For the development of smart surfaces high attention is focused on stimuli-responsive polymers. Since type and rate of response to environmental stimuli can be regulated by chain length, composition, architecture and topology, polymer films offer a variety of opportunities to develop such stimuli-responsive surfaces. Here polymer brush surfaces designed for a controlled adsorption of proteins and a switchable activity of immobilized enzymes are presented. The work is focused on temperature as well as pH-sensitive binary brushes, consisting of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), and their swelling behavior as well as their protein adsorption affinity is compared to the corresponding homopolymer brushes. All polymer brushes are covalently grafted by ester bonds to an anchoring layer of poly(glycidyl methacrylate), that itself is grafted via ether bonds to a silicon surface. Methodical investigations of layer thickness and refractive index of the brushes in the swollen state and after protein adsorption are carried out with in-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry, varying the brush composition and the solution parameters pH, salt concentration and temperature. The ellipsometric findings are correlated to results of contact angle, atomic force microscopy and zeta-potential measurements as well as colorimetric assays of enzyme activities at the brush surface. Furthermore the swelling of PNIPAAm brushes and protein adsorption at PAA Guiselin brushes are investigated in more detail with attenuated total reflexion Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation, respectively.

One main reason for the use of Fe-Cu-C system in PM industry is the presence of liquid phase (copper) at the start of sintering (1120oC). The diffusion of liquid copper into iron causes swelling in the structure. This in turn can cause high dimensional change and, if not controlled properly, may cause distortion. So it is of paramount importance to control the copper diffusion. Carbon, added as graphite, reduces the swelling of copper by changing the dihedral angle. The affect of graphite on copper diffusion depends on the graphite type, particle size of graphite and heating rate. The aim of this work was to find the influence of graphite type and particle size of graphite on copper diffusion. Water Atomized iron (ASC100.29) produced in Höganäs AB was taken as the base powder.  Two types of graphite were used each with two different particle sizes. Two different graphite quantities (0.2% & 0.8%) for each type was taken. Natural fine graphite (UF4), Natural coarse graphite (PG44), Synthetic fine graphite (F10) and  Synthetic coarse graphite (KS44) were the graphites used in this work. Powders were compacted at 600 Mpa and the sintering was done at 1120oC for 30 minutes in 90/10 N2/H2. Dilatometry and metallographic investigation of the samples sintered in the production furnace were used to understand the graphite influence.   The investigation showed that at low graphite levels (0.2%), the affect of graphite type or graphite size was not significant on copper diffusion. At high graphite levels (0.8%),  synthetic graphites were more effective in reducing the swelling of copper. Influence of  particle size of synthetic graphites on Cu diffusion was not significant compared to the influence of particle size of natural graphite. There was also a considerable affect of heating rate on graphite dissolution and copper swelling.

Accumulation of osmotically active metabolites, which create an osmotic gradient estimated at ∼60 mOsM, and cell swelling are prominent features of ischemic myocardial cell death. This study tests the hypothesis that reduction of ischemic swelling by enhanced cell volume regulation is a key mechanism in the delay of ischemic myocardial cell death by ischemic preconditioning (IPC). Experimental protocols address whether: (i) IPC triggers a cell volume regulation mechanism that reduces cardiomyocyte swelling during subsequent index ischemia; (ii) this reduction in ischemic cell swelling is sufficient in magnitude to account for the IPC protection; (iii) the molecular mechanism that mediates IPC also mediates cell volume regulation. Two experimental models with rabbit ventricular myocytes were studied: freshly isolated pelleted myocytes and 48-h cultured myocytes. Myocytes were preconditioned either by distinct short simulated ischemia (SI)/simulated reperfusion protocols (IPC), or by subjecting myocytes to a pharmacological preconditioning (PPC) protocol (1 μM calyculin A, or 1 μM N6-2-(4-aminophenyl)ethyladenosine (APNEA), prior to subjecting them to either different durations of long SI or 30 min hypo-osmotic stress. Cell death (percent blue square myocytes) was monitored by trypan blue staining. Cell swelling was determined by either the bromododecane cell flotation assay (qualitative) or video/confocal microscopy (quantitative). Simulated ischemia induced myocyte swelling in both the models. In pelleted myocytes, IPC or PPC with either calyculin A or APNEA produced a marked reduction of ischemic cell swelling as determined by the cell floatation assay. In cultured myocytes, IPC substantially reduced ischemic cell swelling (P < 0.001). This IPC effect on ischemic cell swelling was related to an IPC and PPC (with APNEA) mediated triggering of cell volume regulatory decrease (RVD). IPC and APNEA also significantly (P < 0.001) reduced hypo-osmotic cell swelling. This IPC and APNEA effect was blocked by either adenosine receptor, PKC or Cl- channel inhibition. The osmolar equivalent for IPC protection approximated 50-60 mOsM, an osmotic gradient similar to the estimated ischemic osmotic load for preconditioned and non-preconditioned myocytes. The results suggest that cell volume regulation is a key mechanism that accounts for most of the IPC protection in cardiomyocytes.

La batterie lithium ion est la technologie de stockage d’énergie la plus répandue dans l'industrie automobile. Assurer sa haute efficacité, sa puissance, sa capacité, sa sécurité et son endurance présente un défi pour plusieurs chercheurs et industriels. En effet, une batterie est un système complexe renfermant plusieurs composants et soumis à divers risques de dégradations d’origines chimiques, mécaniques et électriques, se manifestant même dans les conditions normales de fonctionnement. Cependant, la batterie devrait assurer ses fonctions pour un grand nombre de cycles de charge et de décharge et continuer à servir sans que ces dégradations influencent sa performance globale. L’une des dégradations principales et inévitables est son gonflement qui induit une discontinuité électrique et une perte de sa capacité.En effet, le gonflement est un phénomène multi-physique qui fait intervenir l’électrochimie, la mécanique et la thermique. D’une part, une batterie lithium-ion est basée sur l’échange réversible de l’ion lithium entre une électrode positive et une électrode négative. Le processus d’insertion de l’ion dans les particules de l’électrode aboutit à un changement volumique significatif réversible de la batterie pour chaque cycle de charge/décharge. Cette variation de volume mène à la formation de contraintes quand la batterie est maintenue dans un pack rigide empêchant ou limitant sa déformation. D’autre part, la formation d’une couche à l’interface particule-électrolyte (SEI) suite aux réactions parasites se produisant à l’échelle de l’électrode constitue une cause principale d’un gonflement supplémentaire irréversible et de vieillissement de la batterie.Ainsi, le gonflement doit être pris en compte pendant la phase du dimensionnement mécanique de la batterie. Il est donc indispensable d’avoir un outil numérique fiable capable de prédire ce comportement mécanique pendant toutes les phases de fonctionnement de la batterie et de permettre aux concepteurs d’améliorer sa structure.Ce travail rentre dans le cadre d’une collaboration entre l’ENSTA ParisTech et le constructeur automobile Renault suite à un besoin industriel de comprendre et de maîtriser le gonflement des batteries utilisées dans les véhicules électriques et hybrides. Pour répondre à ce besoin, un modèle multi-physique et multi-échelle fondé sur la théorie de la thermodynamique des processus irréversibles, sur l’endommagement et sur la théorie de l’homogénéisation est développé. Il permet de décrire et de prédire la déformation d’une batterie lithium ion pendant son fonctionnement. Le modèle tient compte des phénomènes mécaniques, électrochimiques et thermiques qui se produisent à l’échelle locale des électrodes afin de calculer la déformation mécanique au niveau macroscopique de la batterie. / Lithium ion battery is the most popular energy storage technology in the automotive industry. Ensuring high efficiency, power, capacity, safety and endurance is a challenge for many researchers and manufacturers. Indeed, a battery is a complex system containing several components and subject to various risks of chemical, mechanical and electrical damage, manifesting even under normal operating conditions. However, the battery should perform its functions for a large number of charge and discharge cycles and continue to serve without these risks influencing its overall performance. One of the main and inevitable damage is its swelling, which induces an electrical discontinuity and a loss of its capacity.Indeed, swelling is a multi-physics phenomenon that involves electrochemistry, mechanics and heat. On the one hand, a lithium-ion battery is based on the reversible exchange of the lithium ion between a positive electrode and a negative electrode. The process of inserting the ion into the particles of the electrode results in a significant reversible volume change of the battery for each charge / discharge cycle. This variation in volume leads to the formation of stresses when the battery is held in a rigid pack preventing or limiting its deformation. On the other hand, the formation of a layer at the particle-electrolyte interface (SEI) following parasitic reactions occurring at the electrode scale is a major cause of irreversible additional swelling and aging of the drums.Thus, the swelling must be taken into account during the mechanical sizing phase of the battery. It is therefore essential to have a reliable numerical tool able to predict this mechanical behavior during all phases of battery operation and to allow designers to improve its structure.This work is part of a collaboration between ENSTA ParisTech and the car manufacturer Renault following an industrial need to understand and control the swelling of batteries used in electric and hybrid vehicles. To meet this need, a multi-physics and multi-scale model based on the theory of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes, mechanical damage theory and the homogenization theory is developed. It allows to describe and predict the deformation of a lithium ion battery during its operation. The model takes into account the mechanical, electrochemical and thermal phenomena that occur at the local scale of the electrodes in order to calculate the mechanical deformation at the macroscopic level of the battery.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第20556号 / 理博第4314号 / 新制||理||1619(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科生物科学専攻 / (主査)教授 古市 剛史, 教授 湯本 貴和, 教授 平井 啓久 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

No description available.

The embedment behavior of dowels in timber structures, as an essential parameter in the design of connections, is the subject of this thesis. There are numerous advantages using timber structures, including sustainability, energy efficiency, and aesthetic appeal. The mechanical performance of connections in timber structures can be affected by environmental variables, such as moisture content. Thus, in the thesis the embedment behavior of dowels in timber, including the embedment strength and elastic and plastic stiffness at various moisture levels was investigated. In addition to different moisture contents, the effects coming along with changing the moisture content, like swelling and shrinkage, in combination with the assembly history were studied. The study investigated the effects of moisture content variations on the embedment behavior of dowels in timber loaded perpendicular to the grain at relative humidity levels of 38%, 65%, and 85% at a temperature of 20◦C. The study also explored the impact of assembly history of the steel dowels on the embedment behavior. The expression ”assembly history” refers the effects of drilling and assembling steel dowels at different times, i.e. if drilling the timber occurs before changing the moisture content or after changing the moisture content.  Full-hole embedment tests were conducted in five different series to cover all three levels of moisture content while taking the assembly history into account. In total, 100 embedment experiments were carried out, with 50 samples of spruce and 50 samples of birch being assessed perpendicular to the grain. In addition, 20 solid timber specimens were exposed to cyclic loading to evaluate the embedment behavior under these conditions. To evaluate the stress on the timber around the dowel, finite-element simulations, using linear-elastic material behavior in combination with volumetric changes due to moisture variation were conducted. Corresponding to the assembly history in the experiments, the situations of moisture variation in presence and absence of the steel dowel for the swelling and shrinkage case were investigated. The experimental results showed that while the elastic and plastic embedment stiffness can be impacted by moisture content only in low MC situations, it can potentially affect embedment strength in both dry and wet conditions. Additionally, the assembly history influences only the plastic stiffness in a low MC condition. Results from cyclic loading have shown no significant difference to embedment strength and stiffness gained from monotonic loading. According to numerical simulations, the tensile normal stress in the direction perpendicular to the load direction is higher than the tension strength for the shrinkage case with the dowel present. This might be explained by using a simple linear elastic material model in the FEM simulation, which causes an overestimation in the stiffness properties. In conclusion, this thesis offers new perspectives and a deeper knowledge of how moisture content, assembly history, and cyclic loading perpendicular to the grain affect the embedment behavior of dowels in timber connections.

Biological systems are composed of complex materials which are responsible for performing various functions, such as providing structural support, mobility, functional adaptation to the environment, damage repair, and self-healing. These complex materials display excellent mechanical properties and can rapidly adapt to external stimuli. Thus, nature inspires in terms of source materials, functions, and designs to develop new-generation structural and functional materials. Polymers (natural or synthetic) are excellent sources of developing materials to mimic the functions of soft segments in biological systems. This dissertation focuses on synthesizing and characterizing two different materials with tunable structures and properties: complexes from natural polysaccharides or polyelectrolytes and bioinspired hydrogels from synthetic polymers. Oppositely charged polyelectrolytes can form polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) due to the electrostatic interactions. The structure and properties of PECs can be tuned by varying the salt concentration, as the addition of salt can facilitate associative phase separation. PECs were prepared from two biopolymers, positively charged chitosan and negatively charged alginate. Rheological experiments for the complexes displayed a tunable shear modulus with changing salt concentrations. The microstructural study conducted using small-angle X-ray scattering provided insights regarding the length scales of these complexes, and the results follow the observed rheological and phase behavior. Elastic biopolymers such as resilin display remarkable mechanical properties, including high stretchability and resilience, which many species exploit in nature for mechanical energy storage to facilitate their movement. Such properties of resilin have been attributed to the balanced combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments present in the chain. In this work, we synthesized hydrogels with hydrophilic and hydrophobic components to mimic the properties of resilin. With this system, we determined the tensile, retraction (ability to revert to the original state after stretching), and swelling properties when (i) the concentration of the hydrophobic polymer was varied and (ii) additional hydrophobic components were included. The stretchability, stiffness, and strength of the gels varied as the compositions were altered. The fundamental understanding of the structure-property-function relationship for materials presented in this work provides insights into engineering materials for applications such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, wound healing, artificial muscles, soft robotics, and power amplification.

No description available.

No description available.