ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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- Creators: Chawla, Nikhilesh
Description
Concrete is the most widely used infrastructure material worldwide. Production of portland cement, the main binding component in concrete, has been shown to require significant energy and account for approximately 5-7% of global carbon dioxide production. The expected continued increased use of concrete over the coming decades indicates this is an ideal time to implement sustainable binder technologies. The current work aims to explore enhanced sustainability concretes, primarily in the context of limestone and flow. Aspects such as hydration kinetics, hydration product formation and pore structure add to the understanding of the strength development and potential durability characteristics of these binder systems. Two main strategies for enhancing this sustainability are explored in this work: (i) the use of high volume limestone in combination with other alternative cementitious materials to decrease the portland cement quantity in concrete and (ii) the use of geopolymers as the binder phase in concrete. The first phase of the work investigates the use of fine limestone as cement replacement from the perspective of hydration, strength development, and pore structure. The nature of the potential synergistic benefit of limestone and alumina will be explored. The second phase will focus on the rheological characterization of these materials in the fresh state, as well as a more general investigation of the rheological characterization of suspensions. The results of this work indicate several key ideas. (i) There is a potential synergistic benefit for strength, hydration, and pore structure by using alumina and in portland limestone cements, (ii) the limestone in these systems is shown to react to some extent, and fine limestone is shown to accelerate hydration, (iii) rheological characteristics of cementitious suspensions are complex, and strongly dependent on several key parameters including: the solid loading, interparticle forces, surface area of the particles present, particle size distribution of the particles, and rheological nature of the media in which the particles are suspended, and (iv) stress plateau method is proposed for the determination of rheological properties of concentrated suspensions, as it more accurately predicts apparent yield stress and is shown to correlate well with other viscoelastic properties of the suspensions.
ContributorsVance, Kirk (Author) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Thesis advisor) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Marzke, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
As one of the most promising materials for high capacity electrode in next generation of lithium ion batteries, silicon has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. Advanced characterization techniques and atomic simulations helped to depict that the lithiation/delithiation of silicon electrode involves processes including large volume change (anisotropic for the initial lithiation of crystal silicon), plastic flow or softening of material dependent on composition, electrochemically driven phase transformation between solid states, anisotropic or isotropic migration of atomic sharp interface, and mass diffusion of lithium atoms. Motivated by the promising prospect of the application and underlying interesting physics, mechanics coupled with multi-physics of silicon electrodes in lithium ion batteries is studied in this dissertation. For silicon electrodes with large size, diffusion controlled kinetics is assumed, and the coupled large deformation and mass transportation is studied. For crystal silicon with small size, interface controlled kinetics is assumed, and anisotropic interface reaction is studied, with a geometry design principle proposed. As a preliminary experimental validation, enhanced lithiation and fracture behavior of silicon pillars via atomic layer coatings and geometry design is studied, with results supporting the geometry design principle we proposed based on our simulations. Through the work documented here, a consistent description and understanding of the behavior of silicon electrode is given at continuum level and some insights for the future development of the silicon electrode are provided.
ContributorsAn, Yonghao (Author) / Jiang, Hanqing (Thesis advisor) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Phelan, Patrick (Committee member) / Wang, Yinming (Committee member) / Yu, Hongyu (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Gels are three-dimensional polymer networks with entrapped solvent (water etc.). They bear amazing features such as stimuli-responsive (temperature, PH, electric field etc.), high water content and biocompatibility and thus find a lot of applications. To understand the complex physics behind gel's swelling phenomenon, it is important to build up fundamental mechanical model and extend to complicated cases. In this dissertation, a coupled large deformation and diffusion model regarding gel's swelling behavior is presented. In this model, free-energy of the total gel is constituted by polymer stretching energy and polymer-solvent mixing energy. In-house nonlinear finite element code is implemented with fast computational capability. Complex phenomenon such as buckling and healing of cracked gel by swelling are studied. Due to the wide coverage of polymeric materials and solvents, solvent diffusion in gels not only follows Fickian diffusion law where concentration map is continuous but also follows non-Fickian diffusion law where concentration map shows high gradient. Phenomenological model with viscoelastic polymer constitutive and concentration dependent diffusivity is created. The model well captures this special diffusion phenomenon such as sharp diffusion front and distinctive swollen and unswollen region.
ContributorsZhang, Jiaping (Author) / Jiang, Hanqing (Thesis advisor) / Peralta, Pedro (Committee member) / Dai, Lenore (Committee member) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Increased priority on the minimization of environmental impacts of conventional construction materials in recent years has motivated increased use of waste materials or bi-products such as fly ash, blast furnace slag with a view to reduce or eliminate the manufacturing/consumption of ordinary portland cement (OPC) which accounts for approximately 5-7% of global carbon dioxide emission. The current study explores, for the first time, the possibility of carbonating waste metallic iron powder to develop carbon-negative sustainable binder systems for concrete. The fundamental premise of this work is that metallic iron will react with aqueous CO2 under controlled conditions to form complex iron carbonates which have binding capabilities. The compressive and flexural strengths of the chosen iron-based binder systems increase with carbonation duration and the specimens carbonated for 4 days exhibit mechanical properties that are comparable to those of companion ordinary portland cement systems. The optimal mixture proportion and carbonation regime for this non-conventional sustainable binder is established based on the study of carbonation efficiency of a series of mixtures using thermogravimetric analysis. The pore- and micro-structural features of this novel binding material are also evaluated. The fracture response of this novel binder is evaluated using strain energy release rate and measurement of fracture process zone using digital image correlation (DIC). The iron-based binder system exhibits significantly higher strain energy release rates when compared to those of the OPC systems in both the unreinforced and glass fiber reinforced states. The iron-based binder also exhibits higher amount of area of fracture process zone due to its ability to undergo inelastic deformation facilitated by unreacted metallic iron particle inclusions in the microstructure that helps crack bridging /deflection. The intrinsic nano-mechanical properties of carbonate reaction product are explored using statistical nanoindentation technique coupled with a stochastic deconvolution algorithm. Effect of exposure to high temperature (up to 800°C) is also studied. Iron-based binder shows significantly higher residual flexural strength after exposure to high temperatures. Results of this comprehensive study establish the viability of this binder type for concrete as an environment-friendly and economical alternative to OPC.
ContributorsDas, Sumanta (Author) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Thesis advisor) / Rajan, S.D. (Committee member) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Marzke, Robert (Committee member) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Stone, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The objective of this research is to develop robust, accurate, and adaptive algorithms in the framework of the extended finite element method (XFEM) for fracture analysis of highly heterogeneous materials with complex internal geometries. A key contribution of this work is the creation of novel methods designed to automate the incorporation of high-resolution data, e.g. from X-ray tomography, that can be used to better interpret the enormous volume of data generated in modern in-situ experimental testing. Thus new algorithms were developed for automating analysis of complex microstructures characterized by segmented tomographic images.
A centrality-based geometry segmentation algorithm was developed to accurately identify discrete inclusions and particles in composite materials where limitations in imaging resolution leads to spurious connections between particles in close contact.To allow for this algorithm to successfully segment geometry independently of particle size and shape, a relative centrality metric was defined to allow for a threshold centrality criterion for removal of voxels that spuriously connect distinct geometries.
To automate incorporation of microstructural information from high-resolution images, two methods were developed that initialize signed distance fields on adaptively-refined finite element meshes. The first method utilizes a level set evolution equation that is directly solved on the finite element mesh through Galerkins method. The evolution equation is formulated to produce a signed distance field that matches geometry defined by a set of voxels segmented from tomographic images. The method achieves optimal convergence for the order of elements used. In a second approach, the fast marching method is employed to initialize a distance field on a uniform grid which is then projected by least squares onto a finite element mesh. This latter approach is shown to be superior in speed and accuracy.
Lastly, extended finite element method simulations are performed for the analysis of particle fracture in metal matrix composites with realistic particle geometries initialized from X-ray tomographic data. In the simulations, particles fracture probabilistically through a Weibull strength distribution. The model is verified through comparisons with the experimentally-measured stress-strain response of the material as well as analysis of the fracture. Further, simulations are then performed to analyze the effect of mesh sensitivity, the effect of fracture of particles on their neighbors, and the role of a particles shape on its fracture probability.
A centrality-based geometry segmentation algorithm was developed to accurately identify discrete inclusions and particles in composite materials where limitations in imaging resolution leads to spurious connections between particles in close contact.To allow for this algorithm to successfully segment geometry independently of particle size and shape, a relative centrality metric was defined to allow for a threshold centrality criterion for removal of voxels that spuriously connect distinct geometries.
To automate incorporation of microstructural information from high-resolution images, two methods were developed that initialize signed distance fields on adaptively-refined finite element meshes. The first method utilizes a level set evolution equation that is directly solved on the finite element mesh through Galerkins method. The evolution equation is formulated to produce a signed distance field that matches geometry defined by a set of voxels segmented from tomographic images. The method achieves optimal convergence for the order of elements used. In a second approach, the fast marching method is employed to initialize a distance field on a uniform grid which is then projected by least squares onto a finite element mesh. This latter approach is shown to be superior in speed and accuracy.
Lastly, extended finite element method simulations are performed for the analysis of particle fracture in metal matrix composites with realistic particle geometries initialized from X-ray tomographic data. In the simulations, particles fracture probabilistically through a Weibull strength distribution. The model is verified through comparisons with the experimentally-measured stress-strain response of the material as well as analysis of the fracture. Further, simulations are then performed to analyze the effect of mesh sensitivity, the effect of fracture of particles on their neighbors, and the role of a particles shape on its fracture probability.
ContributorsYuan, Rui (Author) / Oswald, Jay (Thesis advisor) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Liu, Yongming (Committee member) / Solanki, Kiran (Committee member) / Chen, Kangping (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) is a phenomenon that affects both the physical and chemical properties of several intrinsically ductile metals. Consequently, understanding the mechanisms behind HE has been of particular interest in both experimental and modeling research. Discrepancies between experimental observations and modeling results have led to various proposals for HE mechanisms. Therefore, to gain insights into HE mechanisms in iron, this dissertation aims to investigate several key issues involving HE such as: a) the incipient crack tip events; b) the cohesive strength of grain boundaries (GBs); c) the dislocation-GB interactions and d) the dislocation mobility.
The crack tip, which presents a preferential trap site for hydrogen segregation, was examined using atomistic methods and the continuum based Rice-Thompson criterion as sufficient concentration of hydrogen can alter the crack tip deformation mechanism. Results suggest that there is a plausible co-existence of the adsorption induced dislocation emission and hydrogen enhanced decohesion mechanisms. In the case of GB-hydrogen interaction, we observed that the segregation of hydrogen along the interface leads to a reduction in cohesive strength resulting in intergranular failure. A methodology was further developed to quantify the role of the GB structure on this behavior.
GBs play a fundamental role in determining the strengthening mechanisms acting as an impediment to the dislocation motion; however, the presence of an unsurmountable barrier for a dislocation can generate slip localization that could further lead to intergranular crack initiation. It was found that the presence of hydrogen increases the strain energy stored within the GB which could lead to a transition in failure mode. Finally, in the case of body centered cubic metals, understanding the complex screw dislocation motion is critical to the development of an accurate continuum description of the plastic behavior. Further, the presence of hydrogen has been shown to drastically alter the plastic deformation, but the precise role of hydrogen is still unclear. Thus, the role of hydrogen on the dislocation mobility was examined using density functional theory and atomistic simulations. Overall, this dissertation provides a novel atomic-scale understanding of the HE mechanism and development of multiscale tools for future endeavors.
The crack tip, which presents a preferential trap site for hydrogen segregation, was examined using atomistic methods and the continuum based Rice-Thompson criterion as sufficient concentration of hydrogen can alter the crack tip deformation mechanism. Results suggest that there is a plausible co-existence of the adsorption induced dislocation emission and hydrogen enhanced decohesion mechanisms. In the case of GB-hydrogen interaction, we observed that the segregation of hydrogen along the interface leads to a reduction in cohesive strength resulting in intergranular failure. A methodology was further developed to quantify the role of the GB structure on this behavior.
GBs play a fundamental role in determining the strengthening mechanisms acting as an impediment to the dislocation motion; however, the presence of an unsurmountable barrier for a dislocation can generate slip localization that could further lead to intergranular crack initiation. It was found that the presence of hydrogen increases the strain energy stored within the GB which could lead to a transition in failure mode. Finally, in the case of body centered cubic metals, understanding the complex screw dislocation motion is critical to the development of an accurate continuum description of the plastic behavior. Further, the presence of hydrogen has been shown to drastically alter the plastic deformation, but the precise role of hydrogen is still unclear. Thus, the role of hydrogen on the dislocation mobility was examined using density functional theory and atomistic simulations. Overall, this dissertation provides a novel atomic-scale understanding of the HE mechanism and development of multiscale tools for future endeavors.
ContributorsAdlakha, Ilaksh (Author) / Solanki, Kiran (Thesis advisor) / Mignolet, Marc (Committee member) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Jiang, Hanqing (Committee member) / Liu, Yongming (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Weevils are among the most diverse and evolutionarily successful animal lineages on Earth. Their success is driven in part by a structure called the rostrum, which gives weevil heads a characteristic "snout-like" appearance. Nut weevils in the genus Curculio use the rostrum to drill holes into developing fruits and nuts, wherein they deposit their eggs. During oviposition this exceedingly slender structure is bent into a straightened configuration - in some species up to 90° - but does not suffer any damage during this process. The performance of the snout is explained in terms of cuticle biomechanics and rostral curvature, as presented in a series of four interconnected studies. First, a micromechanical constitutive model of the cuticle is defined to predict and reconstruct the mechanical behavior of each region in the exoskeleton. Second, the effect of increased endocuticle thickness on the stiffness and fracture strength of the rostrum is assessed using force-controlled tensile testing. In the third chapter, these studies are integrated into finite element models of the snout, demonstrating that the Curculio rostrum is only able to withstand repeated, extreme bending because of
modifications to the composite structure of the cuticle in the rostral apex. Finally, interspecific differences in the differential geometry of the snout are characterized to elucidate the role of biomechanical constraint in the evolution of rostral morphology for both males and females. Together these studies highlight the significance of cuticle biomechanics - heretofore unconsidered by others - as a source of constraint on the evolution of the rostrum and the mechanobiology of the genus Curculio.
modifications to the composite structure of the cuticle in the rostral apex. Finally, interspecific differences in the differential geometry of the snout are characterized to elucidate the role of biomechanical constraint in the evolution of rostral morphology for both males and females. Together these studies highlight the significance of cuticle biomechanics - heretofore unconsidered by others - as a source of constraint on the evolution of the rostrum and the mechanobiology of the genus Curculio.
ContributorsJansen, Michael Andrew (Author) / Franz, Nico M (Thesis advisor) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Harrison, Jon (Committee member) / Martins, Emilia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2009
Description
Additive manufacturing (AM) describes an array of methods used to create a 3D object layer by layer. The increasing popularity of AM in the past decade has been due to its demonstrated potential to increase design flexibility, produce rapid prototypes, and decrease material waste. Temporary supports are an inconvenient necessity in many metal AM parts. These sacrificial structures are used to fabricate large overhangs, anchor the part to the build substrate, and provide a heat pathway to avoid warping. Polymers AM has addressed this issue by using support material that is soluble in an electrolyte that the base material is not. In contrast, metals AM has traditionally approached support removal using time consuming, costly methods such as electrical discharge machining or a dremel.
This work introduces dissolvable supports to single- and multi-material metals AM. The multi-material approach uses material choice to design a functionally graded material where corrosion is the functionality being varied. The single-material approach is the primary focus of this thesis, leveraging already common post-print heat treatments to locally alter the microstructure near the surface. By including a sensitizing agent in the ageing heat treatment, carbon is diffused into the part decreasing the corrosion resistance to a depth equal to at least half the support thickness. In a properly chosen electrolyte, this layer is easily chemically, or electrochemically removed. Stainless steel 316 (SS316) and Inconel 718 are both investigated to study this process using two popular alloys. The microstructure evolution and corrosion properties are investigated for both. For SS316, the effect of applied electrochemical potential is investigated to describe the varying corrosion phenomena induced, and the effect of potential choice on resultant roughness. In summary, a new approach to remove supports from metal AM parts is introduced to decrease costs and further the field of metals AM by expanding the design space.
This work introduces dissolvable supports to single- and multi-material metals AM. The multi-material approach uses material choice to design a functionally graded material where corrosion is the functionality being varied. The single-material approach is the primary focus of this thesis, leveraging already common post-print heat treatments to locally alter the microstructure near the surface. By including a sensitizing agent in the ageing heat treatment, carbon is diffused into the part decreasing the corrosion resistance to a depth equal to at least half the support thickness. In a properly chosen electrolyte, this layer is easily chemically, or electrochemically removed. Stainless steel 316 (SS316) and Inconel 718 are both investigated to study this process using two popular alloys. The microstructure evolution and corrosion properties are investigated for both. For SS316, the effect of applied electrochemical potential is investigated to describe the varying corrosion phenomena induced, and the effect of potential choice on resultant roughness. In summary, a new approach to remove supports from metal AM parts is introduced to decrease costs and further the field of metals AM by expanding the design space.
ContributorsLefky, Christopher (Author) / Hildreth, Owen (Thesis advisor) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Azeredo, Bruno (Committee member) / Rykaczewski, Konrad (Committee member) / Nian, Qiong (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Being a remarkably versatile and inexpensive building material, concrete has found tremendous use in development of modern infrastructure and is the most widely used material in the world. Extensive research in the field of concrete has led to the development of a wide array of concretes with applications ranging from building of skyscrapers to paving of highways. These varied applications require special cementitious composites which can satisfy the demand for enhanced functionalities such as high strength, high durability and improved thermal characteristics among others.
The current study focuses on the fundamental understanding of such functional composites, from their microstructural design to macro-scale application. More specifically, this study investigates three different categories of functional cementitious composites. First, it discusses the differences between cementitious systems containing interground and blended limestone with and without alumina. The interground systems are found to outperform the blended systems due to differential grinding of limestone. A novel approach to deduce the particle size distribution of limestone and cement in the interground systems is proposed. Secondly, the study delves into the realm of ultra-high performance concrete, a novel material which possesses extremely high compressive-, tensile- and flexural-strength and service life as compared to regular concrete. The study presents a novel first principles-based paradigm to design economical ultra-high performance concretes using locally available materials. In the final part, the study addresses the thermal benefits of a novel type of concrete containing phase change materials. A software package was designed to perform numerical simulations to analyze temperature profiles and thermal stresses in concrete structures containing PCMs.
The design of these materials is accompanied by material characterization of cementitious binders. This has been accomplished using techniques that involve measurement of heat evolution (isothermal calorimetry), determination and quantification of reaction products (thermo-gravimetric analysis, x-ray diffraction, micro-indentation, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy) and evaluation of pore-size distribution (mercury intrusion porosimetry). In addition, macro-scale testing has been carried out to determine compression, flexure and durability response. Numerical simulations have been carried out to understand hydration of cementitious composites, determine optimum particle packing and determine the thermal performance of these composites.
The current study focuses on the fundamental understanding of such functional composites, from their microstructural design to macro-scale application. More specifically, this study investigates three different categories of functional cementitious composites. First, it discusses the differences between cementitious systems containing interground and blended limestone with and without alumina. The interground systems are found to outperform the blended systems due to differential grinding of limestone. A novel approach to deduce the particle size distribution of limestone and cement in the interground systems is proposed. Secondly, the study delves into the realm of ultra-high performance concrete, a novel material which possesses extremely high compressive-, tensile- and flexural-strength and service life as compared to regular concrete. The study presents a novel first principles-based paradigm to design economical ultra-high performance concretes using locally available materials. In the final part, the study addresses the thermal benefits of a novel type of concrete containing phase change materials. A software package was designed to perform numerical simulations to analyze temperature profiles and thermal stresses in concrete structures containing PCMs.
The design of these materials is accompanied by material characterization of cementitious binders. This has been accomplished using techniques that involve measurement of heat evolution (isothermal calorimetry), determination and quantification of reaction products (thermo-gravimetric analysis, x-ray diffraction, micro-indentation, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy) and evaluation of pore-size distribution (mercury intrusion porosimetry). In addition, macro-scale testing has been carried out to determine compression, flexure and durability response. Numerical simulations have been carried out to understand hydration of cementitious composites, determine optimum particle packing and determine the thermal performance of these composites.
ContributorsArora, Aashay (Author) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Thesis advisor) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Hoover, Christian G (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Electromigration (EM) has been a serious reliability concern in microelectronics packaging for close to half a century now. Whenever the challenges of EM are overcome newer complications arise such as the demand for better performance due to increased miniaturization of semiconductor devices or the problems faced due to undesirable properties of lead-free solders. The motivation for the work is that there exists no fully computational modeling study on EM damage in lead-free solders (and also in lead-based solders). Modeling techniques such as one developed here can give new insights on effects of different grain features and offer high flexibility in varying parameters and study the corresponding effects. In this work, a new computational approach has been developed to study void nucleation and initial void growth in solders due to metal atom diffusion. It involves the creation of a 3D stochastic mesoscale model of the microstructure of a polycrystalline Tin structure. The next step was to identify regions of current crowding or ‘hot-spots’. This was done through solving a finite difference scheme on top of the 3D structure. The nucleation of voids due to atomic diffusion from the regions of current crowding was modeled by diffusion from the identified hot-spot through a rejection free kinetic Monte-Carlo scheme. This resulted in the net movement of atoms from the cathode to the anode. The above steps of identifying the hotspot and diffusing the atoms at the hot-spot were repeated and this lead to the initial growth of the void. This procedure was studied varying different grain parameters. In the future, the goal is to explore the effect of more grain parameters and consider other mechanisms of failure such as the formation of intermetallic compounds due to interstitial diffusion and dissolution of underbump metallurgy.
ContributorsKarunakaran, Deepak (Thesis advisor) / Jiao, Yang (Committee member) / Chawla, Nikhilesh (Committee member) / Rajagopalan, Jagannathan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016