Faculty Publications
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Item Analysis of coefficient of thermal expansion in carbon black filled PDMS composite(Trans Tech Publications Ltd ttp@transtec.ch, 2020) Hiremath, H.; Sangamesh, R.; Kulkarni, S.M.Polymer composites are gaining attention due to their superior thermal properties. Especially carbon black /carbon nanotubes/ graphene filled polymer composites are used in energy harvesting, thermal actuators and MEMS. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) is one of the most important properties in the polymer composite. In the present study, thermal expansion of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix is filled with carbon black particle of varied volume fraction is modeled. Two-dimensional finite element (FE) model is computed in order to explain the thermal expansion behavior of the polymer composite and same is carried out for ambient to 70 K temperature. A 2D regular arrangement of circular particle packing model is set up and simulated. The FE model predicts that filler geometry has a little effect on the thermal expansion than the percentage of filler in the composite. Thermal expansion of composite is compared with the theoretical model. It shows that the CTE of composite reduces as the filler percentage increase, also gives good agreement in the both models. Hence, it is found that the addition of carbon black to the polymer composite could make it perform significantly better in thermal expansion. © 2020 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland.Item Modeling and optimization of thermally excited carbon black and polymer composite actuator(Elsevier Ltd, 2020) Hiremath, H.; Kulkarni, S.M.As of late, actuators in view carbon black, carbon nanotube and graphene were shown in the extraordinary potential application in the field of drug delivery system, relay switches, robotics, energy harvesting and so on. Now a day electro-thermal and photo-thermal driven actuator based on polymer composite show larger actuation compare to the traditional thermal actuator. Though, the impact of structural dimensions and material parameters on the actuator execution ought to be investigated further. Since it is a critical point in the design and fabrications of the high-performance actuator In the present work, finite element (FE) analysis is adopted to simulate the thermally driven bilayer actuator and investigated the performance based on carbon black and polymer composite. Thus, the computational method is carried out to design and optimize the geometry and material parameters such as thickness, the coefficient of thermal expansion and so on. FE simulation results demonstrate that each layer thickness of the actuator has an important role in curvature deformation. A maximum curvature is obtained of 8.9 m-1 by simulation, which is a decent expected value in light of the geometry and material. Furthermore, a larger change in temperature and CTE between two layers additionally predicts the more prominent bending curvature. Consequently, this investigation is relied upon to give a theoretical baseline to plan and fabrication of CB based thermal actuator for a greater actuation performance. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd.Item Influences of dielectric and conductive fillers on dielectric and mechanical properties of solid silicone rubber composites(Springer London, 2019) Manohar Shankar, B.S.; Kulkarni, S.M.Dielectric elastomers are materials being used for electromechanical transduction applications. Their electromechanical response depends on permittivity, Young’s modulus and electric breakdown strength. A factor that limits its application is high operating voltages that can be reduced through improvement in permittivity. One of the methods is by incorporating high permittivity fillers into polymer matrix to obtain dielectric–dielectric composites (DDC).These composites show high permittivity at the cost of reduced flexibility. An alternative solution is development of composites by incorporating organic or inorganic conductive fillers into polymer matrix. These composites show high permittivity with high dielectric loss and low breakdown strength. To overcome both the above limitations both dielectric and conductive fillers are incorporated into dielectric polymer matrix to obtain conductor–dielectric composites (CDC). In this study, high temperature vulcanized solid silicone rubber as matrix has been used to prepare DDC composites with barium titanate (BT) filler and CDC composites with both BT as dielectric and ketjenblack as conductive fillers, using Taguchi design of experiments. The effect of factors such as amount of fillers and curing agent, mixing time in roll mill and curing temperature on the dielectric and mechanical properties are reported. Lichtenecker model predicts the permittivity of the DDC composite more accurately. For the CDC composites permittivity increased by 390%, effective resistivity decreased by 80%, Young’s modulus increased by 368% and Shore A hardness increased by 90% as compared to those of reference matrix. Important interaction effects are observed among both the fillers that are uniformly dispersed without any aggregation. © 2019, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute.Item Processing and investigation of mechanical characteristics on the polydimethylsiloxane/carbon black composites(Institute of Physics Publishing helen.craven@iop.org, 2019) Hiremath, S.; Sangamesh, R.; Kulkarni, S.M.The mechanical adaptability of elastomers has enormous potential in fields such as energy harvesting, micro electro mechanical system (MEMS), sensor, and actuator. A significant issue is to improve the mechanical features of the elastomeric base material by incorporating an appropriate filler. The elastomer Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is reinforced with carbon black (CB) particles that affect mechanical characteristics (Tensile strength, compressive strength, tear strength, etc) and that have a critical impact on the efficiency of the device. The current research examines the mechanical characteristics of plain PDMS with a concentration of CB filler between 5% and 25%. A solution casting method is used to prepare the composite substrate and investigate the impacts of CB loading performance on tensile, compression, tear, and hardness testing. The outcome shows an improvement in mechanical characteristics due to CB material for Young's module as 1.64-3.84 MPa, ultimate tensile strength as 1.86-4.8 MPa, 3.67-4.81 MPa compressive module with the same compressive strength up to 40 percent strain. The tear strength of the PDMS/CB composites is improved by ?111 percent at 25 percent volume fraction of the CB. The composite hardness of PDMS/CB increases by about 30 percent of the plain PDMS material. Continuing with this, Additional mechanical characteristics of PDMS/CB composites on shear and bulk modules are reported. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.Item Photomechanical actuation of polydimethylsiloxane/carbon black nanocomposite(Institution of Engineering and Technology jbristow@theiet.org, 2020) Hiremath, S.; Kulkarni, S.M.Materials such as carbon black (CB), carbon nanotube, graphene, etc. have been found to deform on exposure to the light source. Introducing these materials into polymers could convert them to photo-responsive composites. This is demonstrated by the experiment in which polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer containing CB nanofiller composites is prepared, and its photomechanical actuation from exposure to IR light source is recorded using a laser displacement sensor. The particle size analysis reveals the size of the CB, which is verified by the dynamic light scattering method. The UV-vis-IR spectrophotometer study shows that an increase in the light absorbance capacity of nanocomposites compared to the plain polymer. The PDMS/CB nanocomposite beam exhibited a significant deformation compared to plain PDMS. Deformation of the order of 10-11 mm is observed for a given IR source. The deformation found to have good repeatability but with some thermal hysteresis in cyclic actuation and de-actuation. © 2020 Institution of Engineering and Technology. All rights reserved.Item Numerical analysis of polymer composites for actuation(International Information and Engineering Technology Association, 2020) Hiremath, S.; Sangappa, V.; Rajole, S.; Kulkarni, S.M.The design of a polymer composite actuator is essential for micro and nano applications. Thus, the composite material may deform or deflects as specific stimuli are applied, such as heat, electrical, light source, etc. The deformation of the composite material is caused by the type of stimulus applied. Hence, while it is heated, the expansion takes place quickly, and the heating is shut down, the material shrinks very slowly. In the present investigation, this phenomenon is mainly studied in the actuation of composite beams. Numerical analysis of carbon black filled polymer composite beam expansion, and contraction is being analyzed in this research. The structure of the beam has been created, and the composite properties are incorporated into the beam, and the uniform heat source is applied on to the surface of the beam. The heating and cooling of the composite material predict the increase and decrease in the temperature of the beam. The numerical analysis of the temperature-dependent expansion and contraction of the composite beam has been carried out successfully. An increase in temperature is observed to signify the slight expansion in the composite beam, whereas the contraction of the composite beam takes a longer time to reach room temperature. Also, the increase in the content of the filler leads to a decrease in the expansion of the composite beam. The numerical simulation of the polymer composite thus provides a solid platform for the experimental study of thermal actuators. © 2020 Lavoisier. All rights reserved.Item Investigation on dielectric properties of PDMS based nanocomposites(Elsevier B.V., 2021) Hiremath, S.; Kevin, A.M.; Manohar, S.B.S.; Kulkarni, S.M.Polymer nanocomposites have recently been used in applications for energy storage, sensors, and actuators. The polymer materials are gaining dielectric properties such as dielectric permittivity, electrical modulus, and conductivity. In the present study, nanocomposite material is prepared by a solution cast method incorporating carbon black particles into polydimethylsiloxane. The dielectric properties of PDMS/CB nanocomposites are investigated over broad frequency using an impedance analyzer. The polymer nanocomposite's dielectric permittivity is evaluated using the various empirical models available in the literature. Compared with other methods the Wiener model is very similar to the experimental findings. For the frequency range of 100 Hz-100kHz, the frequency-dependent and independent dielectric response was observed. Nanocomposite dielectric permittivity is improved marginally with the reinforcement of carbon black particles. The nanocomposite dielectric loss moves to the higher frequency, although the losses are small. It is proved that electrical modulus can reduce the effect of polarization of electrodes. Nanocomposite AC conductivity exhibits strong frequency dependence particularly in the higher frequency region of the vicinity. This behavior obeys the power law at critical frequency, which reveals the process of relaxing conductivity. The PDMS/CB nanocomposites power-law exponent is within a range of 0.48–0.57. Eventually, empirical and experimental inspections are the basis framework for designing electronic devices based on polymers. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.Item Progression and characterization of polydimethylsiloxane-carbon black nanocomposites for photothermal actuator applications(Elsevier B.V., 2021) Hiremath, S.; H, S.M.; Kulkarni, S.M.The new development of polymer-based actuators triggers the progress of nanocomposites. Polymer materials are currently used in sensors, microfluidic devices, electrical and thermal actuators, and energy harvesting applications due to ease of availability, excellent tolerable properties, and customizable properties. The polymer-based nanocomposite can be driven by various stimuli, which is the actuator's emerging field. Thus, photothermal actuation is a thurst area of research transforming light energy into mechanical energy through the polymer material. The photo-responsive material can be prepared and tested for photo-actuation by incorporating the nanoparticles into the polymer. The present work focuses on developing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and carbon black (CB) nanocomposite. The objective here is to investigate the photothermal actuator's performance by illuminating the infrared (IR) light source and studying its most influential characteristics, such as absorbance, thermal conductivity, and the thermal expansion coefficient. The PDMS / CB nanocomposite absorbs the IR light and then increases temperature, which is finally transformed into a beam deflection. Responses are measured as a result of time deflection using the Laser displacement sensor. It is noted that the deflection of the nanocomposite beam is linearly increased during illumination with light while it is exponentially decreasing when the light is turned off. The proposed polymer nanocomposite is approximately deflected by 9 mm in the duration of 16 s duration. Furthermore, the experimental deflection of the photothermal actuator is very close to theoretical results. The nanocomposite PDMS / CB reveals that there is an increase in absorbance by increasing the filler content. The nanocomposite conductivity is 35.2 % higher than the base material. As well, the thermal expansion coefficient decreases with an increase in carbon black content. The photothermal actuator's development is an ongoing process in which the material parameter, actuator geometry, and many more are modified. As a result, the photothermal bending performed can provide a means for various light-driven applications. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.Item Study on low-frequency dielectric behavior of the carbon black/polymer nanocomposite(Springer, 2021) Hiremath, H.; Mathias, K.A.; Sondar, P.R.; Shrishail, M.H.; Kulkarni, S.M.Recently, polymer-based dielectric materials have become one of the key materials to play an essential role in clean energy production, energy transformation, and energy storage applications. The end usage is the energy storage capability because it is a trade-off between dielectric permittivity, dielectric loss, and dissipation factor. Hence, it is of prime importance to study the dielectric properties of polymer materials by adding filler material at a low-frequency range. In the present study, polydimethylsiloxane/carbon black nanocomposites are prepared using the solution cast method. The dielectric properties, such as dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and dissipation factors due to the concentration of filler particles and low-frequency effect on the nanocomposites, are examined. Also, different empirical models are used to estimate the dielectric permittivity of polymer nanocomposites. The low-frequency range of 100 Hz to 1 MHz and the effect of varying volume fractions of carbon black show a significant change in the dielectric properties. It is found that the nanocomposites have a higher dielectric permittivity than the base polymer material. It is also observed that an increase in filler concentration increases the dielectric permittivity, which is confirmed with an empirical model. © 2021, The Author(s).Item Physico-mechanical behavior of carbon black-infused polymer composite(Springer, 2022) Hiremath, H.; Rajole, S.; Sondar, P.R.; Mathias, K.A.; Kulkarni, S.M.This article deals with the development of polymer composites by incorporating carbon blacks (CBs) into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix material for improving the mechanical and physical properties of the polymer composites. CBs of nano-size were used as filler material in varying volume percentages (5–25%), and the polymer composite was processed by solution casting method. Density, elastic modulus and hardness were measured in order to study the effect of the CB-reinforced PDMS matrix. Experimentally obtained mechanical properties were then compared with the standard empirical model. Density of the polymer composite was increased by five times as compared to the pure polymer material. With the increase in volume percentage of CB, both hardness and elastic modulus of the polymer composites were enhanced. Scanning electron microscope images of the composite material showed uniform distribution of CBs, implying strong binding with the matrix material, which attributed to improved mechanical properties. © 2021, Indian Academy of Sciences.