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Description
In engineering, buckling is mechanical instability of walls or columns under compression and usually is a problem that engineers try to prevent. In everyday life buckles (wrinkles) on different substrates are ubiquitous -- from human skin to a rotten apple they are a commonly observed phenomenon. It seems that buckles

In engineering, buckling is mechanical instability of walls or columns under compression and usually is a problem that engineers try to prevent. In everyday life buckles (wrinkles) on different substrates are ubiquitous -- from human skin to a rotten apple they are a commonly observed phenomenon. It seems that buckles with macroscopic wavelengths are not technologically useful; over the past decade or so, however, thanks to the widespread availability of soft polymers and silicone materials micro-buckles with wavelengths in submicron to micron scale have received increasing attention because it is useful for generating well-ordered periodic microstructures spontaneously without conventional lithographic techniques. This thesis investigates the buckling behavior of thin stiff films on soft polymeric substrates and explores a variety of applications, ranging from optical gratings, optical masks, energy harvest to energy storage. A laser scanning technique is proposed to detect micro-strain induced by thermomechanical loads and a periodic buckling microstructure is employed as a diffraction grating with broad wavelength tunability, which is spontaneously generated from a metallic thin film on polymer substrates. A mechanical strategy is also presented for quantitatively buckling nanoribbons of piezoelectric material on polymer substrates involving the combined use of lithographically patterning surface adhesion sites and transfer printing technique. The precisely engineered buckling configurations provide a route to energy harvesters with extremely high levels of stretchability. This stiff-thin-film/polymer hybrid structure is further employed into electrochemical field to circumvent the electrochemically-driven stress issue in silicon-anode-based lithium ion batteries. It shows that the initial flat silicon-nanoribbon-anode on a polymer substrate tends to buckle to mitigate the lithiation-induced stress so as to avoid the pulverization of silicon anode. Spontaneously generated submicron buckles of film/polymer are also used as an optical mask to produce submicron periodic patterns with large filling ratio in contrast to generating only ~100 nm edge submicron patterns in conventional near-field soft contact photolithography. This thesis aims to deepen understanding of buckling behavior of thin films on compliant substrates and, in turn, to harness the fundamental properties of such instability for diverse applications.
ContributorsMa, Teng (Author) / Jiang, Hanqing (Thesis advisor) / Yu, Hongyu (Committee member) / Yu, Hongbin (Committee member) / Poon, Poh Chieh Benny (Committee member) / Rajagopalan, Jagannathan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
Gallium-based liquid metals are of interest for a variety of applications including flexible electronics, soft robotics, and biomedical devices. Still, nano- to microscale device fabrication with these materials is challenging because of their strong adhesion to a majority of substrates. This unusual high adhesion is attributed to the formation of

Gallium-based liquid metals are of interest for a variety of applications including flexible electronics, soft robotics, and biomedical devices. Still, nano- to microscale device fabrication with these materials is challenging because of their strong adhesion to a majority of substrates. This unusual high adhesion is attributed to the formation of a thin oxide shell; however, its role in the adhesion process has not yet been established. In the first part of the thesis, we described a multiscale study aiming at understanding the fundamental mechanisms governing wetting and adhesion of gallium-based liquid metals. In particular, macroscale dynamic contact angle measurements were coupled with Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) imaging to relate macroscopic drop adhesion to morphology of the liquid metal-surface interface. In addition, room temperature liquid-metal microfluidic devices are also attractive systems for hyperelastic strain sensing. Currently two types of liquid metal-based strain sensors exist for inplane measurements: single-microchannel resistive and two-microchannel capacitive devices. However, with a winding serpentine channel geometry, these sensors typically have a footprint of about a square centimeter, limiting the number of sensors that can be embedded into. In the second part of the thesis, firstly, simulations and an experimental setup consisting of two GaInSn filled tubes submerged within a dielectric liquid bath are used to quantify the effects of the cylindrical electrode geometry including diameter, spacing, and meniscus shape as well as dielectric constant of the insulating liquid and the presence of tubing on the overall system's capacitance. Furthermore, a procedure for fabricating the two-liquid capacitor within a single straight polydiemethylsiloxane channel is developed. Lastly, capacitance and response of this compact device to strain and operational issues arising from complex hydrodynamics near liquid-liquid and liquid-elastomer interfaces are described.
ContributorsLiu, Shanliangzi (Author) / Rykaczewski, Konrad (Thesis advisor) / Alford, Terry (Committee member) / Herrmann, Marcus (Committee member) / Hildreth, Owen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
Nanostructured materials show signicant enhancement in the thermoelectric g-

ure of merit (zT) due to quantum connement eects. Improving the eciency of

thermoelectric devices allows for the development of better, more economical waste

heat recovery systems. Such systems may be used as bottoming or co-generation

cycles in conjunction with conventional power cycles to recover

Nanostructured materials show signicant enhancement in the thermoelectric g-

ure of merit (zT) due to quantum connement eects. Improving the eciency of

thermoelectric devices allows for the development of better, more economical waste

heat recovery systems. Such systems may be used as bottoming or co-generation

cycles in conjunction with conventional power cycles to recover some of the wasted

heat. Thermal conductivity measurement systems are an important part of the char-

acterization processes of thermoelectric materials. These systems must possess the

capability of accurately measuring the thermal conductivity of both bulk and thin-lm

samples at dierent ambient temperatures.

This paper discusses the construction, validation, and improvement of a thermal

conductivity measurement platform based on the 3-Omega technique. Room temperature

measurements of thermal conductivity done on control samples with known properties

such as undoped bulk silicon (Si), bulk gallium arsenide (GaAs), and silicon dioxide

(SiO2) thin lms yielded 150 W=m􀀀K, 50 W=m􀀀K, and 1:46 W=m􀀀K respectively.

These quantities were all within 8% of literature values. In addition, the thermal

conductivity of bulk SiO2 was measured as a function of temperature in a Helium-

4 cryostat from 75K to 250K. The results showed good agreement with literature

values that all fell within the error range of each measurement. The uncertainty in

the measurements ranged from 19% at 75K to 30% at 250K. Finally, the system

was used to measure the room temperature thermal conductivity of a nanocomposite

composed of cadmium selenide, CdSe, nanocrystals in an indium selenide, In2Se3,

matrix as a function of the concentration of In2Se3. The observed trend was in

qualitative agreement with the expected behavior.

i
ContributorsJaber, Abbas (Author) / Wang, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Liping (Committee member) / Rykaczewski, Konrad (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
Many physical phenomena and industrial applications involve multiphase fluid flows and hence it is of high importance to be able to simulate various aspects of these flows accurately. The Dynamic Contact Angles (DCA) and the contact lines at the wall boundaries are a couple of such important aspects. In the

Many physical phenomena and industrial applications involve multiphase fluid flows and hence it is of high importance to be able to simulate various aspects of these flows accurately. The Dynamic Contact Angles (DCA) and the contact lines at the wall boundaries are a couple of such important aspects. In the past few decades, many mathematical models were developed for predicting the contact angles of the inter-face with the wall boundary under various flow conditions. These models are used to incorporate the physics of DCA and contact line motion in numerical simulations using various interface capturing/tracking techniques. In the current thesis, a simple approach to incorporate the static and dynamic contact angle boundary conditions using the level set method is developed and implemented in multiphase CFD codes, LIT (Level set Interface Tracking) (Herrmann (2008)) and NGA (flow solver) (Desjardins et al (2008)). Various DCA models and associated boundary conditions are reviewed. In addition, numerical aspects such as the occurrence of a stress singularity at the contact lines and grid convergence of macroscopic interface shape are dealt with in the context of the level set approach.
ContributorsPendota, Premchand (Author) / Herrmann, Marcus (Thesis advisor) / Rykaczewski, Konrad (Committee member) / Chen, Kangping (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
The rapid progress of solution-phase synthesis has led colloidal nanocrystals one of the most versatile nanoscale materials, provided opportunities to tailor material's properties, and boosted related technological innovations. Colloidal nanocrystal-based materials have been demonstrated success in a variety of applications, such as LEDs, electronics, solar cells and thermoelectrics. In each

The rapid progress of solution-phase synthesis has led colloidal nanocrystals one of the most versatile nanoscale materials, provided opportunities to tailor material's properties, and boosted related technological innovations. Colloidal nanocrystal-based materials have been demonstrated success in a variety of applications, such as LEDs, electronics, solar cells and thermoelectrics. In each of these applications, the thermal transport property plays a big role. An undesirable temperature rise due to inefficient heat dissipation could lead to deleterious effects on devices' performance and lifetime. Hence, the first project is focused on investigating the thermal transport in colloidal nanocrystal solids. This study answers the question that how the molecular structure of nanocrystals affect the thermal transport, and provides insights for future device designs. In particular, PbS nanocrystals is used as a monitoring system, and the core diameter, ligand length and ligand binding group are systematically varied to study the corresponding effect on thermal transport.

Next, a fundamental study is presented on the phase stability and solid-liquid transformation of metallic (In, Sn and Bi) colloidal nanocrystals. Although the phase change of nanoparticles has been a long-standing research topic, the melting behavior of colloidal nanocrytstals is largely unexplored. In addition, this study is of practical importance to nanocrystal-based applications that operate at elevated temperatures. Embedding colloidal nanocrystals into thermally-stable polymer matrices allows preserving nanocrystal size throughout melt-freeze cycles, and therefore enabling observation of stable melting features. Size-dependent melting temperature, melting enthalpy and melting entropy have all been measured and discussed.

In the next two chapters, focus has been switched to developing colloidal nanocrystal-based phase change composites for thermal energy storage applications. In Chapter 4, a polymer matrix phase change nanocomposite has been created. In this composite, the melting temperature and energy density could be independently controlled by tuning nanocrystal diameter and volume fractions. In Chapter 5, a solution-phase synthesis on metal matrix-metal nanocrytal composite is presented. This approach enables excellent morphological control over nanocrystals and demonstrated a phase change composite with a thermal conductivity 2 - 3 orders of magnitude greater than typical phase change materials, such as organics and molten salts.
ContributorsLiu, Minglu (Author) / Wang, Robert Y (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Liping (Committee member) / Rykaczewski, Konrad (Committee member) / Phelan, Patrick (Committee member) / Dai, Lenore (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
This dissertation will investigate two of the most promising high-capacity anode

materials for lithium-based batteries: silicon (Si) and metal lithium (Li). It will focus on

studying the mechanical behaviors of the two materials during charge and discharge and

understanding how these mechanical behaviors may affect their electrochemical

performance.

In

This dissertation will investigate two of the most promising high-capacity anode

materials for lithium-based batteries: silicon (Si) and metal lithium (Li). It will focus on

studying the mechanical behaviors of the two materials during charge and discharge and

understanding how these mechanical behaviors may affect their electrochemical

performance.

In the first part, amorphous Si anode will be studied. Despite many existing studies

on silicon (Si) anodes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), many essential questions still exist

on compound formation, composition, and properties. Here it is shown that some

previously accepted findings do not truthfully reflect the actual lithiation mechanisms in

realistic battery configurations. Furthermore the correlation between structure and

mechanical properties in these materials has not been properly established. Here, a rigorous

and thorough study is performed to comprehensively understand the electrochemical

reaction mechanisms of amorphous-Si (a-Si) in a realistic LIB configuration. In-depth

microstructural characterization was performed and correlations were established between

Li-Si composition, volumetric expansion, and modulus/hardness. It is found that the

lithiation process of a-Si in a real battery setup is a single-phase reaction rather than the

accepted two-phase reaction obtained from in-situ TEM experiments. The findings in this

dissertation establish a reference to quantitatively explain many key metrics for lithiated a

Si as anodes in real LIBs, and can be used to rationally design a-Si based high-performance

LIBs guided by high-fidelity modeling and simulations.

In the second part, Li metal anode will be investigated. Problems related to dendrite

growth on lithium metal anodes such as capacity loss and short circuit present major

barriers to the next-generation high-energy-density batteries. The development of

successful mitigation strategies is impeded by the incomplete understanding of the Li

dendrite growth mechanisms. Here the enabling role of plating residual stress in dendrite

initiation through novel experiments of Li electrodeposition on soft substrates is confirmed,

and the observations is explained with a stress-driven dendrite growth model. Dendrite

growth is mitigated on such soft substrates through surface-wrinkling-induced stress

relaxation in deposited Li film. It is demonstrated that this new dendrite mitigation

mechanism can be utilized synergistically with other existing approaches in the form of

three-dimensional (3D) soft scaffolds for Li plating, which achieves superior coulombic

efficiency over conventional hard copper current collectors under large current density.
ContributorsWang, Xu (Author) / Jiang, Hanqing (Thesis advisor) / Yu, Hongbin (Thesis advisor) / Chan, Candace (Committee member) / Wang, Liping (Committee member) / Qiong, Nian (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description
Energy harvesting from ambient is important to configuring Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) for environmental data collecting. In this work, highly flexible thermoelectric generators (TEGs) have been studied and fabricated to supply power to the wireless sensor notes used for data collecting in hot spring environment. The fabricated flexible TEGs can

Energy harvesting from ambient is important to configuring Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) for environmental data collecting. In this work, highly flexible thermoelectric generators (TEGs) have been studied and fabricated to supply power to the wireless sensor notes used for data collecting in hot spring environment. The fabricated flexible TEGs can be easily deployed on the uneven surface of heated rocks at the rim of hot springs. By employing the temperature gradient between the hot rock surface and the air, these TEGs can generate power to extend the battery lifetime of the sensor notes and therefore reduce multiple batteries changes where the environment is usually harsh in hot springs. Also, they show great promise for self-powered wireless sensor notes. Traditional thermoelectric material bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and advanced MEMS (Microelectromechanical systems) thin film techniques were used for the fabrication. Test results show that when a flexible TEG array with an area of 3.4cm2 was placed on the hot plate surface of 80°C in the air under room temperature, it had an open circuit voltage output of 17.6mV and a short circuit current output of 0.53mA. The generated power was approximately 7mW/m2.

On the other hand, high pressure, temperatures that can reach boiling, and the pH of different hot springs ranging from <2 to >9 make hot spring ecosystem a unique environment that is difficult to study. WSN allows many scientific studies in harsh environments that are not feasible with traditional instrumentation. However, wireless pH sensing for long time in situ data collection is still challenging for two reasons. First, the existing commercial-off-the-shelf pH meters are frequent calibration dependent; second, biofouling causes significant measurement error and drift. In this work, 2-dimentional graphene pH sensors were studied and calibration free graphene pH sensor prototypes were fabricated. Test result shows the resistance of the fabricated device changes linearly with the pH values (in the range of 3-11) in the surrounding liquid environment. Field tests show graphene layer greatly prevented the microbial fouling. Therefore, graphene pH sensors are promising candidates that can be effectively used for wireless pH sensing in exploration of hot spring ecosystems.
ContributorsHan, Ruirui (Author) / Yu, Hongyu (Thesis advisor) / Jiang, Hanqing (Committee member) / Yu, Hongbin (Committee member) / Garnero, Edward (Committee member) / Li, Mingming (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description
As additive manufacturing grows as a cost-effective method of manufacturing, lighter, stronger and more efficient designs emerge. Heat exchangers are one of the most critical thermal devices in the thermal industry. Additive manufacturing brings us a design freedom no other manufacturing technology offers. Advancements in 3D printing lets us reimagine

As additive manufacturing grows as a cost-effective method of manufacturing, lighter, stronger and more efficient designs emerge. Heat exchangers are one of the most critical thermal devices in the thermal industry. Additive manufacturing brings us a design freedom no other manufacturing technology offers. Advancements in 3D printing lets us reimagine and optimize the performance of the heat exchangers with an incredible design flexibility previously unexplored due to manufacturing constraints.

In this research, the additive manufacturing technology and the heat exchanger design are explored to find a unique solution to improve the efficiency of heat exchangers. This includes creating a Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) geometry, Schwarz-D in this case, using Mathematica with a flexibility to control the cell size of the models generated. This model is then encased in a closed cubical surface with manifolds for fluid inlets and outlets before 3D printed using the polymer nylon for thermal evaluation.

In the extent of this study, the heat exchanger developed is experimentally evaluated. The data obtained are used to derive a relationship between the heat transfer effectiveness and the Number of Transfer Units (NTU).The pressure loss across a fluid channel of the Schwarz D geometry is also studied.

The data presented in this study are part of initial experimental evaluation of 3D printed TPMS heat exchangers.Among heat exchangers with similar performance, the Schwarz D geometry is 32% smaller compared to a shell-and-tube heat exchanger.
ContributorsChandrasekaran, Gokul (Author) / Phelan, Patrick E (Thesis advisor) / Rykaczewski, Konrad (Committee member) / Schultz, Karl U (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description
The advancements in additive manufacturing have made it possible to bring life to designs

that would otherwise exist only on paper. An excellent example of such designs

are the Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structures like Schwarz D, Schwarz

P, Gyroid, etc. These structures are self-sustaining, i.e. they require minimal supports

or no supports

The advancements in additive manufacturing have made it possible to bring life to designs

that would otherwise exist only on paper. An excellent example of such designs

are the Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structures like Schwarz D, Schwarz

P, Gyroid, etc. These structures are self-sustaining, i.e. they require minimal supports

or no supports at all when 3D printed. These structures exist in stable form in

nature, like butterfly wings are made of Gyroids. Automotive and aerospace industry

have a growing demand for strong and light structures, which can be solved using

TPMS models. In this research we will try and understand some of the properties of

these Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structures and see how they perform

in comparison to the conventional models. The research was concentrated on the

mechanical, thermal and fluid flow properties of the Schwarz D, Gyroid and Spherical

Gyroid Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) models in particular, other Triply

Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) models were not considered. A detailed finite

element analysis was performed on the mechanical and thermal properties using ANSYS

19.2 and the flow properties were analyzed using ANSYS Fluent under different

conditions.
ContributorsRaja, Faisal (Author) / Phelan, Patrick (Thesis advisor) / Bhate, Dhruv (Committee member) / Rykaczewski, Konrad (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
In these times of increasing industrialization, there arises a need for effective and energy efficient heat transfer/heat exchange devices. The focus nowadays is on identifying various methods and techniques which can aid the process of developing energy efficient devices. One of the most common heat transfer devices is a heat

In these times of increasing industrialization, there arises a need for effective and energy efficient heat transfer/heat exchange devices. The focus nowadays is on identifying various methods and techniques which can aid the process of developing energy efficient devices. One of the most common heat transfer devices is a heat exchanger. Heat exchangers are an essential commodity to any industry and their efficiency can play an important role in making industries energy efficient and reduce the energy losses in the devices, in turn decreasing energy inputs to run the industry.

One of the ways in which we can improve the efficiency of heat exchangers is by applying ultrasonic energy to a heat exchanger. This research explores the possibility of introducing the external input of ultrasonic energy to increase the efficiency of the heat exchanger. This increase in efficiency can be estimated by calculating the parameters important for the characterization of a heat exchanger, which are effectiveness (ε) and overall heat transfer coefficient (U). These parameters are calculated for both the non-ultrasound and ultrasound conditions in the heat exchanger.

This a preliminary study of ultrasound and its effect on a conventional shell-and-coil heat exchanger. From the data obtained it can be inferred that the increase in effectiveness and overall heat transfer coefficient upon the application of ultrasound is 1% and 6.22% respectively.
ContributorsAnnam, Roshan Sameer (Author) / Phelan, Patrick (Thesis advisor) / Rykaczewski, Konrad (Committee member) / Milcarek, Ryan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019