CECD-Affiliated Laboratories
UMCP/NIST Co-Laboratory for Nanoparticle Based Manufacturing and Metrology
Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory
Dynamic Effects Laboratory
Multi-scale Measurements Laboratory
MEMS and Microsystems Laboratory
Maryland Microfluidics Laboratory
Phase Change Heat Transfer Laboratory
Ballard Power Fuel Cell Systems Laboratory
CALCE Test Services and Failure Analysis Laboratories
Energetic Materials Synthesis Laboratory (LMU - Germany)
UMCP/NIST Co-Laboratory for Nanoparticle Based Manufacturing and Metrology
Director: Prof. Michael Zachariah
Research conducted in this laboratory involves (1) developing analytic tools (Nanolytics) to study nanoparticles and nanowires; and (2) developing new materials with application to energy and nanomedicine, using aerosol methods. Research focus is on aerosol-based methods for which the laboratory has developed new mass-spectrometric and ion-mobility methods to probe the behavior and function of nanoparticles and nanowires. The laboratory has recently developed a new T-Jump Time-of-Flight mass spectrometer to measure ultrafast condensed state reactions at higher temperatures with a resolution of 100 μs, which allows to see how nanoparticles of metal react with metal oxide to liberate energy. This tool is being used also to study novel high energy density materials. Recently, the laboratory has developed electrospray atmospheric ion mobility spectrometry to measure the orientation of SAMs on nanoparticles and their binding energy as a function of particle size. The new mass-spectrometric and ion-mobility methods have also been used to study the reaction kinetics of solar driven chemistry to generate hydrogen from water, in which we obtain the detailed behavior of how nanoparticles react as a function of particle size. They have been applied to probe the interaction of proteins, in particular antibody binding to nanoparticles, and there aggregation behavior in solution. This laboratory has a strong collaboration with atmospheric sciences, in which the laboratory makes and characterizes environmental aerosols relevant to global climate change. Of interest is understanding how coated soot particles might enhance absorption of sunlight and lead to enhanced global warming.
Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory
Director: Prof. S.K. Gupta
The Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory at the University of Maryland provides the state of the art facilities for realizing next generation products and educating the next generation of engineers. We believe in working closely with the industry to advance the manufacturing field. The focus of the lab is on both process as well as system level manufacturing solutions. The current research activities include manufacturing process and system simulation, process planning, production planning, manufacturability analysis, and nanomaterial processing. Current facilities include injection molding, CNC machining, ceramic gel casting, in-mold assembly, layered manufacturing, power processing, high temperature sintering, and resin transfer molding.
This laboratory has a virtual reality (VR) capability in our lab. The VR setup involves the following hardware components: 6 degrees of freedom wand based tracking system called Flock of Birds™ from Ascension Technologies that based on pulsed DC magnetic technology. The tracking system is integrated with the software through VRCO tracked interface. It also has a pair of NEC Stereo projectors with Stewart Luxus Screenwall Box used for passive stereo display. A NVIDEA FX3000 video card is used for graphics acceleration.
Dynamic Effects Laboratory
Director: Prof. William Fourney
The Dynamic Effects Laboratory has a history of over 25 years. It specializes in small-scale explosive and impact testing and has an extensive array of equipment. This lab’s capabilities and experience are unique and not easily reproducible. They include dynamic material property characterization, effects of joints and material discontinuities, fracture mechanics of dynamic crack propagation, dynamic effects on granular, brittle, viscoelastic and ductile materials, full-field effects of stress wave propagation, dynamic characterization of novel functionally graded nano-energetic materials.
This lab’s testing facilities include: 2.1 m dia. by 3.1 m long blast chamber for small charge tests (< 1 g); 1.2 m dia. by 50.8 mm wall thickness spherical confinement vessel for explosive testing (< 15 Kg); 12.7-mm and 25.4-mm diameter smooth bore gas guns: projectile velocities up to 300 m/s; 50-caliber gun; 12.7-mm and 19.0-mm diameter steel split-Hopkinson pressure bars: strain rates from 10 to 10 to the 3rd per sec in T and C; 12.7-mm diameter PMMA split-Hopkinson pressure bars: compression strain rates from 10 to the 3rd to 10 to the fourth per sec; drop weight facility; precision explosive initiation equipment; low and medium speed framing cameras, Digital Video Systems, capable of 800,000 fps; high-speed signal recording equipment; explosive storage facilities; capability to cast large models (< 0.5-m cube) from cement, gypsum, and epoxy materials; stress and strain gages to monitor dynamic response; large diameter Helmholtz coils to measure particle velocity resulting from shock waves; photoelastic laboratory for static and dynamic model testing; 10,000-lbf loading frame for quasi-static tests; 500,000-lbf loading frame for quasi-static tests of large specimens; tri-axial confinement testing; 50 kip programmable MTS hydraulic cyclic testing machine (load and displacement control); variety of high-speed electronic testing equipment: signal conditioners, transient digitizers, fast oscilloscopes, and amplifiers; work stations running various computer codes.
Multi-scale Measurements Laboratory
Director: Dr. Hugh Bruck
The Multi-scale Measurements Laboratory is devoted to the characterization of materials and structures at multiple length scales. Capabilities exist to characterize the structure and mechanical behavior at the nanoscale using either an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) integrated with a micro-tensile tester or a Hysitron Nanoindenter with Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM). At the microscale, we can characterize microstructure and mechanical behavior using a Tukon microhardness tester or optical microscopes with the micro-tensile tester. Macroscale mechanical measurements of structural and material behavior can be made with desktop load frames using standard camera lenses or with a Wilson Rockwell hardness tester. A core technology for extracting inhomogeneous details of mechanical behavior in materials and structures is the full-field deformation technique known as Digital Image Correlation (DIC). Furthermore, thermal characterization of materials can be performed using a Cahn TGA/DTA, while the density of materials can be characterized using a Micrometrics pycnometer. The lab staff has extensive experience working with a wide range of materials and structures, including Functional Graded Materials, Metal-Ceramic Composites, Polymer Composites, Bulk Metallic Glasses, Shape Memory Alloys, Nano-enhanced Adhesives, Bioinspired Materials & Structures, and Energetic Materials. The lab also has computational capabilities for developing advanced structure-property models of material and structural behavior using Finite Element Analysis, Thermo-micromechanical Analysis, and Optimization Methods.
MEMS and Microsystems Laboratory
Director: Prof. Don DeVoe
The MEMS and Microsystems Laboratory addresses fundamental and applied investigations into the design, fabrication, and characterization of microscale devices and systems. This integrated approach to microengineering includes topics such as fundamental microscale physics and science, novel microfabrication and manufacturing technologies, microscale device design and fabrication, and microscale modeling and design methodologies. A central focus of MEMS and Microsystems Laboratory research is the development of microsystems employing active materials including thin film piezoelectrics, enabling novel capabilities for high performance miniature transducers.
Maryland Microfluidics Laboratory
Director: Prof. Don DeVoe
Research in the Maryland Microfluidics Laboratory is focused on the development of micro and nanofluidic technologies enabling effective biomolecular analysis. Major research thrusts include multidimensional microfluidic biomolecular separation platforms, tools for high throughput biomarker and drug target discovery, and clinical proteomics, interfaces coupling microfluidics to mass spectrometry, integrated ion channel platforms, and polymer micro/nanofluidic fabrication technologies. Our group is particularly interested in technologies capable of interrogating molecular signatures from extremely limited specimens, from sub-attomole samples to single molecules. MML researchers also develop silicon MEMS technologies for bioanalysis and related applications. Microfabrication is performed using dedicated facilities in the newly-renovated MML clean room, and in the FabLab located in the Kim Engineering Bldg.
Vibrations Laboratory
Director: Prof. Bala Balachandran
The Vibrations Laboratory is used to study nonlinear phenomena, system identification, signal analyses, and vibration and acoustics control, with particular emphasis on mechanical, aerospace, and marine systems.
The Vibrations Laboratory is fully equipped to carry on a variety of vibrations and acoustic analysis and simulation tasks, as well as testing and experimental investigations. The testing and experimental instrumentation available include the following: Bruel and Kjaer 4801T and 4808 shakers and associated power amplifiers; Ling Dynamics LDS 826 L/S electro-dynamic shaker and associated power amplifier; Kimball 7100 horizontal slip table; GenRad 2550 Vibration Control System; HP 3562A and 35665A spectrum analyzers; Stewart VBF 10.35 digital filters; network of Pentium personal computers; Sun Sparc workstations and HP 1600CM postscript color printer; Keithley MetraByte DAS 1602 data acquisition boards; two digital signal processing boards: (a) DSP Tools (4/4 in/out channels), and (b) dSpace (32/32 in/out channels); Matlab & Toolboxes, and LabView Software; Solarton Schumberger 7071 computing voltmeter; HP 9000 systems; STARSTRUCT modal analysis software; PCB impact hammer; Wavetek model 275 programmable arbitrary function generator; PCB Piezotronics impedance head and force transducers; accelerometers; inertial mass actuators; Quadtech digital stroboscope; Iwatsu digital oscilloscope; bridge amplifiers; power supplies; single-channel and multi-channel PCB Piezotronics power amplifiers and phase shifters; noncontact fiber-optic displacement sensors; speaker and amplifier system and Bruel and Kjaer free field and pressure type condenser microphones; Panasonic microphones; microphone preamplifiers; probes and adaptors; piston phone; random noise generator; band-pass filter set; and LMS MIMO controller. An acrylic acoustic enclosure with inner dimensions of 24'' x 18'' x 20'' is available for acoustics studies.
Some of the current projects conducted at this facility include the following: i) active control of wave transmission through struts, ii) drill-string dynamics and control, iii) systems approach to helmet design and related computational modeling, iv) localization and stochastic resonance in coupled oscillators, v) nonlinear dynamics based atomic force microscopy, vi) nonlinear fluid-structure interactions associated with flapping wings, vii) nonlinear interactions in structures, viii) free-piston Stirling engine dynamics and ix) dynamics and control of supercavitating vehicles. Many of the laboratory activities are closely associated with the following centers: Smart Materials and Structures Research Center; Center for Computer Aided Life Cycle Engineering, and Center for Engineering Concepts Development.
Phase Change Heat Transfer Laboratory
Director: Prof. Jungho Kim
The work in this laboratory primarily concerns investigating fundamental mechanisms by which heat is transferred using liquid-vapor phase change processes. Phase change allows tremendous amounts of energy to be transferred with little increase in temperature due to the latent heat of vaporization. Applications include electronic cooling on earth and in space, the design of compact heat exchangers, nuclear reactor cooling, heat pipes, and many others. The processes currently being investigated are boiling in earth and microgravity environments, boiling within graphite foams, and droplet and spray cooling. Many of the above projects involve the use of a Microheater Array to measure the local heat flux. Additional projects concern the development of a high temperature radiation absorption coefficient database for fuels and the development an inverse heat conduction technique that does not impact boundary conditions of a body.
Ballard Power Fuel Cell Systems Laboratory
Director: Dr. Gregory Jackson
Research in the Ballard Power Fuel Cell Systems Laboratory is focused on PEM fuel cell systems and electrocatalysis, solid oxide fuel cells, and catalytic reactions for energy conversion and H2 production. The work includes a combination of fundamental experiments and design model development and validation, which has made an impact in both the scientific and engineering R&D communities. The PEM fuel cell research includes fundamental studies on nano-architectured electrocatalysis for CO-tolerant PEM fuel cells and system level development of a 5 kW fuel cell generator with Ballard Power Systems for Army and other portable power applications. The solid oxide fuel cell research includes exploration of material architectures that allow for effective utilization of hydrocarbons as well as experiments to validate SOFC design models for a wide array of applications. Work on catalytic reactors for combustion and H2 production from hydrocarbons has focused on design model development and microkinetic studies for a wide array of catalysts. The laboratory includes state of the art electrochemical testing capabilities and also large test stands for fuel cell stacks up to 8 kW in size. Materials processing includes a dedicated multi-gun sputtering unit and analytical instruments such as magnetic sector mass spectrometers, Raman spectrometers are available for characterizing materials systems. The combination of fundamental research contributing to system modeling has allowed us to stand out amongst our peers in the fuel cell research community and gained us recent research funds and broad-based respect.
CALCE Test Services and Failure Analysis Laboratories
Director: Prof. Michael Pecht
CALCE Test Services and Failure Analysis Laboratory performs standard and custom tests and failure analysis services, including proprietary services that may range from a few day to several years. The services include identifying the causes of failure or poor performance in electronic products, assessing and mitigate the risks of producing and incorporating new technologies, performing lifetime and lifecycle assessments on products, designing reliable components and printed wiring assemblies and, improving product quality and reliability.
CALCE Test Services and Failure Analysis Laboratories offer:
Failure Analysis: CALCE uses extensive experience and state-of-the-art equipment to assess failures in electronic components, circuit boards, connectors, products and systems.
Measurement and Materials Characterization: A full range of equipment is available to measure those electrical, thermal, mechanical, and material properties critical to the performance and reliability of electronic systems.
Environmental Conditioning/Accelerated Testing: CALCE has the capability to benchmark and stress test electronic products through a wide range of environments, including temperature, vibration, humidity, pressure, and corrosive gases.
Thermal Management and Assessment: CALCE has extensive capabilities in thermal modeling and measurement. Ongoing projects are developing thermal management devices for the next-generation of electronic components.
Optomechanics: CALCE has the capability of using the following photomechanics methods used in this laboratory: In Plane (x, y)-Geometric Moire, Moire Interferometry, Microscopic Moire Interferometry; Out of Plane (z)-Shadow Moire, Infrared Fizeau Interferometry, Twyman/Green Interferometry; Numerical Methods-3-D Structural Modeling, 3-D Thermal Conduction Modeling, 3-D Heat Transfer Modeling
Surface Mount Assembly: Surface mount assembly is performed using state-of-the-art production equipment. Accompanying analyses of manufacturing processes and interconnect integrity assures high reliability.
Optoelectronics: Extensive facilities for characterization and failure analysis of packaged optical semiconductor and fiber optic components are coupled with effective test and screening methods to provide low cost and reliable design and packaging solutions.
Manufacturer and Part Family Assessment: Product quality and integrity are possible through the assessment of part manufacturers and part families using CALCE developed matrices, which represent best-in-industry practices.
Part Selection and Management Benchmarking Services: CALCE assists companies in selecting and managing parts for use in their products through benchmarking and by finding opportunities for improving the company's value-adding activities.
Performance Assessment and Part Uprating: Use of off-the-shelf components in applications beyond the manufacturer-specified temperature range requires a process that will assess the capability of a part to meet performance requirements.
Software Development and Simulation: CALCE has developed a large number of software tools for damage modeling and lifetime assessment at the component, interconnect, board, and assembly level.
Energetic Materials Synthesis Laboratory
Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
Director: Professor Thomas M. Klapötke
Energetic materials are used mainly in explosives or propellant formulations. Most of the formulations used today are over 50 years old and do not fulfil today’s requirements, in particular with regard to their performance, collateral damage, toxicity, compatibility with the environment and use in special operations.
Energetic Materials Synthesis Laboratory, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany, is pursuing several approaches to provide new energetic materials to meet the challenges of the future. One approach is the synthesis of all-nitrogen or nitrogen-rich energetic materials. Whereas the first generation of high-nitrogen compounds often show good detonation velocities, they sometimes lack in terms of detonation pressure with respect to their possible application as high explosives. With the introduction of the second generation of nitrogen-rich explosives, which have strongly oxidizing groups present and a (nearly) neutral oxygen balance, this problem could be solved.
