US – Page 151 – TechConnect Briefs

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Sensor-Enabled Geosynthetics

Hatami K., Yazdani H., Hawa T., Grady B.P., University of Oklahoma, US

Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations are used to examine selected mechanical and electrical properties of Sensor-Enabled Geosynthetics (SEG) samples. Dreiding force field is adopted for the simulations which are carried out in the LAMMPS© environment. The [...]

Static and Dynamic Properties of the Electrical Double Layer Near Amorphous Silica: Relevance for Device Design

Shi B., Shin Y.K., Zhang H., Hassanali A., Shin Y.K., Knight C., Singer S.J., Ohio State University, US

Amorphous silica (“glass”) is commonly used to fabricate micro- and nano-fluidic devices. Using an atomistic model, we have studied the static and dynamic properties of the electrical double layer near the water/amorphous silica interface. The [...]

Dynamic Crack Propagation in a Bi-Metallic Nanolayer

Mohan R., North Carolina A&T State University, US

This paper focuses on the computational modeling of the dynamic crack propagation in a bi-metallic nanolayer. In particular, this paper focuses on the dynamic crack propagation in Nickel and Nickel-Aluminum bimetal nanolayer under tensile and [...]

Rapid oxidation and self-heating model of aluminum spherical nanoparticles

Zyskin M., Martirosyan K.S., University of Texas at Brownsville, US

Nanostructured highly-exothermic reactive mixtures, referred to as Nanoenergetic Materials (NM) or Metastable Intermolecular Composites (MIC), may release energy much faster than conventional energetic materials. The size reduction of reactant powders such as aluminum from micro- [...]

Silicon Crystal Effects in Modeling of MEMS Silicon Resonators

Ghaffari S., Ahn C.H., Ng E.J., Kenny T.W., Stanford University, US

Silicon has found considerable application in precision MEMS devices because it provides desirable high frequency and quality factor characteristics. Usually, MEMS resonators are built from single crystal silicon with proven long-term stability. It is experimentally [...]

Finite Element Modeling and Simulation of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters Fabricated in CMOS Technology

Mok A., Tigli O., University of Miami, US

Here we present a micron scale piezoelectric energy harvester fabricated in a commercial Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology. It is a trilayer cantilever model clamped on one end. The dimensions of this cantilever are [...]

Efficiency Enhancement of Dye-Sensitized Nanocrystalline Solar Cells Through Fabrication

Ilumoka A.A., UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD, US

This paper reports results obtained from the investigation of electrical performance of blueberry-based DSSCs and makes recommendations regarding their fabrication, specifically optimal sintering temperature and optimal sintering time. Electrical characteristics (open circuit voltage, short circuit [...]

Direct Manufacturing of Functional Structures on 3D microscale surfaces by Laser Dynamic Forming

Huang G., Cheng G.J., Purdue University, US

This paper demonstrates a scalable and fast-shaping top-down integration technique, Laser Dynamic Forming (LDF), capable of manufacturing 3D functional structures conformal to micro-to-mesoscale curvilinear features on various substrates by the laser-induced shockwave. The functional devices [...]

A novel cyclic forward-backward extrusion process for production of ultrafine grains materials

Alihosseini H., Asle Zaeem M., Dehghani K., Mississippi State Univeristy, US

A new cyclic forward-backward extrusion (CFBE) process was introduced as a severe plastic deformation (SPD) technique to produce ultrafine-grained aluminum rods. According to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) results, the average [...]

Mechanical fabrication of graphene devices using focused-ion beam: deposition and milling

Lei N., Chen Z., Kim D., Xue W., Xu J., Xue W., Washington State University, US

The inherent difficulties in handling and producing graphene have been a major barrier in developing such devices. Conventional microfabrication methods are mostly based on chemical etching processes, which often involve tedious masking and aligning steps. [...]