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Description
The standard for hybrid fuel grains is Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB). With the advances in additive manufacturing, the promise of 3D printed fuel grains has become a possibility. Yet, 3D printed grains do not have as good of a regression rate as the casted HTPB grains. However, with 3D printing, the core of these grains can be printed to maximize surface area in contact with the oxidizer. The goal of this research is to print hybrid rocket fuel grains with various core geometries and test them on a small-scale hybrid test stand. While the hot fires are still under testing at the time of this abstract, the manufacturing posed an interesting outcome, being more time intensive than expected, contradicting the initial hypothesis of faster manufacturing. Future endeavors will continue research into the cores of the 3D printed grains, possible multi-material made grains and creating core structures for HTPB grains from 3D printed materials.
ContributorsRust, Daniel William Yun Jin (Author) / Rajadas, John (Thesis director) / Taconi, Carolyn (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Characterization of particulate process and product design is a difficult field because of the unique bulk properties and behaviors of particles that differ from gasses and liquids. The purpose of this research is to develop an equation to relate the angle of repose and flowability, the ability of the particle to flow as it pertains to particulate processes and product design. This research is important in multiple industries such as pharmaceuticals and food processes.
ContributorsNugent, Emily Rose (Author) / Emady, Heather (Thesis director) / Marvi, Hamidreza (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Plastics make up a large proportion of solid waste that ends up in landfills and pollute ecosystems, and do not readily decompose. Composites from fungus mycelium are a recent and promising alternative to replace plastics. Mycelium is the root-like fibers from fungi that grow underground. When fed with woody biomass, the mycelium becomes a dense mass. From there, the mycelium is placed in mold to take its shape and grow. Once the growth process is done, the mycelium is baked to end the growth, thus making a mycelium brick. The woody biomass fed into the mycelium can include materials such as sawdust and pistachio shells, which are all cheap feedstock. In comparison to plastics, mycelium bricks are mostly biodegradable and eco-friendly. Mycelium bricks are resistant to water, fire, and mold and are also lightweight, sustainable, and affordable. Mycelium based materials are a viable option to replace less eco-friendly materials. This project aims to explore growth factors of mycelium and incorporate nanomaterials into mycelium bricks to achieve strong and sustainable materials, specifically for packaging materials. The purpose of integrating nanomaterials into mycelium bricks is to add further functionality such as conductivity, and to enhance properties such as mechanical strength.
ContributorsWong, Cindy (Author) / Wang, Qing Hua (Thesis director) / Green, Alexander (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
When, in 1958, Disney aired a program titled “Magic Highway USA” featuring autonomous vehicles directed by punch-cards, few would have predicted touchscreen reprogrammable devices. None could have foreseen a battery powered car capable of fully autonomous operation and a zero to sixty mph acceleration in 1.9 seconds. The 21st century has proven to be one of exponential technological advancement and stunning innovation, with few case studies more obvious than that of the progression of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology. Advances in transportation technology and robotics have, throughout history, pointed to the eventual development of fully autonomous vehicles; however, it is only within the last 10 years that innovation has met determination to leapfrog AV development to its current state. As this technology has developed, society has begun to realize its extensive social implications, both positive and negative, from extending mobility to the impaired to reducing the need to fill jobs in the transportation industry. With progress comes new challenges and as planners strive to get ahead of the pace of AV innovation, it is becoming increasingly apparent that questions of data security, privacy, regulation, and liability must be quickly addressed. Some also question the economic feasibility of AV and suggest that, unless new economic models are developed around the transportation industry, there is a significant risk of increased societal strain as a result of digital and economic inequality. As a consequence, industry, academia, and policy have all emerged to direct, manage, and govern this new and exciting space. Autonomous vehicles promise to move the world into a new era of almost limitless potential but only if society, industry, and policy are capable of moving with it.
ContributorsGalvin, Sarah Nicole (Author) / Krause, Stephen (Thesis director) / Anwar, Shahriar (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
With renewable energy on the rise, researchers have turned their funding and their focus towards new solar cell technologies, and perovskites are a major source of interest. This class of materials is particularly interesting due to their quick, simple synthesis as well as their physical and electrical superiority when compared to current silicon-based solar cells. Through this thesis, we will explore the synthesis of various types of perovskites and their subsequent characterization, which includes optical microscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, Raman microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Analyzing two different perovskites both before and after a two-week period of storage revealed that while synthesis is indeed experiment-friendly, these materials have a concerning lack of stability even in ideal conditions.
ContributorsBuzas, Benjamin Joseph (Author) / Tongay, Sefaattin (Thesis director) / Muhich, Christopher (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Hyperspectral imaging is a novel technology which allows for the collection of reflectance spectra of a sample in-situ and at a distance. A rapidly developing technology, hyperspectral imaging has been of particular interest in the field of art characterization, authentication, and conservation as it avoids the pitfalls of traditional characterization techniques and allows for the rapid and wide collection of data never before possible. It is hypothesized that by combining the power of hyperspectral imaging with machine learning, a new framework for the in-situ and automated characterization and authentication of artworks can be developed. This project, using the CMYK set of inks, began the preliminary development of such a framework. It was found that hyperspectral imaging and machine learning as a combination show significant potential as an avenue for art authentication, though further progress and research is needed to match the reliability of status quo techniques.
ContributorsChowdhury, Tanzil Aziz (Author) / Newman, Nathan (Thesis director) / Tongay, Sefaattin (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Heavy metals such as selenium can be especially important to limit because they can cause serious health problems even at relatively low concentrations. In an effort to selectively remove selenium from solution, a PAABA (poly(aniline-co-p-aminobenzoic acid) conductive copolymer was synthesized in a selenic acid solution, and its ability to remove selenium was studied. Analysis of the Raman spectra confirmed the hypothesized formation of PAABA polymer. Constant voltage cycles showed success in precipitating the selenium out of solution via electroreduction, and ICP-MS confirmed the reduction of selenium concentrated in solution. These results indicate the PAABA synthesized in selenic acid shows promise for selective water treatment.
ContributorsSulzman, Serita Lynne (Author) / Wang, Qing Hua (Thesis director) / Chan, Candace (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Aerogels are among the best known thermally insulating materials due their high porosities (>90%). This, in conjunction with their high transparency make them ideal candidates for highly insulating window coatings. However, current state of the art techniques involve time-consuming drying steps and poor mechanical robustness, severely limiting their wide-scale adaptation. By using a dry aerosol impaction process, synthesizing nanoparticles in a plasma, upstream of a slit-shaped nozzle and impacting these particles onto a substrate below, a novel way for producing mesoporous silica aerogels is shown. This removes the need for solution-based processing, improving the potential for high throughput. Thick (~100um), 90% mesoporous silica has been characterized showing low effective thermal conductivity (~0.02 W/mK) and high transparency (>90%). The morphology of these coatings were analyzed showing tight pore distributions. Film adhesion and stress have shown themselves to be major hurdles during the development of these coatings and will be the focus of future work.
ContributorsRodkey, Nathan Jacques (Author) / Holman, Zachary (Thesis director) / Bryan, Jonathan (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This study analyzes mechanical properties of additively manufactured plastic materials produced in a conventional 3D printer. This topic has generally been studied in controlled scenarios, and this study aims to reflect the properties seen by consumers. Layered prints are inherently anisotropic due to the direction of the layers and associated weaknesses or stress concentrators. Thus, the ultimate strength and elastic modulus of plastic specimens produced using default settings are compared based on print orientation angle, and trends are observed. When a specimen is parallel to the build plate, it tends to have ultimate strength and elastic modulus near the published bulk values of 13.2MPa and 404-710MPa, but these values tend to decrease as the print angle increases.
ContributorsGarry, Allan Edward (Author) / Patel, Jay (Thesis director) / Mertz, Benjamin (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The goal of this thesis was to simplify the sample preparation process for cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), clearing the way for the imaging of larger biomolecules and further expansion of the field. Various protic ionic liquids (PILs) were chosen for synthesis according to their pH and other physical properties. After several failed synthesizes, one PIL, cholinium dihydrogen phosphate, was chosen for further testing. This solution was put through a series of vitrification tests in order to understand its crystallization limits. Once limits were understood, cholinium dihydrogen phosphate was combined with ribosomal proteins and viewed under a transmission electron microscope to collect negative stain images. After adjusting the ratio of PIL to buffer and the concentration of ribosomes, images of whole intact ribosomes were captured. Samples were then placed in an EM grid, manually dipped in liquid nitrogen, and viewed using the the cryo-EM. These grids revealed ice too thick to properly image, an issue that was not solved by using a more aggressive blotting technique. Although the sample preparation process was not simplified, progress was made towards doing so and further testing using different techniques may result in success.
ContributorsStreet, Maya Ann (Author) / Angell, Charles Austen (Thesis director) / Chiu, Po-Lin (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05