Micromechanics

The influence of voids on the hygroelastic properties of paper has been investigated using analytical and numerical methods. Paper was modeled as a laminate made of cell-wall layers. A continuous fiber orientation distribution was introduced into the laminate model to derive the baseline properties of the papersheet. The voids in the papersheet were modeled as reinforcements with zero elastic properties. The reduction of elastic stiffnesses of isotropic materials containing different shapes and volume fractions of pores were analyzed using Voigt, Reuss, foam and combination models. Hashin's two-phase bounding model and Christensen's three-phase self-consistent models were also used to predict the elastic stiffnesses of isotropic porous materials. The influence of voids on the engineering constants of orthotropic materials was analyzed using 2-D and 3-D finite element models. The invariance of hygroexpansion in the presence of voids was demonstrated using analytical and numerical methods. The theoretical model predictions were correlated with previously published experimental results.

Optimization of compaction in granular material without the use of traditional ground improvement methods may be possible by optimizing the percentage of finer material and the median grain size ratio in binary soil mixtures. In this study, the median grain size ratio D50/d50 was explored as a fundamental parpmeter affecting the compaction characteristics of binary mixes made from natural sands as opposed to singular measurements such as fines content and mean grain size traditionally used to represent granular soils. A total of 18 binary granular mixes were synthetically generated from natural sands obtained from Longboat Key, Florida and evaluated through grain size analysis, laboratory compaction and determination of relative density. Results indicate that the D50/d50 ratio shows promise as a fundamental parameter for compaction optimization in binary mixes with values exceeding six approaching the densest packing configuations.

In order for microfluidics devices to be marketable, they must be inexpensive and easy to use. Two projects were pursued in this study for this purpose. The first was the design of a chip alignment system for visual feedback, in which a two-layer microfluidic chip was placed under a camera and an image processing and linear algebra program aligned a computer model to it. The system then translated the new locations of air valves and could detect valve activation in a chip filled with food coloring. The second was the design of a cheap, portable system to detect phosphorus in water. This system could not be completed due to time constraints, but the methods were detailed, and design ideas were laid out for future work.