The topic of presented master’s thesis was study of passive stabilization of building materials temperature. The main goal of this thesis was measuring and characterization of the thermal properties of building materials, which are used to PCM technology. PCM technology is based on utilization of latent heat of phase change. At the beginning of this thesis it was needed to define physical principle of phase change, then the most usable PCM chemicals (e.g. paraffin, Glauber’s salt, hexahydrate calcium chloride) and their basic physical properties (especially thermo-physical), background research of building materials with PCM and also the methods of thermo-physical properties measurement. It was also needed to characterize measured building materials and define theirs thermal parameters; because the values of thermal parameters of measured samples were compared to these values. In the experimental part of my thesis are measurements of material thermal analysis, which are methods, where the properties of materials are studied as they change with temperature. I had used to differential scanning calorimetry, transient pulse method and other methods, which are usable for thermo-physical properties measuring and characterization. I have been much interested in properties of measured material, which were specific heat capacity, temperature diffusivity, heat conductivity and phase change temperature (the melting point of PCM). At the end of my thesis the findings of all methods were finally summarized, compared and commented.

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Söderberg electrodes take part in the production of ferroalloys, copper, nickel, platinum, and calcium carbide. They are involved in a continuous and with low costs operation. The study of such electrodes is essential, since research and new findings will provide us with vital information regarding the operation of such furnaces leading to a more efficient production. Therefore, the study of Söderberg electrodes materials characteristics is of great importance. The current work refers to the thermal properties of Söderberg electrode paste by focusing on the thermal conductivity coefficient from room temperature up to 800 °C with the Transient Plane Source (TPS) method applied to an electrode paste material with softening point at 65°C. Another electrode paste with higher softening point at 90 °C and an already baked material are studied to some extent. The study gives significant results for the thermal conductivity coefficient for all the investigated cases. Results indicate variation of coefficients regarding the phase evolved during heating at different temperatures. In principle, thermal conductivity of the green paste with low softening point decreases until 400°C and increases after the baking point which is found in between 400-500°C. A few measurements for the green paste with higher softening point indicate the same trend. For the case of the fully baked electrode, thermal conductivity seems to keep an increasing trend according to temperature increase. On the two last mentioned materials, more experimental work will be conducted in future. / Söderberg-elektroder används till produktionen av ferrolegeringar, koppar, nickel, platina och kalciumkarbider. De är involverade i kontinuerliga och lågkostnadsoperationer. Studien av sådana elektroder är väsentlig eftersom forskning och nya fynd kommer att ge oss viktig information om driften av sådana ugnar vilket leder till en effektivare produktion. Därför är studien av Söderberg-elektrodens materialegenskaper av stor betydelse. Det nuvarande arbetet refererar till de termiska egenskaperna hos Söderberg-elektrodpastan genom att fokusera på den termiska konduktivitetskoefficienten från rumstemperatur upp till 800°C med den TPS-metoden (Transient Plane Source) tillämpad på ett elektrodpasta-material med en mjukningspunkt vid 65°C. En annan elektrodpasta med en högre mjukningspunkt vid 90°C samt ett redan bakat material studeras även till viss del. Studien ger signifikanta resultat för värmeledningsförmågan för alla undersökta fall. Resultaten indikerar på variationer av koefficienterna gällande fasen som utvecklas under uppvärmning vid olika temperaturer. I stort sett minskar värmeledningsförmågan hos den gröna pastan med låg mjukningspunkt upp till 400°C och ökar efter bakningspunkten som finns mellan 400-500°C. Några mätningar för den gröna pastan med en högre mjukningspunkt visar samma trend. När det gäller den helt bakade elektroden verkar värmdeledningsförmågan hålla en ökande trend beroende på temeperaturökningen. På de två sistnämnda materialen kommer mer experimentellt arbete att genomföras i framtiden.

Compared to conventional materials, polymer matrix composites (PMCs) have a number of attractive properties, including light weight, easiness of installation, potential to lower system-level cost, high overall durability, and less susceptibility to environmental deterioration. However, PMCs are vulnerable to fire such that they degrade, decompose, and sometimes yield toxic gases at high temperature. The degradation and decomposition of composites lead to loss in mass, resulting in loss in mechanical strength. This research aims to improve the structural integrity of the PMCs under fire conditions by designing and optimizing a fire retardant nanopaper coating, and to fundamentally understand the thermal response and post-fire mechanical behavior the PMCs through numerical modeling. Specifically, a novel paper-making process that combined carbon nanofiber, nanoclay, exfoliated graphite nanoplatelet, and ammonium polyphosphate into a self-standing nanopaper was developed. The nanopaper was then coated onto the surface of the PMCs to improve the fire retardant performance of the material. The morphology, thermal stability, flammability, and post-fire flexural modulus of the nanopaper coated-PMCs were characterized. The fire retardant mechanism of the nanopaper coating was studied. Upon successfully improving the structure integrity of the PMCs by the nanopaper coatings, a thermal degradation model that captured the decomposition reaction of the iv polymer matrix with a second kind boundary condition (constant heat flux) was solved using Finite Element (FE) method. The weak form of the model was constructed by the weighted residual method. The model quantified the thermal and post-fire flexural responses of the composites subject to continuously applied heat fluxes. A temperature dependent post-fire residual modulus was assigned to each element in the FE domain. The bulk residual modulus was computed by assembling the modulus of each element. Based on the FE model, a refined Finite Difference (FD) model was developed to predict the fire response of the PMCs coated with the nanopapers. The FD model adopted the same post-fire mechanical evaluation method. However, unlike the FE model, the flow of the decomposed gas, and permeability and porosity of the composites were taken into account in the refined FD model. The numerical analysis indicated that the thickness and porosity of the composites had a profound impact on the thermal response of the composites. The research funding from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Federal Aviation Administration Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation (FAA COE AST) is acknowledged.

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Yes / Understanding the structure-property relationships of drug delivery system (DDS) components is critical for their development and the prediction of bodily performance. This study investigates the effects of introducing polyethylene oxide (PEO) homopolymers, over a wide range of molecular weights, into Pluronic injectable smart hydrogel formulations. These smart DDSs promise to enhance patient compliance, reduce adverse effects and dosing frequency. Pharmaceutically, Pluronic systems are attractive due to their unique sol-gel phase transition in the body, biocompatibility, safety and ease of injectability as solutions before transforming into gel matrices at body temperature. This paper presents a systematic and comprehensive evaluation of gelation and the interplay of microscopic and macroscopic properties under both equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions in controlled environments, as measured by rheology in conjunction with time-resolved Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS). The non-equilibrium conditions investigated in this work offer a better understanding of the two polymeric systems’ complex interactions affecting the matrix thermo-rheological behaviour and structure and therefore the future release of an active pharmaceutical ingredient from the injectable DDS.

My work focuses on taking waste wire-grade PVC = poly(vinyl chloride) and waste XLPE = cross-linked polyethylene and recycle them into small wire/cable spool technology in order to reduce waste cost and reduce cost of spool production. The PVC and XLPE were provided by Encore Wire Corp. of McKinney, TX; they have also defined the standard to which I am comparing my results. The end goal is to incorporate as much PVC and XLPE into the spools while maintaining material toughness, impact resistance, as well as cost-effectiveness in the implementation of the waste materials. The work has been divided into two primary sections, the first is focused on improving material strength through the addition of ceramic fillers. The second section is focused on adding PVC and XLPE into a stronger and highly cohesive polymer matrix and optimizing the concentration of the waste products. Since XLPE is non-polar while PVC is strongly polar, compatibilizers such as CPE (chlorinated polyethylene) and MA-DCP (maleic anhydride with dicumyl peroxide) were used to improve interactions between polar and non-polar constituents. Testing involved the tensile mechanical properties, tribology and thermal properties, namely dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and evaluation of thermal degradation by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Combining PVC and XLPE together is not economically feasible with current compatiblizers. At the same time, introduction of PVC waste or XLPE waste with sufficient properties of the resulting composites is doable.