Wafer probing is a testing process to inspect semiconductor wafers before packaging for defects by checking the electrical conductivity via physical contact between the wafers and the probe card. During the contact process, the shape of the probe needle and the mounting configuration onto the probe card have large influences on the stresses and contact force that the probe needles experience. In this paper, static performance of a vertical-type probe needle integrated with floating mount technology is analyzed with a nonlinear finite element analysis. The comparison between fixed mount and floating mount technologies is a part of the analyses. The geometry of a vertical probe needle is optimized to minimize the stress that occurs during the overdrive process, while maintaining adequate force for proper contact with the wafer. Effects of major overall dimensions of probe needle on the maximum stress and contact force is analyzed first, and then curvature of the probe needle body is optimized by employing a constrained minimization function, fmincon, in MATLAB. The maximum stress in the vertical probe pin at 125 ??m overdrive is effectively reduced from 1339 MPa to 972 MPa by applying floating mount technology over the fixed mount, and further reduced to 666 MPa by applying the optimization scheme. The final optimized design induced the contact force of 5.217 gf, which is in the range of the required contact force of 5 to 8 gf. Fatigue life increased from 19,219 cycles to 108,129 by applying floating mount over fixed mount, and further increased to 830,596 for the optimized design.

Possessing unique thermomechanical properties, the discovery of nickel-titanium shape memory alloys (SMAs) has sprouted a plethora of applications in various fields, including aerospace, automotive, microelectronics, and medical devices. Due to its excellent biocompatibility and its ability to mimic biological forces, the medical implant industry has shown strong interest in expanding the application of NiTi SMAs. However, traditional SMA functional properties are limited by a single set of thermomechanical characteristics in a monolithic component. Past efforts in overcoming this limitation have had little success until recently with the invention of the multiple memory material (MMM) processing technology. This novel processing technology enables multiple functional responses through the augmentation of local microstructure and composition using a high power density source such as a laser. This thesis presents an investigation of the effect of laser processing on pseudoelastic behaviour and corrosion response of medical grade SMAs.

Proteins and the formation of large protein complexes are essential parts of living organisms. Proteins are present in all aspects of life processes, performing a multitude of various functions ranging from being structural components of cells, to facilitating the passage of certain molecules between various regions of cells. The 'protein docking problem' refers to the computational method of predicting the appropriate matching pair of a protein (receptor) with respect to another protein (ligand), when attempting to bind to one another to form a stable complex. Research shows that matching the three-dimensional (3D) geometric structures of candidate proteins plays a key role in determining a so-called docking pair, which is one of the key aspects of the Computer Aided Drug Design process. However, the active sites which are responsible for binding do not always present a rigid-body shape matching problem. Rather, they may undergo sufficient deformation when docking occurs, which complicates the problem of finding a match. To address this issue, we present an isometry-invariant and topologically robust partial shape matching method for finding complementary protein binding sites, which we call the ProtoDock algorithm. The ProtoDock algorithm comes in two variations. The first version performs a partial shape complementarity matching by initially segmenting the underlying protein object mesh into smaller portions using a spectral mesh segmentation approach. The Heat Kernel Signature (HKS), the underlying basis of our shape descriptor, is subsequently computed for the obtained segments. A final descriptor vector is constructed from the Heat Kernel Signatures and used as the basis for the segment matching. The three different descriptor methods employed are, the accepted Bag of Features (BoF) technique, and our two novel approaches, Closest Medoid Set (CMS) and Medoid Set Average (MSA). The second variation of our ProtoDock algorithm aims to perform the partial matching by utilizing the pointwise HKS descriptors. The use of the pointwise HKS is mainly motivated by the suggestion that, at adequate times, the Heat Kernel Signature of a point on a surface sufficiently describes its neighbourhood. Hence, the HKS of a point may serve as the representative descriptor of its given region of which it forms a part. We propose three (3) sampling methods---Uniform, Random, and Segment-based Random sampling---for selecting these points for the partial matching. Random and Segment-based Random sampling both prove superior to the Uniform sampling method. Our experimental results, run against the Protein-Protein Benchmark 4.0, demonstrate the viability of our approach, in that, it successfully returns known binding segments for known pairing proteins. Furthermore, our ProtoDock-1 algorithm still still yields good results for low resolution protein meshes. This results in even faster processing and matching times with sufficiently reduced computational requirements when obtaining the HKS.

No description available.

No description available.

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) has been applied to numerical modelling of the bulk compression of low modulus particulates. An existing DE code for modelling the contact mechanics of high modulus particles using a linear elastic contact law was modified to incorporate non-linear viscoelastic contact, real containing walls and particle deformation. The new model was validated against experimental data from the literature and physical experiments using synthetic spherical particles, apple and rapeseed. It was then used to predict particle deformation, optimum padding thickness in a handling line and bulk compression parameters during oilseed expression. The application of DEM has previously been limited to systems of hard particles of high compressive and shear modulii with relatively low failure strain. Material interactions have therefore commonly been modelled using linear contact law. For high modulus particles, particle shape change resulting from deformation is a not a significant factor. Most agricultural particulates however deform substantially before failure and their interaction is better represented with non-linear hysteretic viscoelastic contact relationship. Deformation of geometrically shaped particles in DEM is usually treated as "virtual" deformation, which means that particles are allowed to overlap rather than deform due to contact force. Change to particle shape has not previously been possible other than in the case of particles modelled as 2-D polygons or where each particle is also modelled concurrently with an FE mesh. In this work a new approach has been developed which incorporates a non-linear deformation dependent contact damping relationship and a shape change while maintaining sufficient geometrical symmetry to allow the problem to be handled by the same DE algorithms as used for true spheres. The method was validated with available experimental results on impact behaviour of rubber and the variations with different damping coefficients were simulated for a selected fruit. A fruit handling process dependent on the impact process was then simulated to obtain data required in the design of a fruit processing line. Changes in shape of spherical synthetic rubber particles and rapeseeds under compression were predicted and validated with physical experiments. Images were taken and analysed using image processing techniques with 1: 1 scaling. The method on shape change entails a number of simplifying assumptions such as uniform stress distribution and homogeneous material properties and uniform material distribution when deformed, which are not observed in real agricultural materials and will tend to overestimate the true contact area between particles. In reality for fruits and vegetables, material redistribution is a complex process involving a combination of compaction and movement. However with the new method a better approximation of bed voidage (which standard DEM approaches underestimate) and stress were obtained in the compression of a synthetic material. This is a significant improvement on existing methods particularly with respect to stress distribution within a bulk particulate system comprising deforming elements where the size and orientation of contact surface between particles has a strong influence on the bulk modulus. The new model was used for prediction of mechanical oil expression in four oilseed beds. Similar patterns in the variation of the characteristic parameters were obtained as observed in existing experimental data. The data could not be matched exactly as the quantity and arrangement of seeds in the initial seedbeds were not the same as those used in the experimental work. However the DE model gave approximate oil point data for seedbeds with the same physical properties and initial conditions as in the experiment. This suggests that the new model may be a useful tool in the study of mechanical seed-oil expression and other agricultural particulate compression processes.

A numerical model based on the discrete element (DE) method, for modelling the flow of irregularly shaped, smooth-surfaced particles in a 3-D system is presented. An existing DE program for modelling the contact between spherical particles in periodic space (without real walls or boundaries) was modified to model non-spherical particles in a system with containing walls. The new model was validated against analytical calculations of single particle movements and also experimentally against data from physical experiments using synthetic non-spherical particles at both a particle and bulk scale. It was then used to study the effect of particle shape on the flow behaviour of assemblies of particles with various aspect ratios discharging from a flat-bottomed hopper. The particles were modelled using the Multi-Sphere Method (MSM) which is based on the CSG (Constructive Solid Geometry) technique for construction of complex solids by combining primitive shapes. In this method particle geometry is approximated using overlapping spheres of arbitrary diameter which are fixed in position relative to each other. The contact mechanics and contact detection method are the same as those used for spheres, except that translation and rotation of element spheres are calculated with respect to the motion of the whole particle. Numerical simulations of packing and flow of particles from a flat-bottomed hopper with a range of aspect ratios were performed to investigate the effect of particle shape on packing and flow behaviour of a particulate assembly. It was found that the particle shape influenced both bed structure and flow characteristics such as flow pattern, shear band strength and the occurrence of bridging. The flow of the bed of spherical particles was smoother than the flow of beds of elongated particles in which flow was fluctuating and there was more resistance to shear.

The ultimate goal of this research was to develop a “self-fitting” shape memory polymer (SMP) scaffold for the repair of craniomaxillofacial (CMF) bone defects. CMF defects may be caused by trauma, tumor removal or congenital abnormalities and represent a major class of bone defects. Their repair with autografts is limited by availability, donor site morbidity and complex surgical procedures. In addition, shaping and positioning of these rigid grafts into irregular defects is difficult. Herein, we have developed SMP scaffolds which soften at T > ~56 °C, allowing them to conformally fit into a bone defect. Upon cooling to body temperature, the scaffold becomes rigid and mechanically locks in place. This research was comprised of four major studies. In the first study, photocrosslinkable acrylated (AcO) SMP macromers containing a poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) segment and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) segments were synthesized with the general formula: AcO-PCL40-block-PDMSm-block-PCL40-OAc. By varying the PDMS segment length (m), solid SMPs with highly tunable mechanical properties and excellent shape memory abilities were prepared. In the second study, porous SMP scaffolds were fabricated based on AcO-PCL40-block-PDMS37-block-PCL40-OAc via a revised solvent casting particulate leaching (SCPL) method. By tailoring scaffold parameters including salt fusion, macromer concentration and salt size, scaffold properties (e.g. pore features, compressive modulus and shape memory behavior) were tuned. In the third study, porous SMP scaffolds were produced from macromers with variable PDMS segment lengths (m = 0 – 130) via an optimized SCPL method. The impact on pore features, thermal, mechanical, and shape memory properties as well as degradation rates were investigated. In the final study, a bioactive polydopamine coating was applied onto pore surfaces of the SMP scaffold prepared from PCL diacrylate. The thin coating did not affect intrinsic bulk properties of the scaffold. However, the coating significantly increased its bioactivity, giving rise to the formation of “bone-bonding” hydroxyapatite (HAp) when exposed to simulated body fluid (SBF). It was also shown that the coating largely enhanced the scaffold’s capacities to support osteoblasts adhesion, proliferation and osteogenesis. Thus, the polydopamine coating should enhance the performance of the “self-fitting” SMP scaffolds for the repair of bone defects.

Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) are advanced materials with interesting properties such as pseudoelasticity (PE) and the shape memory effect (SME). Recently, the CoNiGa system has emerged as the basis for very promising High Temperature Shape Memory Alloys (HTSMAs), with possible applications in the aerospace and automotive industries. Although the CoNiGa system shows significant promise for its use as HTSMAs, limited studies are available on them. Hence, a more intensive investigation of these alloys is necessary to understand their phase stability over a wide range of temperature and compositions in order for further development of CoNiGabased HTSMAs and future use of the model in alloy design. This formed the basis of motivation for the present work. In this work, a thermodynamic model of the ternary system is calculated based on the CALPHAD approach, to investigate the thermodynamic properties, phase stability and shape memory properties of these alloys. The CALPHAD approach is a computational method that enables the calculations of thermodynamic properties of systems. This method uses all available experimental and theoretical data in order to calculate the Gibbs energies of the phases in the system. The software used to carry out the calculations is "ThermoCalc," which is a computational software using CALPHAD principles, based on the minimization of Gibbs energy, and is enhanced by a global minimization technique on the system. The stability of the beta phase at high temperatures was enforced accurately by remodeling the CoGa system. The binary CoGa system that makes up the ternary was remodeled, as the beta phase (which is very important as it dominates the central region of the ternary CoNiGa system where the shape memory effect is observed), re-stabilizes as the temperature increases above the liquidus in the CoGa system. Phase relations and thermodynamic properties of the CoNiGa system based on all experimental information were evaluated. Different properties like enthalpies, activities, sublattice site fraction of vacancies and phase fractions calculated in the system matched well compared to the experimental information used to model the system. Also, the phase equilibria among the gamma (fcc), beta, gamma'(Ni3Ga), delta (Ni5Ga3) and epsilon (Ni13Ga9) were determined at various temperatures.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2007. / "December, 2007." Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed 02/22/2008) Advisor, D. Dane Quinn; Co-Advisor, Graham Kelly; Department Chair, Celal Batur; Dean of the College, George K. Haritos; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.