/projects/physical/ME/MScthesis

Low-Cost Instrumentation for Mechanical Testing of Structural Elements of Soft Systems

Abstract: This thesis describes the design of a low-cost system of tests to characterize mechanical properties in soft structures. More specifically, we focus on testing mesoscale structural components (which we call structural volume elements) from which a larger structure might be constructed. The mechanical properties of a structural volume element are determined both by its material properties and by its geometry. The testkit provides an easy-to-implement means of characterizing force-displacement relationships (e.g. compression, shear, bending) for nonlinear materials in the presence of large deformations and buckling instabilities. The testkit includes both hardware and software components. The purpose of the hardware is to apply loading conditions to a small structural volume element, approximately 1 cm3 in volume. The purpose of the software is to measure the displacements that occur as loading changes.


Advisor: Jason Rife, Automated Systems and Robotics (ASAR) Lab, Tufts University

Master's Thesis (18 MB .pdf)