (SWSV). The results showed that the electrode reaction occurred on the hydroquinone electrode was controlled by diffusion in PBS (pH=6.0). The number of electron transfer was equal to the number of protons (n=m=1) with the effective area of PPy/STAB-MMT/GC electrode Aeff=0.031 cm². Under the optimized conditions, the linear response of peak current in SWSV with the concentration of hydroquinone in a range of 8.0×10^-6~8.0×10 …

Molecular Diffusion And Slip Boundary Conditions At Smooth Surfaces With Periodic And Random Nanoscale Textures, Nikolai V. Priezjev

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The influence of periodic and random surface textures on the flow structure and effective slip length in Newtonian fluids is investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We consider a situation where the typical pattern size is smaller than the channel height and the local boundary conditions at wetting and nonwetting regions are characterized by finite slip lengths. In case of anisotropic patterns, transverse flow profiles are reported for flows over alternating stripes of different wettability when the shear flow direction is misaligned with respect to the stripe orientation. The angular dependence of the effective slip length obtained from MD simulations …