Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Thesis Nandula-Final.pdf (29.52 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

TUNING MECHANICS OF ELASTOMERS AND COMPOSITES VIA CONTROLLED ASSEMBLY AND HIERARCHY

Wanasekara, Nandula Dasitha
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1409071947

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Macromolecular Science and Engineering.
Nature utilizes an array of design strategies for engineering materials with multiple and tunable functions. The precise control of hierarchical structure, controlled assembly, and responsive interactions is essential to achieve the desired properties in bio-inspired materials. We have explored multiple strategies to develop hierarchical and functional materials: 1) A series of peptidic-polyurea hybrids were designed to examine the effects of peptide secondary structure and hydrogen-bonding arrangement on morphology, thermal behavior, and mechanical response. The polymers containing ß-sheet forming peptide blocks exhibited higher modulus and toughness due to intermolecular H-bonding. It is expected that tunable mechanical behavior of these materials will be applicable to smart coatings and biomaterial development for tissue engineering scaffolds; 2) A new class of stimuli-responsive and mechanically-adaptive electrospun nanocomposites, which have the ability to alter their stiffness upon hydration and ion-exchange, were also developed. These composites were fabricated by incorporating a responsive electrospun mat as the filler in a rubbery host matrix. An irreversible or reversible reduction in storage moduli was achieved upon stimulation via ion-exchange and hydration. The mechanical morphing of the electrospun composites was tuned by filler crystallinity and tailored matrix-filler interactions with potential applications in drug delivery, actuation and tissue engineering.
LaShanda Korley (Advisor)
Gary Wnek (Committee Member)
David Schiraldi (Committee Member)
Jeffrey Capadona (Committee Member)
157 p.
Polymers

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wanasekara, N. D. (2015). TUNING MECHANICS OF ELASTOMERS AND COMPOSITES VIA CONTROLLED ASSEMBLY AND HIERARCHY [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1409071947

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wanasekara, Nandula. TUNING MECHANICS OF ELASTOMERS AND COMPOSITES VIA CONTROLLED ASSEMBLY AND HIERARCHY. 2015. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1409071947.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wanasekara, Nandula. "TUNING MECHANICS OF ELASTOMERS AND COMPOSITES VIA CONTROLLED ASSEMBLY AND HIERARCHY." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1409071947

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1409071947
201
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.