Nanotechnology for Civil and Environmental Applications

CE 53101

Credit Hours

3

Instructor

Luna Lu

Learning Objectives

By successfully completing the course, students should be able to:

  • Be familiar with terminology and basic concepts of nanomaterials, nanomanufacturing and nanotechnologies 
  • Understand common techniques for nano-structure synthesis and fabrication
  • Understand basic knowledge of carrier transport mechanism in nanoscales
  • Understand basic properties of nanomaterials including mechanical, electrical, thermal, sensing and their characterization techniques
  • Understand working mechanisms of using nanotechnology to develop multi-functionality of infrastructure materials 
  • Understand underlying mechanisms of thermoelectricity, state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials, devices and their applications
  • Understand fundamental knowledge of piezoelectricity, state-of-the-art piezoelectric materials, devices and their applications
  • Understand working mechanisms of various infrastructure sensing and monitoring technologies, their applications and limitations

Description

This course will introduce students to the field of nanotechnology with a special emphasis on nanomaterials synthesis, characterizations, and their applications in civil and environmental engineering. The specific applications will include, but not limited to, tailoring mechanical property, durability, self-cleaning, self-sealing, self-sensing, energy harvesting and other multi-functionality. It integrates the fields of materials science, civil engineering, and electrical engineering. The basic concepts will be discussed including nano-scale effect, process-structure-property relationship, nano- and micro-structure property characterizations, multi-functional materials, nano-device fabrication and their applications for energy harvesting, water infiltrations and environmental sensing. lab will be provided to students enrolled in the course to learn nano and micro-structure characterizations skills.

Topics Covered

Module I: Fundamentals of Nanomaterials and Nanotech

Topics Lessons
1. Introduction
  • Get started
  • Introduction to course
  • Nanomaterials
  • Nanostructures
2. Crystal Structures; Size Effect; & Band Structure
  • Crystal structure
  • Bravais Unit Cells
  • Miller indices & crystal defects
  • Band-structure & Doping
3. Nanomaterials Synthesis
  • Gas Phase Synthesis – MOCVD, PVD, ALD
  • Liquid Phase Synthesis – Electrospinning
  • Solid Phase Synthesis – Ball Milling
  • Top Down Approach – Lithography
4. Nanomaterials Characterizations I (nano-scale)
  • SEM
  • TEM
  • AFM
  • XRD
  • FTIR
5. Nanomaterials Characterizations II (micro-scale)
  • Electrical property
  • Thermal property
  • Seebeck measurement
  • Piezo coefficient
  • Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA, DSC)

Module II: Nanomaterials for Civil and Environmental Applications

Topics Lessons
1. Nanomaterials for Mechanical performance modification
  • Commonly used nanomaterials in civil applications
  • Nanostructure on mechanical properties
  •  Underlying mechanisms (physic-chemical)
  • Nanomaterials for improving fracture and brittleness
2. Nanomaterials for concrete durability performance modification
  • Durability of infrastructure materials
  • Nanomaterials for physical durability of concrete
  • Nanomaterials for chemical durability of concrete
  • Case study
3. Multi - functional nanomaterials (Energy harvesting, self-cleaning)
  • Fundamentals of energy harvesting
  • Nanomaterials for energy harvesting in civil infrastructure
  • Nanomaterials for self-cleaning of concrete, glass or other infrastructure materials
  • Photocatalytic of nano-oxides
4.Nanomaterials based devices for quality control of concrete elements (NDT)
  • Introduction on NDT methods
  • Nano materials for early age strength control
  • Nano materials for self-sensing concrete
  • Nano materials for internal curing agent
5. Nanotechnology for environmental applications
  • Introduction
  • Water treatment
  • Air pollution control
  • Soil remediation
  • Environmental monitoring

Module III: Nano-device for Energy Harvesting and Sensing

Topics Lessons
1. Fundamentals of thermoelectricity (TE)
  • Background and motivation
  • Materials properties
  • State of art TE materials
  • Device structure and design
  • Device fabrication technologies
2. Thermoelectric generators (TEG) and sensors application
  • TEG for civil application
  • TEG for medical application
  • TEG for powering IoT sensors
  • TE sensors for biomedical application
  • TE sensors for environmental application
3. Fundamentals for piezoelectricity
  • Mechanical properties and electrical properties for piezoelectric materials
  • Macroscopic piezoelectric properties
  • Microscopic origins of piezoelectricity
  • Different types of piezoelectric materials
  • Piezoelectric characterization
4. Piezoelectric materials for civil application
  • Piezoelectric device fabrication and characterization
  • Piezoelectric energy harvester
  • Piezoelectric actuators and sensors
  • Electromechanical-impedance-based piezoelectric materials application
5. AI guided IoT sensor design / materials discovery
  • Artificial intelligent introduction
  • General steps for data-drive materials discovery
  • AI guided TE materials
  • AI assisted IoT sensing / signal processing

Web Address

https://purdue.brightspace.com/d2l/login

Web Content

Syllabus, grades, lecture notes, homework assignments, solutions and quizzes

Grading

This course will be graded based on the following criteria:

Assessment Type Description % of Final Grade
Homework Throughout the semester 20
Quizzes Quizzes will be performed weekly to test the student’s understanding of the class content. 35
3 Final Exams Exam has 25 Multiple-Choice questions based on the materials throughout the course. 45

Textbooks

Official textbook information is now listed in the Schedule of Classes. NOTE: Textbook information is subject to be changed at any time at the discretion of the faculty member. If you have questions or concerns please contact the academic department.

No textbook is required, but reference books and resources are suggested as below:

  • Callister and Rethwisch, Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering: an integrated approach, John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2011
  • Guo, Hen and Lu, Multifunctional Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental ISBN: 978-3-527-34213-6 Publisher: Wiley-VCH Inc, 2018.
  • Jiang, Guo and Lu, Nanoscience: Nanomaterial Nanotechnology Applications. ISBN: 978-1-1970059-00-7. Publisher: Engineered Science Publisher, 2019.
  • Rodgers, Nanoscience and Technology: A collection of reviews from Nature Journals, World Scientific Publishing, 2010.
  • Schodek, Ferreira and Ashby, Nanomaterials, nanotechnologies and Design: an introduction for engineers and architects, Elsevier Publishing, 2009