Date of Award

2017-01-01

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Advisor(s)

Pavana Prabhakar

Abstract

The use of composite structures for diverse applications have become of great interest for scientists and engineers thanks to the advantages that they may offer in comparison to conventional materials. In the case of sandwich composite structures, its mechanical properties can be tailored according to the necessities through the correct selection of a core and facesheets. In combination, this "new" material will have superior properties compared to traditional materials such as steel and aluminum. For arctic exploration, a core with low moisture absorption, low density, and resistance to extreme, low temperatures is desirable for this type of application. This Thesis describes the process of exposing two distinct types of foam cores under arctic conditioning (-60°C) and sea water exposure in order to analyze the impact that this type of environment may have in the mechanical response of the foam cores. Polyvinyl Chloride foams cores were condition under sea water, arctic temperatures, and in combination in order to analyze its compressive response. Epoxy/Cenosphere syntactic foams were subjected to arctic temperatures followed by compression and flexural tests. It was observed that long term sea water conditioning along with arctic exposure can be detrimental to the mechanical properties of PVC foams as well as of syntactic foams.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

94 pages

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Carlos Daniel Garcia Perez

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