Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

Lignin Cationization For The Removal Of Phosphates And Nitrates From Effluents Of Wastewater Treatment Plants, Fannyuy V. Kewir

LSU Master's Theses

The removal of phosphates and nitrates from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents is important for preventing pollution of receiving waters. In this study, we chemically modified alkaline lignin (aLN) with quaternary ammonium groups to obtain biodegradable cationic lignin (cLN). We characterized the cLN and tested its efficacy for removing phosphates and nitrates in a lab setting and on field-collected WWTP samples. Adsorption isotherm and kinetic studies were performed in aqueous media, and the effects of several variables (contact time, pH, initial concentration, and adsorbent dose) were investigated. The Langmuir isotherm described phosphate and nitrate adsorption well, with R2 values of …

Ge/Sige Quantum Wells: Material For The Post-Moore Era, Troy Alexander Hutchins-Delgado

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

This dissertation demonstrates high-quality germanium quantum wells on a 200 mm silicon wafer platform, enabling novel device possibilities. Partnering with a commercial silicon-germanium epitaxy supplier, we obtained shallow, undoped germanium quantum wells with high-crystalline quality, confirmed through x-ray diffraction, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Hall bar devices fabricated on single quantum wells revealed that surface preparation can tune transport properties while maintaining peak mobilities around 10⁵ cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹. Manganese-germanide spintronic contacts were integrated via solid-state reaction, with contact quality assessed through Schottky diodes, transfer length …

Nature-Derived Flame Retardant For Cotton Fabrics With Green Coconut Shells, Tarikul Islam, Abdullah Al Rakib Shikder, Md Shahabul Hossen, Md Mazbah Uddin, Md Tanvir Hossain, M. Mahbubul Bashar

Michigan Tech Publications

This study presents an eco-friendly flame-retardant solution for cellulosic fabrics using green coconut shell (GCS) extract and phytic acid (PA). Cellulosic materials are highly flammable and release harmful gases during combustion. Conventional flame retardants may pose environmental and health risks while impacting the fabric quality. GCS extract is a rich source of tannins, phosphorus, silicates, metallic salts, and oxides and is explored as a novel flame retardant (FR) for cotton fabrics. Cotton samples were pretreated with PA and then with varying concentrations of GCS extract using a padding technique. Comprehensive characterization followed, including limiting oxygen index (LOI), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), …

Using Additive Manufacturing To Characterize Effects Of Sparse Infill Density And Sparse Infill Pattern On The Compressive Properties Of Short Strand Carbon Fiber Infused Petg, Luke C. Salisbury

Honors Theses

The advent of additive manufacturing has revolutionized the prototyping, design, and manufacturing of new and innovative products. Through the use of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), parts can be manufactured using different sparse infill percentages (the percentage of void space within a printed object) and sparse infill patterns (the lattice structure of material within the object). Through the manipulation of these variables, the same material and part can have different compressive and flexural properties. In addition to sparse infill, the thermoplastics used in fused deposition modeling can be reinforced with carbon fiber strands to create a printable composite material capable of …

Complex Precipitation Behavior In A Co-Free High Entropy Alloy During Aging, Matthew Luebbe, Fan Zhang, Jonathan D. Poplawsky, Jiaqi Duan, Haiming Wen

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

High entropy alloys (HEAs) demonstrate high strength, thermal stability, and irradiation resistance, making them desirable for applications in nuclear reactors and other harsh environments. Many existing HEAs contain cobalt (Co), which makes them unsuitable for nuclear applications due to the long-term activation of Co. A previously studied Co-free alloy, (Fe_0.3Ni_0.3Mn_0.3Cr_0.1)₈₈Ti₄Al₈, exhibits high strength but compromised ductility due to its network of brittle precipitates upon aging. This work investigates the formation mechanism and evolution of the precipitates, including L1₂ (Ni₃Ti type, ordered face-centered cubic …

Multiphysics Modeling And Experimental Validation Of High-Strength Steel In Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process, M. Rangapuram, S. Babalola, J. W. Newkirk, L. N. Bartlett, F. W. Liou, K. Chandrashekhara, Stephen R. Cluff

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a subset of the additive manufacturing process in which a laser beam selectively joins the metal powder into a desired part in a sequential layer process. Owing to its complex nature of rapid heating and cooling of the melt pool, there is a need to understand the melt pool behavior and its effects on the final manufactured part. a densely packed powder bed is highly desirable for fabricating a superior part using the LPBF process. in this work, discrete element model was used to generate powder beds with realistic powder properties and various factors …

Striking A Balance: Market Shock & Responses In Automotive Components Manufacturing, Emma Lane Mcgahey

All Theses

This thesis examines the effects of extreme market shocks on supply chain dynamics within the automotive industry. Through an analysis of demand data from an automotive manufacturer to its component suppliers (January 2018 to May 2024), the study investigates the relationship between market shocks and supply chain responses, providing insights into how auto components inventory management handles downstream responses to market shocks. With supporting public data—from FRED, BLS, and the U.S. Census Bureau resources—we explore two primary relationships: the impact of market shocks on the Average Standard Deviation of Demand (SDO) and the effect of demand variability on expedited pricing …

Estimating The Possible Qpos Of M87* From The Parameters Of A Hairy Kerr Black Hole, Orhan Donmez, Fatih Dogan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, we study the dynamics of the shock cone formed around a hairy Kerr black hole due to Bondi– Hoyle–Lyttleton (BHL) accretion and investigate the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) behaviors resulting from the black hole-cone interaction, aiming to predict the QPO frequencies that may occur around the M87∗ black hole. To achieve this, we use the hairy Kerr black hole parameters consistent with the observed shadow parameters of M87∗ as initial conditions in numerical simulations, revealing the structure of the resulting shock cone and QPOs in a strong gravitational field. Numerical calculations show that the deviation of …

Hafnium Oxide Coating To Improve The Oxidation Behavior Of Zirconium Diboride, Jan E. Förster, William G. Fahrenholtz, Gregory E. Hilmas, Ravisankar Naraparaju

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hafnium dioxide (HfO₂) coatings were successfully deposited on zirconium diboride (ZrB₂) using reactive magnetron sputtering. After the oxidation at 1500°C or 1600°C, the mutual dissolution of HfO₂ and thermally grown ZrO₂ was observed which has resulted in the formation of a mixed oxide zone. As the enrichment of the mixed oxide zone by ZrO₂ progresses, monoclinic/tetragonal phase transition temperature of ∼1790°C for nominally pure HfO₂ moves towards ∼1500 °C. Finally, the inevitable phase transition from monoclinic to tetragonal structure results in the development of cracks, pores, and gaps within the mixed oxide …

Machine Learned Interatomic Potentials For Ternary Carbides Trained On The Aflow Database, Josiah Roberts, Biswas Rijal, Simon Divilov, Jon Paul Maria, William G. Fahrenholtz, Douglas E. Wolfe, Donald W. Brenner, Stefano Curtarolo, Eva Zurek

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Large-density functional theory (DFT) databases are a treasure trove of energies, forces, and stresses that can be used to train machine-learned interatomic potentials for atomistic modeling. Herein, we employ structural relaxations from the AFLOW database to train moment tensor potentials (MTPs) for four carbide systems: CHfTa, CHfZr, CMoW, and CTaTi. The resulting MTPs are used to relax ~6300 random symmetric structures and are subsequently improved via active learning to generate robust potentials (RP) that can relax a wide variety of structures, and accurate potentials (AP) designed for the relaxation of low-energy systems. This protocol is shown to yield convex hulls …

Toward Electrochemical Detection Of Salmonella Enterica Serovar Enteritidis On Hydroponically Grown Green Onions (Allium Fistulosum L.), Lisseth Casso-Hartmann

All Theses

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established standards during the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce for human consumption as part of implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). One of the main requirements for farmers is to detect environmental pathogens such as Salmonella enterica species in water and sprout samples. S. enterica is a bacterium of significant concern due to its pathogenicity and ability to survive and persist in diverse environmental conditions. S. enterica has been associated with recalls in ready-to-eat foods. Traditional detection methods include Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and plate counting, which …

Modeling, Synthesis, And Experimental Characterization Of Rhenium Disulfide For Optoelectronic Devices, Solomon Opeyami Ojo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have garnered considerable interest for their potential in optoelectronics and photonics owing to their remarkable combination of electronic, optical, and mechanical properties. These characteristics distinguish them from other 2D materials, including graphene, making them particularly valuable for next-generation technologies. This dissertation focuses on ReS_₂, a 2D TMD with a unique anisotropic 1T distorted crystal structure. The research aims to elucidate its fundamental properties through a combination of theoretical modeling, material synthesis, and experimental characterization techniques, with the goal of optimizing ReS_₂ for device applications. A theoretical investigation utilizing Density Functional Theory …

Ellipticity-Controlled Exceptional Points From Nanoscale Metasurfaces, Benjamin Goldberg

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Precise control over light polarization is critical for advancing technologies in telecommunica- tions, quantum computing, and image sensing. However, existing methods for manipulating polarization around exceptional points in non-Hermitian systems, have exclusively focused on circular polarization and work with reflected light. To address this limitation, we de- velop a novel metasurface platform with high-Q resonators that enables tunable control of polarization exceptional points across arbitrary ellipticity for transmitted light. Our design uses orthogonally polarized guided mode resonators in a two-layer silicon metasurface, where careful tuning of the dipolar guided mode resonances (DGMRs) and layer spacing allows us to control the …

Ohmic Contacts For Fabrication Of Sic Cmos Devices, Anthony Di Mauro

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today’s world of electronics is dominated by semiconductor devices which utilize silicon as their substrate material. Though, silicon is not ideal for semiconductor devices in high-voltage or high-temperature applications. Additionally, the efficiency of silicon devices becomes drastically reduced in nonideal operating conditions. Therefore, finding alternatives to silicon?based devices has been a topic for decades now. A few great candidates to replace silicon devices for said applications include Silicon Carbide (SiC), Gallium Nitride (GaN), and Aluminum Arsenide (AlAs). SiC has grown its reputation as the best candidate, when compared to other potential alternatives, due to its wide bandgap, high operating frequency, …

Thermal Conductivity Characterization Of High Oleic Vegetable Oils Based Hybrid Nanofluids Formulated Using Gnp, Tio2, Mos2, Al2o3 Nanoparticles For Mql Machining, Anthony Chukwujekwu Okafor, Tobechukwu Kingsley Abor, Saidanvar Esanjonovich Valiev, Ignatius Echezona Ekengwu, Abiodun Saka, Monday Uchenna Okoronkwo

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the results of thermal conductivity characterization of six high oleic soybean oil (HOSO) and four high oleic canola oil (HOCO)-based hybrid nanofluids formulated with four types of nanoparticles (Graphene nanoplatelet (xGnP), TiO2, MoS2, and Al2O3) at nanoparticles wt.% concentration from 1 % to 7 % in 1 % increment using the two-step method for use in MQL machining of difficult-to-cut metals. Thermal conductivity of the formulated hybrid nanofluids were measured using Thermtest Transient Hot Wire Liquid Thermal Conductivity Meter at temperatures from 25 °C to 75 °C in increment of 10 °C. Obtained results showed that thermal …

Pressureless Sintering Of Sic - Oxide Multiphase Ceramics For Protective Coating Applications, Reilly Boros

All Theses

For hydrogen-fueled combustion, there exists a demand to improve coating materials that are capable of protecting SiC_f/SiC CMC turbine material. Promising coating materials must be able to shield from harsh oxidation while working at extremely high temperatures. The work presented in this thesis aims to expand the understanding of two promising material systems for integrated environmental barrier coating (EBC) – thermal barrier coatings (TBC) by fabricating bulk composite ceramic samples and performing characterization to further understand their sintering behaviors. In this study, a processing procedure to consistently produce dense composite ceramics of PDC SiC – Y₂Si …

Removal Capabilities Of Zeolite And Zero Valent Iron With High-Level Waste Tank Radionuclides And Metals: Cesium, Strontium And Chromium, Colette R. Towles

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

High level nuclear waste (HLW) has been disposed for temporary storage in underground steel tanks at the Department of Energy Nuclear sites. For example, at the Hanford Site, WA, and Savannah River Site (SRS), SC, HLW account for eighty-eight million gallons (Mgal) and 450 million Curies (MCi) of radioactivity. In the early nuclear activity at Hanford, the waste was discharged to single-shell steel tanks, and the lack of secondary containment allowed leaks, contaminating soil and groundwater. Despite tremendous efforts to stabilize the liquid waste at nuclear sites, treatment is complex, costly, and time-consuming; therefore, HLW may have to be stored …

Experimental Evaluation Of A Recrosslinkable Co2-Resistant Micro-Sized Preformed Particle Gel For Co2 Sweep Efficiency Improvement In Reservoirs With Super-K Channels, Adel Alotibi, Tao Song, Ali Al Brahim, Baojun Bai, Thomas P. Schuman

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A recross linkable CO₂-resistant branched preformed particle gel (CO₂-BRPPG) was developed for controlling CO₂ injection conformance, particularly in reservoirs with super-permeable channels. Previous work focused on a millimeter-sized CO₂-BRPPG in open fractures, but its performance in high-permeability channels with pore throat networks remained unexplored. This study used a sand pack model to evaluate a micro-sized CO₂-BRPPG under varying conditions of salinity, gel concentration, and pH. at ambient conditions, the equilibrium swelling ratio (ESR) of the gel reached 76 times its original size. This ratio decreased with increasing salinity but remained stable …

Cyclic Thermal Stability Of Native Oxide Solar Thermal Absorbers On Femnnialcr High Entropy Alloys For Energy Applications, Xiaoxue Gao

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

High entropy alloys (HEAs) are promising candidates for cost-effective high-temperature materials in high-efficiency power cycles. A potential application is in concentrated solar power (CSP) systems, where native oxides of cost-effective FeMnNiAlCr HEAs can also synergistically serve as a high-efficiency solar thermal absorber. However, the huge and repetitive temperature change of the CSP system in day-night cycles greatly challenges its thermal stability. In this thesis, we investigated the cyclic oxidation behavior of FeMnNiAlCr HEAs to improve the optical performance and thermal stability of their native oxides as a solar absorber for next-generation CSP systems. We found that the duplex oxide scale …

Investigating Functionalized Cvd Graphene Heterostructures As Platforms For Hydrogen Gas Sensing, Evans Asiedu Addo-Mensah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The hydrogen economy is rapidly advancing and is poised to become one of the world's largest economies, driven by the abundance of hydrogen gas. Several organizations, particularly in the United States of America, are closely or have been monitoring this development, with rapidly increasing interest. Considering that hydrogen gas has no taste, smell (odor), or color, and very combustible, it’s imperative to develop detectors and sensors capable of rapidly detecting leaks to prevent application disasters. Owing to its extraordinary mechanical and electrical characteristics, graphene is the material that has been studied the most. When combined with hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), …

Influence Of Glycopolymer Structure On Amphiphilic, Hybrid, Linear Branched Block Copolymer Properties For Use In Biomedical Applications, Kevin Green

Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is evaluating and adding fundamental knowledge regarding the structure-property relations of glycopolymers used in the design of hybrid block copolymers (HBC) that are cable of self-assembling into delivery vehicles for biomedical applications. A shift to the utilization of natural materials in the design and fabrication of drug-delivery vehicles has garnered significant attention. Understanding the effects of linear glycopolymers content and composition on the resulting HBCs properties can provide valuable insight into how these materials may be tailored for use in targeted biological applications.

The first chapter introduces current literature on the need for improvement in …

Neural Operator And Physics-Informed Deep Learning Approaches For Inverse Design Of Composites And Manufacturing Processes, Minglei Lu

All Dissertations

In this dissertation, artificial intelligence (AI) models are designed and used to accelerate inverse design of composites and manufacturing processes. The critical bottlenecks in machine learning (ML) including data availability, data quality, model generalization and adaptation, interpretability, physical consistency, and the ’black box’ nature of models for the inverse design are addressed. And the proposed AI models are tested under different engineering scenarios. Firstly, a fast deep neural operator (DNO) structure was developed to significantly reduce training time. This model was tested in the context of additive manufacturing, a transformative industrial technology that allows for the creation of materials with …

Investigation Of Conductive Die-Top Thermal Capacitors During Short Circuit Operation Of Silicon Carbide Devices, Youssef Abotaleb

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

Silicon carbide (SiC) power devices have garnered significant attention in recent years due to their superior thermal and electrical properties compared to traditional silicon devices. However, SiC power devices suffer from severe reliability issues arising from their mechanical properties. This is because the Young's modulus of SiC is about three times larger than that of silicon, which correspondingly raises the mechanical stresses acting on the bonding structure, often leading to device failure under power shock events.

Traditional packaging materials and designs tend to constrain SiC performance, as hot-spot temperature resulting from a power shock is one of the key factors …

Understanding Defect Dynamics In Black Phosphorene Under Noble Gas Ion Irradiation., Saransh Gupta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Controlled introduction of defects in phosphorene using high-energy ion beams offers a promising route to design novel high-performance materials for energy technologies. However, this potential remains underexplored due to a lack of fundamental understanding of the atomic-scale mechanisms governing the production, accumulation, and temporal evolution of defects during ion irradiation. Here, we employ a combination of classical and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the effects of ion energy, angle of incidence, noble gas ion size/mass, and fluence on (a) defect generation (i.e., point defects, topological imperfections, voids), (b) atomic-scale mechanisms of defect formation and re-arrangement, and (c) defect …

Thermal Conductivity Characterization Of High Oleic Vegetable Oils Based Hybrid Nanofluids Formulated Using Gnp, Tio2, Mos2, Al2o3 Nanoparticles For Mql Machining, Anthony Chukwujekwu Okafor, Tobechukwu Kingsley Abor, Saidanvar Esanjonovich Valiev, Ignatius Echezona Ekengwu, Abiodun Saka, Monday Uchenna Okoronkwo

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the results of thermal conductivity characterization of six high oleic soybean oil (HOSO) and four high oleic canola oil (HOCO)-Based hybrid nanofluids formulated with four types of nanoparticles (Graphene nanoplatelet (xGnP), TiO₂, MoS₂, and Al₂O₃) at nanoparticles wt.% concentration from 1 % to 7 % in 1 % increment using the two-step method for use in MQL machining of difficult-to-cut metals. Thermal conductivity of the formulated hybrid nanofluids were measured using Thermtest Transient Hot Wire Liquid Thermal Conductivity Meter at temperatures from 25 °C to 75 °C in increment …

A General Model For The Ductility Of Intermetallics Applied To Fe-Co Alloys, Wesley Everhart, Joseph Newkirk

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The mechanical properties, specifically ductility, of high performing soft magnets such as Fe-Co alloys are a limiting factor to their broader use in a number of systems. The understanding of the mechanical robustness in these materials is currently insufficient to be able to support the growing interest in applications such as magnetic shielding or electric motors. Fe-Co alloys provide the highest commercially available magnetic saturation and high magnetic permeability but have very poor ductility. The addition of vanadium to these alloys has allowed for significant commercialization and some ductility improvements, but the fundamental reasons for the observed improvements are not …

Fabrication And Performance Of Scalable Bio-Engineered Porous Layers For Efficient Co2 Capture, Mary Sharon Rose Bondugula

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the critical challenge of mitigating climate change by advancing CO2 capture technologies. As global CO2 emissions continue to rise, effective methods for capturing and separating CO2 from industrial processes are essential to combat climate change. Existing CO2 capture systems, such as Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) and Temperature Swing Adsorption (TSA), often rely on packed bed designs that face limitations, including poor heat and mass transfer, slow gas diffusion, and low thermal conductivity, reducing their efficiency. To overcome these challenges, this dissertation explores innovative solutions by developing advanced adsorbent coatings and scalable bed configurations.

This research begins by …

Prediction Of Dislocation Density During Casting Of 316 Stainless Steel Based Alloys As A Function Of Chromium And Nickel Composition, Abhishek Chitradurga Ranganath

All Theses

By the 1990s, computational methods were beginning to be used to study dislocation density in mental casting. Prior to that time research was based heavily on laboratory studies. This move was encouraged by the need to overcome limitations that experimental approaches had, including high costs and time-consuming processes, and needs of researchers to understand atomic-scale phenomena. Computational techniques allow complex materials to be simulated in cost effective way and can provide insight into behaviour that could never be determined through experimental methods alone.

This work utilized molecular dynamics (MD) simulations along with machine learning approaches to examine the dislocation density …

Multi-Scale Modeling Of Dna-Templated Aggregates For Excitonic Applications, German Barcenas Moncada

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Quantum entanglement occupies a central role in the application of quantum mechanics towards emerging technologies of quantum information systems. Meanwhile, quantum entanglement is believed to be observed at room temperature in photosynthetic complexes in plants and algae through the energy transfer of dye molecules. The goal of this project is to engineer dye properties and their arrangement when dyes and aggregates are covalently attached to DNA so that the emergent property of exciton delocalization is as coherent, predictable, detectable and controllable. The creation of such a platform would enable the continued study of near room-temperature quantum entanglement and the more …

Synthesis And Doping Effects In Highly Conductive Chalcogenide Solid Electrolytes., Selim Halacoglu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lithium and sodium ion batteries have been a vital component in the growth of small, portable electronic devices and EVs over the past 30 years. For future energy needs, changes to battery chemistry and composition will be necessary for two primary reasons: safer and higher energy batteries. Metal anodes have not seen widespread commercialization because of their propensity to react aggressively with the flammable liquid electrolytes commonly used in modern batteries. Non-flammable solid-state batteries (SSB) with solid electrolytes can safely be used with metal anodes, potentially providing a solution to both problems. The future perspective of safer battery is that …