Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

Fabrication, Development, And Characterization Of Hipco Swcnt - Alginate Hydrogel Composites For Cellular Product Applications, Fabian Armando Alvarez-Primo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this study, we designed, synthesized, and characterized ultrahigh purity single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-alginate hydrogel composites. Among the parameters of importance in the formation of an alginate-based hydrogel composite with single-walled carbon nanotubes, are their varying degrees of purity, their particulate agglomeration and their dose-dependent correlation to cell viability, all of which have an impact on the resultant compositeâ??s efficiency and effectiveness towards biomedical applications. To promote their homogenous dispersion by preventing agglomeration of the SWCNT, at first, we used three different surfactants-sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS-anionic), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB-cationic), and Pluronic F108 (nonionic). After experimentation and corroboration through evidence obtained …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Material Systems For 3d Printed Smart Structures, Hilda Fontes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The silica hollow spheres have demonstrated excellent results in multiple applications such as light-weight composites, and optical applications as a glass coating. This material also exhibits excellent thermal, shock impact, and hydrophilic properties extremely useful for industrial applications. However, a controllable size of the particle is desired to further increase the number of applications of the silica hollow spheres.

This Thesis aims a method to fabricate silica hollow spheres in a single step with a controlled diameter size. A study was developed to demonstrate the particle size change when adjusting the molecular weight of the medium by using different alcohol …

Investigation Of Iron Doped Gallium Oxide (Ga-Fe-O) System: Structure Property Relationship And Performance Evaluation For Optical And Catalytic Applications, Swadipta Roy

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

From September 2012 to May 2015, a phenocam monitored the seaward edge of a protected mangrove forest. Calculated GCC revealed seasonal greening patterns of a mangrove species, Rhizophoa apiculata, and an overall increase in the GCC, suggesting mangrove expansion. In comparing temperature and precipitation effects, it was found that this particular mangrove species had a greening optima at temperatures between 28°C and 28.5°C, and greening and canopy development response lag time of 10 weeks in response to precipitation. Tree saplings were monitored and showed to grow by 50%, mostly during a three month period during the rainy season. The establishment …

Organophosphorus-Hydrazides As Potential Reactive Flame Retardants For Epoxy, Alexander B. Morgan, Vladimir Benin, Donald A. Klosterman, Abdulhamid Bin Sulayman, Mustafa Mukhtar, Mary L. Galaska

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

For structural composites used in vehicles and aircraft, flame retardant chemistries which enhance char formation and reduce heat release are preferred. Phosphorus-based and phosphorus–nitrogen flame retardants for epoxies have been well studied to date, but phosphorus hydrazides have not been studied for their flame-retardant potential in epoxy. These hydrazides offer some novel structures and they can potentially offer a combination of vapor and condensed phase flame retardant action. A series of eight compounds were systematically investigated in this study as reactive flame retardants in a bisphenol F epoxy/aliphatic amine resin system at a level of 2.5 wt% phosphorus. Results suggest …

Investigation On The Mechanical Properties And Microstructure Analysis Of Micro-Resistance Spot Welding Between Stainless Steel 316l And Tl-6al-4v, Mohd Mansor Muhammad Safwan

Student Works (2020-2029)

In this study, ASS 316L and Ti-6Al-4V were welded together by micro-resistance spot welding (μRSW) at different combinations of welding parameters using specifically design electrode geometry in order to acquire the optimal combination of welding parameters. The welded joint were subjected to tensile shear strength test to determine the influence of welding current, welding time, welding force and different design of elctrode tip on the mechanical properties and the strength of the welded joint. The experiment was conducted by using full factorial design of experiment (DoE) with L27 orthogonal array and utilizing the analysis of variance (ANOVA) to obtain the …

Gold/Qds-Embedded-Ceria Nanoparticles: Optical Fluorescence Enhancement As A Quenching Sensor, Nader Shehata, Effat Samir, Ishac Kandas

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This work focuses on improving the fluorescence intensity of cerium oxide (ceria) nanoparticles (NPs) through added plasmonic nanostructures. Ceria nanoparticles are fluorescent nanostructures which can emit visible fluorescence emissions under violet excitation. Here, we investigated different added plasmonic nanostructures, such as gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and Cadmium sulfide/selenide quantum dots (CdS/CdSe QDs), to check the enhancement of fluorescence intensity emissions caused by ceria NPs. Different plasmonic resonances of both aforementioned nanostructures have been selected to develop optical coupling with both fluorescence excitation and emission wavelengths of ceria. In addition, different additions whether in-situ or post-synthesis have been investigated. We found …

Thermoelectric Porous Mof Based Hybrid Materials, Engelbert Redel, Helmut Baumgart

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Porous hybrid materials and MOF (Metal-Organic-Framework) films represent modern designer materials that exhibit many requirements of a near ideal and tunable future thermoelectric (TE) material. In contrast to traditional semiconducting bulk TE materials, porous hybrid MOF templates can be used to overcome some of the constraints of physics in bulk TE materials. These porous hybrid systems are amenable for simulation and modeling to design novel optimized electron-crystal phonon-glass materials with potentially very high ZT (figure of merit) numbers. Porous MOF and hybrid materials possess an ultra-low thermal conductivity, which can be further modulated by phonon engineering within their complex porous …

Observation Of Reduced Thermal Conductivity In A Metal-Organic Framework Due To The Presence Of Adsorbates, Hasan Babaei, Mallory E. Decoster, Minyoung Jeong, Zeinab M. Hassan, Timur Islamoglu, Helmut Baumgart, Alan J.H. Mcgaughey, Engelbert Redel, Omar K. Farha, Patrick E. Hopkins, Jonathan A. Malen, Christopher E. Wilmer

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Whether the presence of adsorbates increases or decreases thermal conductivity in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been an open question. Here we report observations of thermal transport in the metal-organic framework HKUST-1 in the presence of various liquid adsorbates: water, methanol, and ethanol. Experimental thermoreflectance measurements were performed on single crystals and thin films, and theoretical predictions were made using molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the thermal conductivity of HKUST-1 decreases by 40 – 80% depending on the adsorbate, a result that cannot be explained by effective medium approximations. Our findings demonstrate that adsorbates introduce additional phonon scattering in HKUST-1, …

Effect Of Layer Thickness On Structural, Morphological And Superconducting Properties Of Nb3Sn Films Fabricated By Multilayer Sequential Sputtering, M. N. Sayeed, U. Pudasaini, C. E. Reece, G. V. Eremeev, H. E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Superconducting Nb₃Sn films can be synthesized by controlling the atomic concentration of Sn. Multilayer sequential sputtering of Nb and Sn thin films followed by high temperature annealing is considered as a method to fabricate Nb₃Sn films, where the Sn composition of the deposited films can be controlled by the thickness of alternating Nb and Sn layers. We report on the structural, morphological and superconducting properties of Nb₃Sn films fabricated by multilayer sequential sputtering of Nb and Sn films on sapphire substrates followed by annealing at 950 °C for 3 h. We have investigated the …

Design, Microstructure And Properties Of Metastable Beta-Type Biomedical Titanium Alloys, Syed Faraz Jawed

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many existing implant biomaterials including cobalt-chromium alloy, stainless steel, Ti-6Al-4V and commercially pure titanium have all been shown to demonstrate mechanical incompatibility, poor osseointegration and/or cause cytotoxic effects on the human body after some years of application, leading to revision surgery in most cases. Consequently, there is an immediate need for an enduring biomaterial that displays good mechanical properties and possesses biocompatibility and corrosion resistance, in order to reduce rates of revision surgeries. In this PhD work, based on the 𝐵𝑜̅̅̅̅-𝑀𝑑̅̅̅̅̅, 𝑒/𝑎̅̅̅̅̅-𝛥𝑟̅̅̅ and BF-d-electron superelastic theoretical relationships four new series of quaternary Ti-25Nb-8Zr-xCr, Ti-25Nb-xSn-yCr, Ti26Nb-xMn-yZr and Ti-25Nb-xMn-ySn alloys have been …

Designing Composites For Graceful Failure, Amany G. Micheal Prof., Yehia Ahmed Bahei El Din Prof.

Architectural Engineering

When inevitable, failure in composite laminates is preferred to occur gracefully to avoid loss of property and possibly life. While the inherent inhomogeneity leads to slow dissipation of damage-related energy, overall failure is fiber-dominated and occurs in a rather brittle manner. Multidirectional plies usually give a more ductile response. Additionally, stiffness and strength as well as cost are important factors to consider in designing composite laminates. It is hence desirable to optimize for high mechanical properties and low cost while keeping graceful failure. Designing composite laminates with hybrid systems and layups, which permit gradual damage energy dissipation, are two ways …

Increasing Access To Pv Technology Through Sustainable Racking: A Review Of Existing Literature And Ground Mounted Fixed Tilt Designs, And What Can Be Done Next, Parijata Prabhakara

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

There is a lack of literature on the structural balance of systems (BOS), also called racking, for ground mount, fixed-tilt solar PV systems. Literature that exists discusses mostly rooftop racking and installations, additional wind loading, and weight considerations imposed on roofs, and little guidance is provided in building codes. The lack of peer-reviewed guidance on design requirements for domestic and large-scale application solar PV racking systems leaves most consumers relying on expensive, patented, off-the-shelf hardware. As PV cell technology and module costs have improved, we can start to focus on PV BOS improvements (particularly racking) and move towards sustainable designs …

Virus Purification Framework And Enhancement In Aqueous Two-Phase System, Pratik Umesh Joshi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Viral infections regularly pose detrimental health risks to humans. Preventing viral infections through global immunization requires the production of large doses of vaccines. The increasing demand for vaccines, especially during pandemics such as COVID-19, has challenged current manufacturing strategy to develop advanced unit operations with high throughput capability. Over the decade, the upstream processing responsible for synthesizing viral products in cell cultures has shown significant success in yielding high titers of viruses and virus-like particles. The progress in the upstream stage has now shifted the bottleneck to the downstream processing (DSP). Overlooked for decades, the DSP responsible for viral product …

Sensitivity And Uncertainty Quantification Of Continuum And Stochastic Bond Dissociation Kinetics Based Cohesive Laws, Rishabh Awasthi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Polymeric adhesives are being extensively used to develop light weight and durable Composite Materials which are have been employed in automotive, aeronautical, medical industry. Polymeric adhesives undergo failure due to relative opening sliding of bonded interfaces which requires a need to characterize the fracture mechanism. Numerous experiments are conducted to predict the fracture response for Mode-I, II,III and numerical simulations are employed to inversely calibrate the material parameters governing the constitutive laws. Cohesive zone models are largely employed in fracture mechanics to predict failure of interfaces undergoing large plastic deformations. The objective of this report is to employ the cohesive …

Buckling Load Study On Pop Nut (Rivet) Using Finite Element Analysis, Saurabh Shankar Shegokar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This study highlights the material behavior in riveting operation that includes buckling load analysis using ABAQUS. Finite Element Analysis is used to find the buckling load vs. Displacement results and validated with the results obtained in physical testing of rivet (POP Nut). A mesh sensitivity study is performed using ABAQUS to understand the optimum mesh size for this analysis. An axisymmetric model with contact properties is created and simulated to reduce the simulation time using ABAQUS. The results obtained through Finite Element Analysis show a good resemblance with the testing results. Design changes were suggested to achieve better results that …

Artificial Synthetic Scaffolds For Tissue Engineering Application Emphasizing The Role Of Biophysical Cues, Samerender Nagam Hanumantharao

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The mechanotransduction of cells is the intrinsic ability of cells to convert the mechanical signals provided by the surrounding matrix and other cells into biochemical signals that affect several distinct processes such as tumorigenesis, wound healing, and organ formation. The use of biomaterials as an artificial scaffold for cell attachment, differentiation and proliferation provides a tool to modulate and understand the mechanotransduction pathways, develop better in vitro models and clinical remedies. The effect of topographical cues and stiffness was investigated in fibroblasts using polycaprolactone (PCL)- Polyaniline (PANI) based scaffolds that were fabricated using a self-assembly method and electrospinning. Through this …

Effect Of Cobalt In Thin Wall Ductile Iron And Solid Solution Strengthened Ferritic Ductile Iron, Alejandra I. Almanza

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Ductile Iron is a material that is constantly evolving. Consequently, the ferrous industry is not only focusing on lightweighting but also on improving the impact strength and fracture toughness of typical ferritic-pearlitic ductile iron grades and solid solution strengthened ferritic ductile irons. Recently, the demand for thin-wall ductile iron and solid solution strengthened ferritic ductile iron grades has increased. The challenges behind the fabrication of these two ductile iron materials are the presence of carbides and the embrittlement of ferrite. In response, research has been focused on looking at alternative methods that can mitigate carbide formation in thin sections and …

Influence Of Rapid Solidification And Wrought Processing On Precipitation Strengthening And Deformation Mechanisms In Al-Sc-Zr Alloys, Yang Yang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Al-Sc-Zr alloys have drawn increasing attention in the last several decades due to their strengthening and coarsening resistance. In this study, solute concentrations of Sc and Zr were increased beyond their equilibrium solubilities without primary precipitate formation using melt-spinning. The melt-spun ribbon was metallurgically bonded into bulk shape using extrusion. With the proper aging treatment, the mechanical properties of the supersaturated melt-spun ribbon and extruded rod were found to be significantly higher than a baseline dilute alloy. Increased mechanical properties include microhardness, tensile strength at ambient-temperature, and compressive strength and threshold stress at and elevated-temperature. These increases were related to …

The Study Of Chemical Induced Polyolefin-Based Ion Exchange Membrane For Electrodialysis Application, Di Huang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

High-performance ion exchange membranes with high ion exchange capacity (IEC), excellent mechanical properties, lower membrane resistance and superior ions conductivity were developed with chemical-induced polymerization in this work. Through a series of synthesizing experiments, structure characterization and properties testing for polyolefin-based cation exchange membrane (CEM) and anion exchange membrane (AEM), LDPE proved to be an optimized backbone material. The CEM with 57.5% styrene, 38.4% LDPE, 3% crosslinking degree and 1% initiator addition yield the highest IEC value (1.72 mol/g) and moderate burst strength. The 10% addition of styrene was found to enhance IEC of 57% to AEM. However, continually increase …

Ultrasonic-Based Condition Assessment Of Wooden Utility Poles, Yishi Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

More than 300 million utility poles shoulder the utility grid in the United States. However, the ineffectiveness of the current inspection process causes roughly a third of utility poles removed from the service deemed suitable for reuse. Due to the utterly essential role of the power infrastructure, budget shrinkage, and the structural degradation of the modern distribution grid, this Ph.D. dissertation addresses the challenges by proposing a physics-based signal analysis method with a jointly developed ultrasonic UB1000 system c to enhance the objectivity in ultrasonic-based nondestructive evaluation (NDE). The proposed methodology has been deployed commercially in the field and featured …

Thermally Driven Spin Transport In Ferromagnetic Metals, Wafa Saud Aljuaid

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the discovery in 2008, the spin Seebeck effect has become one of the most active topics in the spin caloritronics research field. It opened a new way to create spin current by a combination of magnetic fields and heat. A temperature gradient in ferromagnetic (FM) metals generates a ow of spin current due to split of spin chemical potential between spin up and spin down electrons. This thermal spin current has been detected using an attached nonmagnetic heavy metal with large spin Hall angle via the inverse spin hall effect (ISHE). A voltage signal is generated since the nonmagnetic …

Plasmon-Enhanced Optical Probes For Sensing Of Drug Metabolite, Jennifer Boryczka

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

An Au@SiO₂ core-shell nanostar structure was synthesized along with CuInS2 quantum dots. The quantum dots display near-infrared fluorescence. In this work, the nanostar structure was functionalized with antibodies and then was utilized as a SERS probe for drug metabolite detection. Drugs are an illicit substance that police, medics, and hospitals need to know if an individual is under the influence of but that individual will not always be willing or able to provide that information. A sensor based on this new probe has been developed for detection of drug metabolites in buffer.

Comprehensively Improved Electrochemical Performance Of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries By “Chemical Anchors” And Lithium Anode Modification, Zhipeng Zeng

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Lithium-sulfur battery is considered to be one of the most promising contenders for the next generation high-energy storages due to their high theoretical energy density (~2600 W h kg^-1). However, a series of issues, especially for the dissolution of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) with their “shuttle effect” and dendrite formation on the lithium anode, greatly limit their widely commercial applications. Starting from a brief overview of conventional methods to solve these problems, the achievements spotlighted in this research work mainly focus on the structure design of cathode materials by employing “chemical anchors” to effectively suppress the diffusion of LiPSs, …

Doping With Rare Earth Elements And Resultant Nano-Inclusions On The Electrical And Thermal Properties Of The Mis-Fit Layered Thermoelectric Oxide, Geoffroy Gauneau

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Thermoelectric generators produce electricity by directly converting temperature differences into electrical energy through Seebeck effect. Thermoelectric generators possess many unique features, such as having no moving part and being very reliable with a relatively long lifespan once built. They are solid-state waste heat harvesters. With various waste heat available throughout many industries, thermoelectric generators could offer economically competitive renewable energy. The current state of the art thermoelectric materials includes materials with relatively toxic elements and must work under vacuum, making them quite expensive to produce. Among the various thermoelectric materials, ceramic oxides have been proved to be more chemically stable …

Macro - And Microstructure Evaluation And Field Applications Of Concrete With Recycled Glass Pozzolan, Marija Krstic

Dissertations and Theses

Concrete is the most used material in the world, second only to water. Conventional concrete is produced with Portland cement (PC). The production of cement is an energy intensive operation that has raised significant environmental concerns, since one ton of cement generates an equal ton of CO₂. In the USA about 90 million tons of cement are used annually, with 3 million tons used in New York. Most contemporary concrete applications for buildings and infrastructure use high-performance concrete (HPC) mixtures which are produced by replacing a percentage of cement with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), consisting mainly of fly-ash …

Synthesis Of Graphene Using Plasma Etching And Atmospheric Pressure Annealing: Process And Sensor Development, Andrew Robert Graves

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Having been theorized in 1947, it was not until 2004 that graphene was first isolated. In the years since its isolation, graphene has been the subject of intense, world-wide study due to its incredibly diverse array of useful properties. Even though many billions of dollars have been spent on its development, graphene has yet to break out of the laboratory and penetrate mainstream industrial applications markets. This is because graphene faces a ‘grand challenge.’ Simply put, there is currently no method of manufacturing high-quality graphene on the industrial scale. This grand challenge looms particularly large for electronic applications where the …

Paper-Based Point-Of-Care Tools For Blood Testing, Xuefei Gao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Early detection of malignant disease is crucial for timely diagnosis and effective medical intervention, which significantly increases survival rates and reduce financial burden on patients. Biomarkers are becoming increasingly important in detection of malignant diseases, because they can be employed for indicating diseases, predicting risks and monitoring the progression of diseases. In addition, biomarkers show up at early stages of diseases in human tissues and fluids (e.g., blood, urine and saliva), which shows great promise for early disease detection. In this dissertation, paper-based lateral flow strips (PLFSs) have been developed for the detection of disease biomarkers, including protein biomarkers and …

Time-Dependent Reliability Framework For Durability Design Of Frp Composites, Rajneesh Kumar Bharil

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The life-cycle performance, durability, and aging characteristics of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP or Structural Composites) have been of keen interest to the engineers engaged in the FRP design, construction, and manufacturing. Unlike conventional construction materials such as steel and concrete, the design guidelines to account for the aging of FRP are somewhat scattered or not available in an approved or consistent format. Loss of strength over time or aging of any structural material should be of concern to engineers as the in-service lifespan of many engineering structures is expected to exceed 100 years. Use of durability strength-reduction factors or factors …

Morphology Controlled Preparations And Electrochemical Properties Of Znco2O4 Electrode Materials For Supercapacitors, Yue-Shen Zhou, Meng Li, Shuang Wu, Zhao-Lei Li, Yan-Min Gao

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this work, hydrothermal reaction and high temperature were used to grow ZnCo₂O₄ active materials on Ni foam. The crystal stuctures and surface morphlogies of four samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical performances were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD) testing and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) on an electrochemical station. It can be seen that active materials tended to form denser stuctures with an increasing amount of NH₄F in the solution system and four different morphologies of ZnCo_{2 …}

Electrochemical Behaviors Of Azopurine On Gold Electrodes, Ming-Xue Li, Hang Shi, Jia Liu, Meng Zhang, Jian-Zhang Zhou, De-Yin Wu, Zhong-Qun Tian

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this paper, we studied the electrochemical behaviors of azopurine on polished gold electrodes with cyclic voltammetry (CV). On the basis of analyzing scan rate and peak current, it was supposed that the redox process belonged to a reversible process controlled by adsorption in 0.2 mol·L^-1 PBS (pH = 4.0 ~ 10.0) solutions. The potentials of redox peaks moved more negatively with increasing pH value. This proved that the H⁺ proton has participcted in the electrochemical reaction. The further data analysis and the calculation of surface adsorption excess demonstrated that the reaction was a two-proton and two-electron process. …