University of Delaware - College of Engineering
MATERIALS TRIBOLOGY LABORATORY
Hierarchical composites provide ultra-low wear without lubrication
Friction force microscopy reveals new insights about the atomic origins of friction
In-situ microtribometry provides new insights into the initiation, progression, and treatment of osteoarthritis
In-situ tribometry provides direct observational access to the buried tribological interface
Co-sputtering offers unique control over the nanocomposite structure of ultra-low wear materials
Instrumenting UD's G90 helps elucidate the effects of non-uniform wind fields on premature drivetrain failure
Probing the sliding interface directly provides novel insights into lubrication and wear mechanisms of cartilage
Solid lubricant coatings keep satellites moving in extreme extraterrestrial environments
Interferometry through transparent bodies probes effects of roughness and real contact areas on friction
Trace loadings of 40nm nanoparticles reduce wear of Teflon by 99.99%

Dispersion Characterization

We have developed a program using MatLab to quantitatively characterize nanocomposite dispersion. The Polymer article, A Quantitative Method for Measuring Nanocomposite Dispersion, describes the rationale behind the code's development. The output is a single parameter descriptor of the characteristic length of unreinforced polymer domains. In an unreinforced polymer, this free-space length is infinite. The goal of the reinforcement is to reduce this length without introducing significant agglomeration.

Calibration images from the paper are provided to the right; you should be able to duplicate the free space length for each image (each is 2µm wide). Note that the free-space lengths are slightly different than those cited in the paper; this is due to pixelation of the curved edges. The automated mode helps to locate the approximate free-space length. We recommend manual iteration with large sampling sizes (~5000) for final calculations. Manual mode is also useful for obtaining statistics.

Click here to access Dispersion Characterization Code

Click here to access a tutorial

Right click and save bmp calibration images:
(a) (b) (c) (d)