This work establishes the relationships between several key Friction Stir Welding process parameters and the resulting microstructural and flexural properties of the welded joint. A series of four single parameter experiments were run. The parameters investigated were pin diameter, feedrate, shoe temperature, and pressure time. Butt welds were made in 6 mm thick stress-relieved extruded polypropylene sheet. Three-point bend tests were used to determine the ultimate flexural strength and coincident strain. The maximum bend angle before failure was used to label the welds as "good or bad." An optical microscope capable of cross polarization was used to examine and photograph the weld microstructure. Welds were evaluated according to 1) DVS bend angle, 2) flexural properties, and 3) weld microstructure. All welds made surpassed the DVS requirements for classification as a "good weld" established for hot-gas, extrusion, and laser welding processes. Most welds met the bend angle requirement for hot-plate welds. Welds created for this work maintained 80-92% of base material flexural strength. In the majority of the welds, the strength was between 85 and 90% of base material. The FSW joints showed a flexural strength of 10500 psi, compared to a base material strength of 12400 psi. Four microstructural zones were found to exist in the FSW joints. These were: 1)advancing interface, 2) retreating interface, 3) bottom disturbance, and 4) central zone. Several common microstructure types and defects were found to exist in the welds. These were: 1) spherulites, 2) voids, 3) root defects, 4) flow lines, and 5) onion skin. A distinct correlation was observed between weld microstructure and flexural properties. Those welds whose microstructure most nearly resembled the base material demonstrated the best flexural properties. This can be accomplished by operating with a low feedrate, a high shoe temperature, and a large pin.

No description available.

The relationship between polymer chain architecture, crystallization behavior, and morphology formation was investigated. The structures formed are highly dependent on chain configuration and crystallization kinetics. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and Poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) random copolymers were studied. Sample characterization was performed using a variety of techniques, including spectroscopy, scattering, and calorimetry. In PLA, structural differences between α’ and α crystalline phases were analyzed using cryogenic infrared and Raman spectroscopy. Compared to the  crystal, the ’ crystal has slightly looser packing and weaker intermolecular interactions involving carbonyl and methyl functional groups. Simulations in conjunction with Raman scattering analyzed the conformational distortion of the α’ phase. The conformation of an α’ chain was determined to have tg’t-103 conformation with tg’t-31 units randomly distributed along the chain. Departure of the O-C α dihedral angle was also confirmed. The structural disorder leads to different thermal properties for α’ and α crystalline forms, which was quantified by measuring the enthalpic change at melting for both crystals ( = 57 ± 3 J/g and =9 6 ± 3 J/g). The transformation from α’ to α and the mechanism of order formation in PLA were also elucidated. The relationship between chain configuration of EVA random copolymers and crystallization behavior was established. For three different EVA samples, the distribution of methylene sequences was calculated and compared to a distribution of crystallite sizes formed. This comparison revealed that only a small fraction of the total methylene segments present actually crystallized. Cocrystallization with highly mobile oligomers was explored to enhance the crystallization of EVA copolymers. When blended, EVA28 (28 weight percentage) cocrystallizes with C36H74 n-alkane resulting in faster crystallization kinetics and a higher degree of crystallinity. The observed increase in degree of crystallinity was directly related to the chain configuration. Compositional mapping using Raman spectroscopy provided evidence for oligomer nucleation. The cocrystallization kinetics and morphology of EVA and n-alkane blends was found to depend on the chain length of oligomer. In both systems studied, crystallization kinetics determines the morphologies formed, which are undoubtedly related to the details of molecular architecture.

Le travail présenté ici porte sur la réalisation d’un matériau polymère piézoélectrique destiné à être l’élément sensible d’un capteur de déformation de tissus biologiques. Cela comprend notamment l’étude de l’assouplissement du copolymère P(VDF-TrFE) nécessaire pour se rapprocher des propriétés mécaniques d’une artère, sans dégrader son coefficient piézoélectrique. Des films de P(VDF-TrFE) plastifiés avec du phtalate de diéthyle (DEP) ont été réalisés selon différents protocoles incluant enduction ou spin-coating et polarisation sous haute tension pour activer les propriétés ferroélectriques. Selon les conditions d’élaboration, deux structures distinctes de films ont été obtenues avec des propriétés physiques propres à chacune. Dans le premier type de film, l’étude de la morphologie et des courbes d’hystérésis polarisation-champ électrique a permis de mettre en évidence une nouvelle structuration du matériau, avec la démixtion du plastifiant dans la matrice. Le champ coercitif est dans ce cas fortement abaissé ce qui permet une réduction de la haute tension de polarisation nécessaire allant jusqu’à 40%, même lorsque que le film ne contient plus que 50wt% de P(VDF-TrFE). Le second type de film, obtenu après recuit à plus basse température, présente au contraire une structure quasi homogène et des propriétés proches d’une loi de mélange. Le champ coercitif reste comparable à celui du P(VDF-TrFE) pur mais la flexibilité du matériau est fortement accrue. L’étude des propriétés mécaniques a montré que le plastifiant peut réduire le module de Young du copolymère à 40MPa avec 30wt% de DEP dans le film. De surcroit la polarisation rémanente et le coefficient piézoélectrique sont également renforcés. Des tests in vitro et in vivo, réalisés sur des artères, de capteurs basés sur ces derniers films ont démontré le haut potentiel du matériau à détecter des déformations de tissus mous et à fonctionner aux fréquences biologiques humaines / The work presented here focuses on the preparation of a piezoelectric polymer material aimed to be the sensitive element of a strain sensor of biological tissues. This includes the study of the softening of the copolymer P(VDF-TrFE) necessary to be close of the mechanical properties of an artery, without reducing the piezoelectric coefficient. Plasticized P(VDF-TrFE) films with diethyl phthalate (DEP) were made according to different protocols including doctor blade technique or spin-coating and polarization under high voltage to activate the ferroelectric properties. Depending on the preparation conditions, two distinct structures were obtained with physical properties specific to each of them. For the first type of film, the study of the morphology and the hysteresis loops polarization-electric field showed a new structure of the material, with a demixing of the plasticizer in the matrix. In this case, the coercive field is strongly reduced which allows a decrease of the required high polarization voltage up to 40%, even if the film only contains 50wt% of P(VDF-TrFE). The second type of film, obtained after an annealing at lower temperature, has an almost homogeneous structure and properties close to a mixing law. The coercive field remains comparable to that of the pure P(VDF-TrFE) but the flexibility of the material is greatly increased. The study of the mechanical properties showed that the plasticizer can reduce the Young modulus to 40MPa for 30wt% of DEP in the film. In addition, the remanent polarization and the piezoelectric coefficient are also reinforced. In vitro and in vivo experiments, performed on arteries, of sensors based on these films demonstrated the high potential of the material to detect the strain of soft tissues and to function at biologic human frequencies

Corrosion protection performance of a completely soluble polyaniline-dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid salt (PANI-DBSA) on C45 steel has been studied with electrochemical impedance and potentiodynamic measurements. Chloroform is the most suitable solvent to process the pristine PANI-DBSA because of negligible interaction of the solvent with the polyaniline (PANI) backbone. An anodic shift in the corrosion potential (<img src="http://scitation.aip.org/stockgif3/Dgr.gif" alt="Delta" align="bottom" border="0"><i>E</i>=~70&nbsp;&nbsp;mV), a decrease in the corrosion current and a significant increase in the charge transfer resistance indicate a significant anti-corrosion performance of the soluble PANI deposited on the protected steel surface. Corrosion protection follows the mechanism of formation of a passive oxide layer on the surface of C45 steel. In situ UV-Vis spectroscopy was used to investigate the differences in permeability of aqueous anions into PANI-DBSA. Preliminary results of electron diffraction studies show that PANI-DBSA possesses an orthorhombic type of crystal structure. An increase in the feed ratio of DBSA to aniline increases the tendency of aggregation of spherical particles of PANI obvious in transmission electron microscopy. PANI-DBSA slowly loses its electrochemical activity in acid free electrolyte without undergoing degradation.

The present thesis focuses on the selection of polymers and methods to fabricate stable and stimuli responsive multilayer self-assembly via layer-by-layer (LbL) approach. The polymers utilized in this study are biodegradable and biocompatible such as hyaluronic acid, chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The thesis is comprised of six chapters and a brief discussion on the contents of the individual chapters is given below. Chapter I reviews the LbL self-assembly approach in the context of drug delivery. The various interactions such as electrostatic, hydrogen bonding and covalent bonding involved in preparation of stable multilayer assemblies via LbL approach are discussed. Stimuli responsive behaviour of these multilayer assemblies can be tuned by choosing suitable depositing materials and method. Preparation of hollow microcapsules using LbL approach and its application in drug delivery has also been described in this chapter. Chapter II deals with the LbL assembly of a neutral polymer, poly(vinyl alcholol) (PVA). The negative charge on PVA backbone was induced by physical cross-linking with borax. The PVA-borate can undergo electrostatic interaction with positively charged chitosan in LbL process to form multilayer thin film. The thin film of PVA-borate complex/chitosan was found be responsive towards glucose concentration; disintegration of the multilayer assembly was observed at a high glucose concentration. This finding was rationalized on the basis of strong interaction of glucose with borate ions leading to dissociation of PVA-borate complex and subsequent collapse of the assembly. Thus, this multilayer self-assembly is potent for glucose triggered drug delivery. Chapter III reports the construction of a stable hydrogen bonded multilayer self-assembly based on complementary DNA base pairs (adenine and thymine) interaction. The natural polymer such as chitosan was modified with adenine whereas hyaluronic acid was modified with thymine. These two modified polymers were sequentially deposited on flat substrate and melamine formaldehyde (MF) particles; wherein strong interaction among the DNA base pairs led to the formation of stable assembly without utilizing any external cross-linking agent. The modified polymers are non-cytotoxic as proved from MTT assay. Further the multilayer assembly was used for pH responsive anticancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) release. In Chapter IV, glutaraldehyde mediated LbL self-assembly of single polymer multilayer thin films on flat and colloidal substrate by covalent bonding is described. A comparitive study between the native polymer (chitosan) and adenine modified polymer in the growth of thin film is performed. It is established from the study that the conformation of polymer and the availability of cross-linking points on the polymer play a crucial role in controlling the growth of these multilayer assemblies. Chapter V is divided into two parts (A and B). Part A describes a simple and unique protocol for fabrication of water dispersed chitosan nanoparticles (CH NPs). The method utilized in this work is based on the fast desolvation technique without using any additional stabilizer or any sophisticated instrumental setup. Furthermore, the CH NPs prepared from the mentioned protocol were proved to be cell-viable and are found to be responsive towards pH of the solution. In part B of this chapter, the LbL self-assembly of the responsive CH NPs is fabricated via electrostatic interaction with hyaluronic acid (HA). The growth of the multilayer thin film was found to be linear as function of number of bilayers. The morphology of thin film was characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The microscopic images reveal the uniform film morphology devoid of any phase separation of nanoparticles and polymers. Subsequently, the film was loaded with an anticancer therapeutic, doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX). The release dynamics of encapsulated drug from the self-assembly are tunable and pH responsive. Chapter VI deals with the general and versatile method for the encapsulation of hydrophobic model drugs into polymeric multilayer assembly by using LbL approach. Electrical charge was induced on the surface of pyrene (uncharged organic substance) using an amphiphilic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) by micellar solubilization. The SDS micellar solution of pyrene was utilized to grow LbL multilayer thin film on a planar substrate and colloidal particles along with chitosan as a polycation. The LbL self-assembly of pyrene loaded SDS micelles/chitosan is additionally able to encapsulate hydrophobic or hydrophilic model therapeutics, thus providing an opportunity for dual-drug delivery. The desorption kinetics of the two model drugs from the thin film is found to follow a second order rate model.

Corrosion protection performance of a completely soluble polyaniline-dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid salt (PANI-DBSA) on C45 steel has been studied with electrochemical impedance and potentiodynamic measurements. Chloroform is the most suitable solvent to process the pristine PANI-DBSA because of negligible interaction of the solvent with the polyaniline (PANI) backbone. An anodic shift in the corrosion potential (<img src="http://scitation.aip.org/stockgif3/Dgr.gif" alt="Delta" align="bottom" border="0"><i>E</i>=~70&nbsp;&nbsp;mV), a decrease in the corrosion current and a significant increase in the charge transfer resistance indicate a significant anti-corrosion performance of the soluble PANI deposited on the protected steel surface. Corrosion protection follows the mechanism of formation of a passive oxide layer on the surface of C45 steel. In situ UV-Vis spectroscopy was used to investigate the differences in permeability of aqueous anions into PANI-DBSA. Preliminary results of electron diffraction studies show that PANI-DBSA possesses an orthorhombic type of crystal structure. An increase in the feed ratio of DBSA to aniline increases the tendency of aggregation of spherical particles of PANI obvious in transmission electron microscopy. PANI-DBSA slowly loses its electrochemical activity in acid free electrolyte without undergoing degradation.