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S.J. Garcia Espallargas

25 records found

The use of cultured frustule-based microcontainers for protecting and controlling the release of corrosion inhibitors within primers could offer improvements upon the existing diatomaceous earth system. Potential benefits include higher particle consistency, finer and more comple ...
The main objective of this dissertation is to demonstrate two strategies for incorporating highly efficient organic corrosion inhibitors into aerospace coatings and to establish fundamental guidelines for designing such coatings. Each chapter tackles important scientific and indu ...
With the advent of hydrogen and its derivatives being the emerging green fuel sources in aviation, the question of its sustainable production arises. Out of the various production methods, anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) stands out because of the less corrosive ...
Ice accumulation on aircraft surfaces is a prevalent issue, and icephobic coating strategies can be implemented to assist in the removal of or ice on an aircraft. However little is known regarding the effects of novel icephobic coatings and surfaces on ice adhesion strength, whi ...
With increasing research into hydrogen-fueled commercial aviation, polymer-based materials are being explored for use in lightweight liquid hydrogen storage tanks. This thesis investigates the adaptation of the Devanathan-Stachurski (DS) cell, traditionally used for studying hydr ...
Aircraft and helicopter structures commonly incorporate a combination of high-strength, low-density materials, such as carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) and aluminum alloys, which are joined mechanically (e.g., fasteners, rivets) or physicochemically (e.g., adhesives, weldin ...
In colder climates, ice formation and accumulation are a major safety hazard, which cause significant damage to infrastructure. These factors reduce operational efficiency and puts human safety at risk. For example, ice formation on aircraft wings can reduce aerodynamic performan ...
In cold regions, the formation and accumulation of ice can cause safety hazards and impede proper operation of equipment. By example, ice accumulation on aircraft wings can increase drag, increase weight, reduce upward force and decrease aircraft speed.

For these reason ...
Microbes, and the biofilms they form on surfaces, generally have a negative impact on performance. Well­-known examples are the increase of drag in ships and pipes, and the accelerated corrosion of metallic structures known as MIC. Among microbes, diatoms form a large unicellular ...

Relating polymer architecture to water absorption properties in a waterborne coating

Characterizing the physical structure of waterborne coatings via rheology and Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

In this thesis, the relationship between the polymer architecture and the water absorption properties of a commercially available waterborne anticorrosion coating are investigated with the purpose of improving the barrier properties. \\
To explore this relationship, the polym ...

Evaluation of Polymer Relaxation Dynamics

Using Laser Speckle Imaging and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

On the road towards developing truly self-healing polymer coatings, autonomous gap closure behavior is an important step. Stored entropic energy in a polymer could act as driving force for this closure. To make proper use of this concept it is important to develop characterizatio ...
Self-healing ability in polymers is typically probed by monitoring restorative properties after localized macroscopic damage or repetitive cycles of destructive testing followed by a healing cycle (e.g. cut-and-heal tests). However, the restoration of homogeneously distributed da ...
Filamentous fungi grow large networks of biomass with minimal energy input. This biomass consists of polysaccharide-based filamentous networks and adherent extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Recent reports show that this biomass can be formed into plastic-like thin film ma ...
Self-healing materials and, in particular, polymers are characterized by their ability to partially or fully restore their original properties or functions after damage. Amongst the healable polymer classes, thermoplastic polyurethanes have received increasing attention in the la ...
Additive manufacturing of smart polymers is a rapidly growing field. Additive manufacturing presents a versatile, low-waste manufacturing method for functional materials. Self-healing polymers are a type of smart polymers that are able to mend damage, either by the incorporation ...
Salts of trivalent cerium (Ce(III)) are known to successfully hinder localised corrosion phenomena typical of aerospace aluminium alloys by forming a thin passivation layer on top of the corrosion-active intermetallic phases. This is generally observed to happen when the alloy is ...
Unlike traditional wet-adhesives, dry adhesives are bioinspired solid polymers that owe their adhesion to hierarchical structures. Gecko’s are the most recognizable living creatures relying on this concept to climb walls. A close look at the gecko’s fingers reveals a hierarchical ...
This thesis investigates the observation and characterisation of molecular dynamics of monomers and polymers confined within the nanoporous oxide layers of anodised aerospace aluminium alloys by the use of Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS).

Using BDS, and subsequen ...

In order to address the need for a mechanically strong, self-healing thermosetting polymer for fiber reinforced composites, a novel dual network epoxy containing reversible disulfide bonds has been developed recently. This hybrid epoxy had the ability to heal multiple times ...