In addition to its role as moderator within British nuclear reactors, polycrystalline graphite is also a major structural component of the core, enabling access for control rods, coolant gas and fuel. Aging processes, primarily fast neutron irradiation and radiolytic oxidation lead to distortion of the graphite components and property changes which ultimately reduce the material's effectiveness and can lead to component failure.Despite much research into the material, graphite behaviour under irradiation conditions is not fully understood and has resulted in an overestimation of the extent of component failures in Magnox reactors, and a subsequent underestimation of component failures in the following generation Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs). A greater understanding of the material is therefore required in order to make more informed evaluations as part of on-going safety cases. Young's modulus is one property which varies as a complex function of radiolytic oxidation and fast neutron irradiation dose; this work investigates investigate the Young's modulus behaviour of nuclear grade graphites through property measurement and microstructural characterisation. Physical properties are dependent on microstructure, which is in turn a result of the manufacturing processes and raw materials used in its fabrication. Because of this, this thesis begins with a microstructural study of AGR graphite artefacts from varying points during the manufacturing process and post-irradiation, utilising X-ray diffraction to observe changes in crystallinity, microscopy to directly observe the microstructure and pycnometry to gauge porosity variations. Increases in crystallinity towards graphitisation are seen, with a subsequent decrease after irradiation; and significant changes are observed from inspection of optical and scanning electron micrographs. Young's modulus property data are obtained using a combination of static and dynamic techniques to accumulate data from a variety of techniques. An experiment designed to track changes to the speed of sound under compressive load was carried out on Magnox and AGR graphite, showing different behaviour between the grades, and variation with irradiation.A final series of tests combine compressive testing with in-situ microscopy to try and better understand the reasons behind this varied in behaviour and relate microstructural changes to graphite behaviour under compressive loading.

BACKGROUND: The cornea is the outer portion of the eye and protects the eye from infection or debris. When the cornea becomes compromised due to age and disease (specifically Diabetes Mellitus), it becomes impaired and can have profound impacts on an individual’s quality of life by leading to vision loss or blindness. The different layers of the cornea all contain many proteins and collagen, and have varying degrees of thickness and biomechanical properties. Stiffness in the cornea has either been measured via the use of AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) which involves removing a slice of the cornea and adhering to the surface, as a function of IOP (Intraocular Pressure), or tensile testing. Previous research has also used the nanoindenter to measure the stiffness of different layers in the intact globe (eyeball) within the mouse head or by adhering to PEG submerged in PBS. However, no studies to our knowledge have used the intact globe exposed to air and placed on a 3D printed model to measure different corneal layers via the use of nanoindentation. METHODS: 6 C57BL/6J mice were obtained between 8-12 and 27 weeks of age, had the eyes extracted, and half remained with intact epithelium while the other half had the epithelium abraded with a 1.5 mm trephine. The eyes were placed in keratinocyte solution (KCM) for preservation while they were transported to the site with a nanoindenter. The globes were then placed on a 3D printed holder, cornea facing up, and irrigated with KCM solution in between indentation measurements. The PIUMA Optics 11 Nanoindenter was used to measure the Effective Young’s Modulus of the epithelium, basement membrane, and stroma. The Oliver & Pharr modeling was used as opposed to the Hertzian Model due to the biomechanical and adhesion properties of the eye. RESULTS: A comparison of control mice at 9 weeks shows an average Effective Young’s Modulus of 30.73 kPa, and an average Effective Young’s Modulus for 15 week old mice of 62.50 kPa for the epithelium. The average Effective Young’s Modulus of the basement membrane for 9 week control mice was ~6.2 kPa and for older 27 week mice was ~6 kPa. The Effective Young’s modulus for the stroma of 9 week old mice was ~68.3 kPa and for 27 week old mice was ~ 222.7 kPa. CONCLUSION: It was observed that stiffer substrates (in this instance, stiffer layers) require stiffer probes. The opposite is true of softer substrates, which require softer probes. It is beneficial in either instance to use a larger tip radius as there will be more contact and surface area measurement, so the probe has less recoil due to the adhesion from the corneal layers. The values observed in this study correlated with the values seen in the study conducted by Xu et al. However, the basement membrane values were different and could be due to probe specifications or layer thinness. Additional studies are needed to observe changes in Young’s Modulus based on probe characteristics with diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus (DM).

Nanoparticles have been found to have an increasingly wide range of applications including drug delivery systems, chemical sensors, biomolecule sensors, single electron devices, catalysis, Li-ionbatteries, andsolarcells. Avarietyofmethodshavebeenused to produce nanoparticles, but one widely used approach is the application of reverse micellenanoreactorswherebyblockco-polymersareusedtoencapsulateprecursorsalts and serve as a vessel for precursor salts to react. As the encapsulation of precursor salts can be a multi-step process, some nanoparticle formulations have proven difficult to make within the reverse micelle nanoreactor. To fully understand the difficulties in nanoparticle formation, we need to have a method to probe the internal structure of the reverse micelle. This thesis presents a novel method for probing the internal structure of the reverse micelle using a quantitative mechanical mapping (QNM) mode for atomic force microscopy (AFM). Unloaded reverse micelle nanoreactors were analyzed using the QNM AFM mode. A decrease of the Young’s modulus was noted through the centroid of the reverse micelle. Many models were applied to describe the noted decrease of Young’s modulus. The end result indicated that intrinsic differences between the mechanical properties of polystyrene and poly(2vinyl pyridine) and the co-polymer orientation lead to the measured decrease in Young’s modulus through the centroid. Results from the unloaded case were used to explain changes to the reverse micelle nanoreactor after loading with precursor salts. Across all precursor salts similar trends were noted, however there was no consistent relative Young’s modulus or molar salt loading ratio noted within the trends. Three distinct loading zones were consistent acrosstheprecursorsalts. Region I wastypifiedbyaslightdecreaseinrelativeYoung’s modulus with small resultant nanoparticles. Region II was typified by linear increases in relative Young’s modulus for increases in the molar salt loading ratio. Region III was found to have two possible outcomes, either the micelle reach a maximum effective infiltration, where the relative Young’s modulus ratio no longer increases for increased molar salt loading ratio, or the micelle would unravel for increased molar salt loading ratio. Further studies should be done to confirm the existence of the universal loading regions across further co-polymers, solvents, and precursor salts. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Many offshore energy infrastructures are built on carbonate sands which are skeletal remains of marine organisms. Carbonate sands have a porous grain structure and are more compressible compared to quartzitic sand grains which are abundant in alluvial depositional environments. Consequently, there is a stark difference in material behavior of carbonate sands and it is difficult to characterize this distinct behavior with conventional methods. This study focuses on micro-scale characterization of carbonate and quartzitic sands to overcome this challenge. Experimental studies consist of nanoindentation tests performed on 17 different sands; 7 quartzitic and 10 carbonate sand samples. Mechanical properties of individual sand grains with different mineralogies are determined using nanoindentation. A force is applied by the nanoindenter on the grain surface and the load-displacement curve is developed. Modulus and hardness of individual sand grains are evaluated. Nanoindentation test results show that modulus and hardness of carbonate sands are significantly lower than quartzitic sands. For quartzitic grains, mechanical properties are relatively independent of indentation depth; whereas, for carbonate grains there is a considerable decrease in both Young's modulus and hardness values with increasing indentation depth. Results from this study can further be used for the evaluation of compressibility and strength characteristics of these two types of sands as part of a multi-scale analysis framework. / Master of Science

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Pressure tests on wood have been conducted to determine its properties. The resultswere not as expected, and it is therefore difficult to obtain the parameters of thewood. This project examines how a specific defect in the wood sample affects theresult.The pressure test is simulated with numerical modeling. In the numerical model thecube’s top side is non-parallel with the bottom side, it is in other words somewhattilted.The results from the model agreed with the findings from some pressure tests. Withthose we can easily calculate the wood's properties. For other pressure tests, otherfactors might need to be examined before we can draw any conclusions. / Tryckprover på trä har utförts för att ta reda dess egenskaper. Resultaten blev intevad som förväntades, och det blir därför svårt att få fram träets egenskaper. Dettaprojekt undersöker hur en viss defekt i träprovet påverkar resultatet.Tryckprovet simuleras med numerisk modellering. I modellen är kubens toppsida inteparallell med bottensidan, den är med andra ord något sned.Resultatet från modellen stämde med resultat från vissa tryckprover. Då kan man fåfram träets egenskaper. För andra tryckprover kan andra faktorer behöva undersökasinnan man kan dra några slutsatser.

On-chip characterization devices have been used to extract the Young’s modulus, average stress and stress gradient of polysilicon doped with phosphorus using thermal diffusion. Devices for extracting the Young’s modulus, average stress and stress gradients have been designed to work within the range of expected material property values. A customized fabrication process was developed and the devices were fabricated. Static and resonant tests were performed using clamped-clamped and cantilever beams in order to extract material properties. The experimental setup and detailed experimental results and analysis are outlined within. Several doping concentrations have been studied and it has been concluded that the Young’s modulus of polysilicon doped for 2 hours increases by approximately 50GPa and the average stress of polysilicon doped for 2.5 hours becomes more tensile by approximately 63 MPa. It has also been found that short doping times can introduce a large enough stress gradient to create a concave up curvature in free-standing structures. This work was performed in order to determine the usability of doping as a means to increase the sensitivity of temperature and pressure sensors for harsh environments. It has been concluded that doping is a promising technique and is worth studying further for this purpose.

This thesis presents the development of a micro-aspirator chip using vacuum expanded microchannels for mechanical characterization of single cells. Mechanical properties of cells can offer valuable insights into the pathogenic basis of diseases and can serve as a biomarker to identify cells depending on disease state, and thus have the potential for use in human disease diagnostic applications. Micropipette aspiration and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are the most commonly used techniques for measuring mechanical properties of single cells. Though powerful and versatile, both methods have two drawbacks. First, micromanipulation of glass micropipettes and AFM tips require expertise and extensive operator skills. Second, the serial manipulation process severely limits the throughput. Although recently reported microfluidic micropipette device showed the potential of microfluidic chip type micropipette aspiration, difficulty in cell trapping and unnatural cell deformation remain to be solved. In order to address these limitations, a high-throughput micro-aspirator chip, which can deliver, trap, and deform multiple cells simultaneously with single-cell resolution without skill-dependent micromanipulation was developed. The micro-aspirator chip is composed of 20 arrays of cell traps and aspiration channels. The principle of cell trapping is based on differences in flow resistance inside the microfluidic channels. Once the first cell trap is filled with a cell, the next cell coming in passes by the trap and is captured in the next trap. After all traps are filled with cells, negative pressure can then be applied to the integrated aspiration channels using hydrostatic pressure. The aspiration channels are positioned at the center of a trapped cell both in vertical and horizontal directions to obtain a good seal just like a traditional micropipette, a design made possible through a vacuum expanded raised microfluidic channel fabrication technique. Device operation was demonstrated using HeLa cells. The cell trapping efficiency was almost 100 percent. Using this device, Young's modulus of 1.3 ± 0.8 kPa (n = 54) was obtained for HeLa cells. Device to device variation was less than 15.2 percent (n = 3), showing good repeatability of the device. No dependence of the Young's modulus on the cell diameter was found.

ABSTRACT AS4/PEEK (APC-2) is a thermoplastic composite materials consisting of polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) reinforced with AS4 carbon fibers. APC-2 has been widely used in many weight critical applications because of high specific strength and stiffness, good corrosion resistance, good formability and high temperature durability. However, the susceptibility of composite materials to damage result from low-velocity impacts (for example, from dropped tools, runway stones or hailstones) is a major problem. Low-velocity impact induces internal damage in the composite laminate without any visible sign on the surface, but it is result in a loss of laminate strength. This paper is aimed to investigate the mechanism and mechanical performance of [0/90] and [0/+45/90/-45] laminates subjected to Drop-Weight Impact by a cylindro-conical, a cylindro-hemisphere and a cylindrical impactor tip at temperature of 25¢J, 75¢Jand 125¢J. The study of impact response and post impact strength of composite laminates subjected to low velocity impact shows that the failure mechanism is predominantly delamination and fiber breakage. Generalizing the results of experiment, we can conclude that an impactor with a small nose (cylindro-conical) induces a larger impact-induced damage than one with a large nose (cylindrical), as well as a greater degree of fiber breakage. But for the reduction of post-impact strength, the cylindro-hemisphere impcator induces the most reduction of strength than the cylindro-conical and the cylindrical impactors. The post-impact residual strength of [0/90] specimens is higher than [0/+45/90/-45] specimens. But, [0/+45/90/-45] specimens are better to resist the impact effect. As for the effect of elevated temperature, we found that when the temperature increases, the damage extent reduces slowly. Keywords: composite, low-velocity impact, temperature effect, young's modulus, ultimate strength