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

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 investigates the use of bromine intercalation of graphite as a method to simulate and investigate irradiation damage. In particular this study investigates the effects of intercalation on dimensional change on the macro and micro scales and how these changes combine to affect Young’s modulus. Highly Orientated Pyrolytic Graphite has been used to gather data as a close approximation to single crystal graphite. Three different grades of polycrystalline nuclear graphite have been used to investigate the effect of different microstructure on intercalation and subsequent property changes. The graphites have been characterized by optical microscopy, pycnometry and x-ray powder diffraction and texture measurements. A number of bespoke rigs were designed and manufactured to carry out sorption, tomography and laser vibrometry experiments.The results indicate that the rate of dimensional change for polycrystalline graphites is significantly lower than for single crystal graphites. Modelling of dimensional change suggests that the difference in expansion is due to closure of porosity. Closer investigation of the dimensional change within the microstructure shows that the majority of the dimensional change is driven by expansion of filler particles.The young’s modulus results show an initial increase in modulus followed by a decrease, which corresponds with empirical evidence for irradiated samples. It is postulated that the initial increase in modulus is due to crystal expansion and that the subsequent decrease is due to crack growth. After experimentation some samples show significant cracking which would appear to support this assertion.

This PhD thesis is concerned with developing a methodology for early diagnosis of cancer by comparing the resonant frequencies in the amplitude spectra obtained during a vibration test using the AFM or, by comparing the stiffness properties of single cancerous and normal cells obtained using a resonant technique. As there is no reliable data in the literature to prove the existence of resonant frequencies of single cells, this work pioneers the search for resonant frequencies of related microspherical soft bodies using the AFM. Experiments to investigate the resonant behaviour of single cells depends on various parameters which are difficult to control; for example, the cell type, deciding at what stage the cell should be tested during the culturing process, determining the nucleus size, determining the cytoskeleton integrity and designing an appropriate vibration test setup among others. For this reason, agarose microspheres were selected to carry out preliminary work as these samples have similar properties to human cells and their resonances are affected by fewer variables. Although these micrometric spheres were tested under different conditions, no clear resonant behaviour was found at frequencies below 20 kHz and, only wide curves (interpreted as highly damped peaks of resonance) in the interval ranging from 20 kHz to 100 kHz were observed. By considering those curves as the quadrupole (Qp) vibration mode, approximate stiffness values for the agarose microspheres were found to be in between 37 kPa and 72 kPa. These values are similar to those obtained during an indentation test performed on the same samples whic¬¬h gave Young’s modulus values ranging from 10 kPa to 200 kPa. In order to gain a greater insight into the vibration test performed on microscopic samples, the research was extended to include agarose spheres of millimetric size. The characterization of these samples was carried out using an innovative purpose-built experimental setup. For the vibration test, a PZT based excitation device and a vibro-acoustic sensor were designed and constructed. The amplitude spectra of the vibration tests performed on millimetric samples consistently showed at least three peaks of resonance from which after the numerical simulation of the vibration test were interpreted as the quadrupole (Qp) and octupole (Op) vibration modes. Using this information, stiffness values for the samples ranging from 100 kPa to 700 kPa were calculated. In order to obtain the stiffness of the millimetric samples using a different technique, an experimental setup was constructed to perform a compression test. However, due to high viscoleasticity of the samples, it was not possible to obtain a standard compression curve necessary for their mechanical characterization. The results obtained from the tests on millimetric agarose samples demonstrate that spheres made of this material are able to provide measurable vibrational characteristics. Consequently, this methodology can be further implemented on micrometric samples and possibly on human cells to detect their resonant frequencies and equivalent stiffness values which can be used as a cancer marker. From the vibrational experiments on millimetric samples, it was noticed that the excitation mechanism plays an important role and for this reason future work is proposed to continue in this direction.

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Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are tubular structure of a layer or layers of carbon atoms. CNTs serve as a prototypical nanomaterial holding great promises for various basic and applied research applications in the fields of electrical, thermal, and structural materials owing to their superlative mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical, and chemical properties. Since the discovery of CNTs by Iijima in 1991, numerous researches have been conducted to quantify and understand the atomic origin of their high strength, exceptional thermal conductivity, and unique electrical properties. CNTs are also widely used as nanofillers in composite materials to enhance their mechanical properties such as fracture toughness and to serve as sensing agents. There is thus an imperative need to deeply understand the physical properties of CNTs and their responses to various models of deformations such as stretching, bending, twisting, and combinations thereof. In this thesis, we apply all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to study in detail the behavior of several single-walled, armchair CNTs under stretching and bending deformations, realized by imposing appropriate boundary conditions on the CNTs. The simulation results reveal unique scaling properties of the stretching and bending stiffness with respect to the CNT radius and length, which indicate that a single-walled CNT is best modeled as a thin cylindrical shell with a cross-sectional radius equal to the CNT radius and a constant wall thickness much smaller than the CNT radius. By studying the thermal fluctuations of carbon atoms on the CNT wall, the wall thickness is determined to be about 0.45~AA~for all the single-walled CNTs studied in this thesis and correspondingly, Young's modulus is estimated to be about 8.78 TPa for these CNTs. / Master of Science / Carbon atoms are magic building blocks of our world and the basis of life on the earth, and likely in the universe too. They can also form amazing materials with dimensionalities ranging from 0 to 3. For example, carbon atoms can form soccer-ball like spherical structures called fullerenes, with 0 dimensionality. They can also form 1-dimensional tubular structures with only one wall (i.e., one layer of carbon atoms) or multiple walls, called carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that have diameters typically in the nanometer range and lengths as long as 0.5 meter. Carbon atoms also form graphene sheets, which can be regarded as 2-dimensional structures, and 3-dimensional materials including graphite and diamond. In this work, we model CNTs using the molecular dynamics simulation method, where the motion of each atom is resolved and controlled if needed. Specifically, we study CNTs under stretching by fixing one end while pulling the other end in the axial direction, or bending by pulling the middle of a CNT along the radial direction in its cross-section while fixing its two ends. By fitting the simulation results to the continuum mechanics models, we show that a CNT is best described as a thin cylindrical shell with a radius equal to the CNT radius and a wall thickness much smaller than the radius. At the end, the wall thickness of all the CNTs studied here is determined to be about $0.45times 10^{-10}$ meter and their Young's modulus is estimated to be about $8.78times 10^{12}$ Pa, confirming that CNTs are one of the strongest and stiffest materials.

<p>The trabecular meshwork (TM) is comparable to a bioactive filter that plays a major role in regulating outflow of aqueous humor of the eye and setting intraocular pressure (IOP). TM dysfunction may lead to ocular hypertension which is the major risk factor in glaucoma. Although the outflow properties of the TM have been assessed over the last sixty years, very little work has been done assessing its mechanical properties. Therefore, the major goals of these studies were two-fold: (1) to determine the relationship between mechanical properties of TM, specifically the bulk Young's modulus, and outflow function in normal and glaucomatous eyes, and (2) to establish a method and possible animal model for future testing of this relationship.</p><p>Outflow function was assessed by constant pressure perfusion in enucleated eyes at four pressure levels (10, 20, 30, and 40 mmHg) to determine outflow facilities and variability in outflow resistance with pressure elevation. A micro-strain analyzer (MSA) was used to determine the circumferential bulk Young's modulus of the TM post-perfusion. Based on their relative ease of availability, pigs and rats were explored as possible animal models. Due to the small size of rat eyes, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to assess the Young's modulus of TM rather than with a MSA.</p><p>We found that there was a relationship with better outflow function and a stiffer TM in normal eyes. Additionally, glaucomatous TM was found to be much softer and more variable than normal TM. Unfortunately, porcine TM did not serve as a good model for the bulk Young's modulus of human TM, presumably due to anatomical difference in its outflow pathway. Lastly, we were able to establish a new method for measuring the Young's modulus of rat TM for future work to determine potential mechanism for evaluating stiffness changes that may be associated with glaucoma.</p> / Dissertation

The wall properties of the arteries play an important role in cardiovascular function. Stiffness of large artery is predictive of cardiovascular events. To understand the function of the cardiovascular system, special attention should be paid to the understanding of pulse wave propagation, because pulse waves carry information of the cardiovascular function, and provide information which can be useful for the prevention and diagnosis of diseases. This thesis presents a series of in vitro experimental studies of wave propagation, wave reflection and determination of mechanical properties of flexible vessels. In this thesis, several studies have been included: 1) applied and compared foot-to-foot, PU-loop and lnDU-loop methods for determination of wave speed in flexible tubes and calf aortas; 2) investigated the variation of local wave speed determined by PU-loop with proximity to the reflection site; 3) investigated using wave intensity analysis (WIA) as the analytical technique to determine the reflection coefficient; 4) developed a new technique which based on one-point simultaneous measurements of diameter and velocity to determine the mechanical properties of flexible tubes and calf aortas. In the first study, it is found wave speeds determined by PU-loop and lnDU-loop methods are very similar, and smaller than those determined by foot-to-foot method. The timing of arrival time of reflected wave based on diameter and velocity technique highly agreed with the corresponding timing based on pressure and velocity technique. The shapes of forward and backward non-invasive wave intensities based on diameter and velocity are very similar with the corresponding shapes based on pressure and velocity. Although the density term is not part of the equation, the lnDU-loop method for determining local wave speed is sensitive to the fluid density. In the second study, it is found wave speed measured by PU-loop is varied with proximity to the reflection site. The closer the measurement site to the reflection site, the greater the effect upon measured wave speed; a positive reflection caused an increase in measured wave speed; a negative reflection caused a decrease in measured wave speed. Correction iteration process was also considered to correct the affected measured wave speed. In the third study, it is found, reflection coefficient determined by pressure, square roots of wave intensity and wave energy are very close, but they are different from reflection coefficient determined by wave intensity and wave energy. Due to wave dissipation, the closer the measurement site to the reflection site, the greater is the value of the local reflection coefficient. The local reflection coefficient near the reflection site determined by wave intensity and wave energy are very close to the theoretical value of reflection coefficient. In the last study I found that distensibility determined by the new technique which utilising lnDU-loop is in agreement with that determined from the pressure and area which obtained from tensile test in flexible tubes; distensibility determined by the new technique is similar to those determined in the static and dynamic distensibility tests in calf aortas; Young’s modulus determined by the new technique are in agreement with that those determined by tensile tests in both flexible tubes and calf aortas. In conclusion, wave speed determined by PU-loop and lnDU-loop methods are very similar, the new technique lnDU-loop provides an integrated noninvasive system for studying wave propagation; wave speed determined by PU-loop is affected by the reflection, the closer the measurement site to the reflection site, the greater the change in measured wave speed; WIA could be used to determine local reflection coefficient when the measurement site is close to the reflection site; the new technique using measurements of diameter and velocity at one point for determination of mechanical properties of arterial wall could potentially be non-invasive and hence may have advantage in the clinical setting.