Project Overview: Semiconductors are an increasingly important part of modern life, allowing for many performance advancements in computers, electronic devices and solar cells. One of the key properties of semiconductors particularly in solar cells and electronic devices is their band gap. In most applications, this band gap informs the choice of material. In this past, [...]
Project Overview: Commercial hot water heaters are required to function according to industry standards (consistent, efficient, and leak-free) in order to provide a building with the hot water supply it needs. Bock Water Heaters (BWH) designs commercial hot water heaters which generally includes applying a thick liquid porcelain enamel to one side of a low [...]
Project Overview: Solid electrolytes are the next frontier in battery technology however, due to their complex design, their fabrication is costly. This provides a hurdle in the study of this class of materials, as even measuring conductivity of a novel material requires fabrication which is slow and expensive. Computational Materials modeling is an emerging field [...]
Project Overview: Charter Steel Co., an integrated steel maker, currently has sporadic issues with effectively removing hot mill scale oxide from the surface of steel rod in their pickling operation. There are many variables that affect the scale oxide removal including, but not limited to rod size, rod cooling rate, steel grade, and the acid [...]
Project Overview: Collins is an aerospace company that designs, builds, and manufactures the interiors of aircraft for different airlines. Most of these interiors are designed in light metal or composite materials due to their high strength, toughness, and low density. Before developing these materials into products, material properties must be analyzed and integrated with design [...]
Project Overview: In an effort to reduce plastic waste, Amcor Flexibles North America has pledged by 2025 to develop all of their sustainable packaging to be recyclable, made with recycled material, or reusable. This project team will join their mission focusing on rigid plastic bottles. The team will test and evaluate the material properties of [...]
Project Overview: Silicon is a commonly used photo-electrochemical material due to its band gap, carrier intrinsic concentration, and doping capabilities. However, it faces drawbacks such as charge recombination and surface corrosion in extreme pH environments and during electrochemical reactions. Introducing a conductive and chemically inert protective layer such as TiO2 can help stabilize the photo-electrode [...]
Project Overview: Steel dry cask fuel storage canisters are the primary method of storing nuclear fuel in the country. These canisters tend to crack due to corrosion and tensile stress over time, which impacts their durability. Previous capstone groups have shown that a cold spray process can be used to deposit a coating that fixes [...]
Project Overview: Wood is a hierarchical material with numerous structural features. Conditions like heat treatment and water content can greatly influence the mechanical behavior of wood. Studying how embrittlement, fungal decay from humidity, or how different types of wood perform under a strain is valuable to the commercial industry, as well as to the USDA’s [...]