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Integration
Module 1: pH-sensitive Molecular Springs (Mentor:
Prof. Jiyu Fang, Mechanical Materials and Aerospace Engineering & Advanced
Materials Processing and Analysis Center)
Molecular
self-assembly based on cooperative weak interactions has been proven to
be a powerful strategy to mimic biological structures. Bile salts are
biological active surfactants which are synthesized in the liver. The
aim of this REU research project is to synthesize pH-sensitive
supramolecular springs by the self-assembly of bile salts in micro
fluidic networks and developing their application in biosensors.
Module 2: Carbon Nanotube Composites (Mentor:
Prof. Lei Zhai, Nanoscience Technology Center) 
The research in Dr. Lei Zhai’s
laboratory focuses on dispersing carbon nanotubes using conjugated block
copolymer and fabricating conjugated supramolecular structures on carbon
nanotubes. The resulted carbon nanotube composites have numerous
applications in polymer composites, nanoelectronics and organic
photovoltaics.
Module 3: Dielectrophoretic Cell Capture Device (Mentor:
Prof. Ming Su,
Mechanical Materials and Aerospace Engineering
& Nanoscience
Technology Center)
Non-invasive cell capture is a key technique for cell separation, gene and
drug deliveries. Among the available techniques for cell capture,
dielectrophoresis utilizes the gradient force of a non-uniform electric
field to move living cells. The direction and speed of the cell motion can
be controlled by changing the voltage and/or frequency. We have made glass
encapsulated metallic micro/nanowires using fiber-drawing
nanomanufacturing (FDN). These micro/nanowires could be arranged to form a
2D vertical array or to form a tapered microtweezers. These configurations
could increase the density of effective traps by having back electric
contacts in the array form, and provide more operation flexibility in the
tweezers form. This REU subtopic will involves the construction and
validation of such unique structures in cell capture. The student will
make 2D dielectrophoretic traps by wiring adjacent microwires and make a
microtweezer by wiring two microwires. The targets for capture include
polystyrene microspheres and living cells. An optical microscope will be
used to take image or video. A three dimensional micromanipulator will be
used to move the microtweezer.
Interface
Module 4: Miniature High Temperature Shape Memory Alloy Actuators (Mentor:
Prof. Raj Vaidyanathan, Mechanical Materials and Aerospace Engineering &
Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center and
Prof. C. Xu,
Mechanical Materials and Aerospace Engineering)
Shape memory alloys (SMAs) when deformed can produce strains as high as
8%. Heating results in a phase transformation and associated recovery of
all the accumulated strain, a phenomenon known as the shape memory
effect. Thus SMAs are a unique class of alloys that “remember” and
return to their original shape due to a thermally-induced phase
transformation, following deformation. The strain recovery can occur
against large forces, resulting in their use as actuators.
This project draws upon the expertise of Dr. Vaidyanathan in the area of
shape memory alloys and Dr. X. Cu in the area of controls and leverages
funding from NASA. The goal is to utilize a novel high temperature shape
memory
alloy in a clearance control application.
Module 5: Investigation of Nano-cluster Thin Films and Acoustoelectric
Effect (Mentor:
Prof. D. Malocha,
School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science )
 This
module would extend current research using orthogonal frequency coding (OFC)
surface acoustic wave (SAW)
wireless sensors to
create novel nano-cluster sensors. A schematic of the device embodiment
is shown which uses spread spectrum techniques to encode the sensor. The
code is introduced by a series of local reflectors which produces a
wideband frequency spectrum. The device can be adapted to a differential
mode operating embodiment which allows isolation of temperature from
other effects. The research work would involve depositing various
ultra-thin films, and then determining the acoustoelectric effect when
exposed to various gases or other external stimuli. All mask,
fabrication, design and test facilities are available in UCF
laboratories. The student will learn laboratory skills in device
fabrication, software tools and will be exposed to design and analysis
techniques.
Module 6: Smart Paper
(Mentor:
Prof. J. Gou, Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering)
The goal of the project is to make smart paper from carbon nanotube
paper and shape memory polymers (SMPs). The SMPs belong to a class of
intelligent materials, with the abilities to have the shape-memory
effect as if they can be deformed and fixed into a temporary shape, and
then recover their permanent shape by external stimuli, such as heat,
light, humidity, electrical and magnetic field (see Fig. 1). The unique
characteristics lend them to be used in a myriad of fields, including
clothing manufacturing, deployable space structures, morphing aircraft,
medical treatment, and many other applications.
Interpretation
Module 7:
Constitutive Modeling of Electrically Conductive Coating
(Mentor:
Prof. Ali P. Gordon, Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering)
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a pervasive problem that exists in a
variety of structures under wide ranges of
environmental-thermal-mechanical operating conditions. Some relevant
examples are (1) fuselage skin of aircraft, (2) hulls on naval platforms,
(3) bridge decks, and (4) ducts for fluid transport. Each of these
structures is designed for exposure to substantial service loading under
cyclic temperature conditions. Furthermore, aggressive reactants can also
be present in the ambient environment manifesting in SCC. A commonality in
each of these situations is that each of these components may be
positioned such that it is expensive to conduct regular, visual
inspections for surface-initiated damage. Many of these components may be
coated with corrosion resistant paint(s) that increase the difficulty of
traditional damage detection. A new variation of structural
health-monitoring (SHM) systems can be developed by taking advantage of an
often overlooked material property of a recently developed functional
material – electrically conductive coatings (ECCs). Research is being
carried out to characterize the electromechanical behavior of this class
of materials, so that they can be applied to assess the mechanical
condition of structures. Based on preliminary experimental results, the
electrical response of the material is only significantly different when
the substrate material undergoes plastic deformation, as shown in the
figure. In this study, several specimen-sized samples of a generic
structural material will be prepared with ECCs and subjected to cyclic
loading simulating service conditions. The electrical response of the
embedded ECCs will be analytically interpreted using a physically-based
model developed from microstructural behavior. As a result of this
investigation, the capabilities of ECCs will be further matured as a key
component of a new form of ultra-light-weight, SHM system. The proposed
research is interdisciplinary in nature since it merges principles from
mechanical, chemical, and electrical behaviors of a specific class of
materials.
Module 8: PEM Fuel Cell Water Management (Mentor:
Prof. S. Basu, Mechanical Materials and Aerospace Engineering)
 Performance
in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells is strongly affected by the
transport processes that occur both across the thin membrane separating
the fuel and oxidizer streams and in the plane of the gas flows through
the bipolar plate. Prior research has shown that the most common Nafion©
membrane used in PEM fuel cells exhibits a protonic conductivity
increase by an order of magnitude when the relative humidity of the gas
streams change from 35 to 85%. For this and other reasons, water
management in PEM fuel cells is an important element in optimization of
transport across the membrane, and therefore overall system performance.
In this project, we propose to use combinations of tunable diode laser
absorption spectroscopy, fiber optic evanescent wave spectroscopy, high
speed imaging and micro-PIV for rapid, in-situ, non-intrusive
measurements of water vapor concentration, flow field characterization
and liquid water dynamics in the gas channels in both the anode and
cathode sides of an operating fuel cell under steady and cyclic loads.
The proposed methodologies will be extended for monitoring CO and CO2
concentrations in the fuel cell in the future scope of this continuing
research.
Module 9: Microdroplet Manipulator (Mentor:
Prof. Hyoung Jin “Joe” Cho, Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace
Engineering)
 The
electrowetting effect induces the change in solid electrolyte contact
angle due to an applied potential difference between the solid and the
electrolyte. A wide range of contact angle between a solid substrate and
a droplet can be manipulated using this effect. In this research,
students will design, fabricate and test a droplet manipulator and use
it for a trapping tool for soft materials to measure their physical
properties.
Module 10:
Modeling and Experimentation of Biofuel Droplet Dynamics
(Mentors:
Prof. Ranganathan
Kumar and
Prof. S. Basu, Mechanical Materials and Aerospace Engineering)
 The
project will be dedicated to (a) Evaluation of evaporation
characteristics of different biofuels as a function of droplet size
[especially heatup time and vaporization time], (b) The morphological
and chemical kinetics change in the droplets when heated in a preheated
air flow, (c) Droplet dynamics during vaporization like instabilities,
secondary breakup, bubble formation and growth due to impurities, (d)
Homogeneity of the vaporized fuel-air mixture prior to combustion for
prevaporized combustion schemes, (e) Single phase flow field
characterization of the vaporized fuel-air mixture before combustion
[especially the turbulence intensity, flow oscillations] to ensure
combustion stability. These will be accomplished using sophisticated
diagnostic techniques like LIF, PIV and High speed imaging using a novel
microfluidic droplet generator producing mono-dispersed uniform sized
droplets and an acoustic levitator.
Module 11: Micro-Miniature
Engineering for Fuel Cells (Mentor:
Prof. Xinyu Huang, Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering)
 Design and build
micro-miniature devices for testing fuel cell and fuel cell materials.
The miniature test device will be made small and portable enough to be
placed under advanced analytical instrument, such as optical
spectrometer or high-resolution neutron imaging device. The small fuel
cell test device will be engineered with special features, such as
optical window and micro-electrodes, to enable advanced diagnostics.
Micro machining and/or other micro-fabrication techniques, such as
lithography and soft lithography, will be utilized to produce small
design features needed for the miniature fuel cell test device.
Integration - New Addition
Module 12: Development and Application of Multi-Photon
Three-Dimensional Direct Laser Writing (Mentor:
Prof. Stephen Kuebler, Chemistry)
Multi-photon three-dimensional
direct laser writing (DLW) is a photolithographic technique that enables
topologically complex 3D structures with feature size as small as 1 um or
less to be generated in a single exposure step by nonlinear
photo-patterning in a material.3DM offers great promise as a tool for
generating complex micro-devices, such as MEMS, micro-fluidics,
micro-optical components, and structures with bio-technological
properties. The REU students will investigate the use of DLW for creating
novel 3D diffractive nanophotonic structures as well as the development of
diffractive structures that can be used to re-shape the focused irradiance
distribution of the laser used for DLW, as a means for improving the
resolution achieved with this technique. This richly interdisciplinary
activity will expose REU students to methodologies in chemistry, materials
science, and optics and photonics.
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