| NSF Org: |
CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | March 10, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | December 19, 2016 |
| Award Number: | 1462752 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Robert Landers
CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | April 1, 2015 |
| End Date: | March 31, 2019 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $310,132.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $336,132.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2016 = $10,000.00 FY 2017 = $16,000.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
845 N PARK AVE RM 538 TUCSON AZ US 85721 (520)626-6000 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
AZ US 85721-0119 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Dynamics, Control and System D |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001617DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001718DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
Electrospinning, first discovered in the late 1930s, is a versatile method to create ultra-fine fibers from polymer solutions with diameters ranging from a few nanometers to several micrometers. Currently, electrospinning is the only method for the fabrication of continuous fibers at the nanometer scale. One of the main application areas of electrospinning is tissue engineering, where electro-spun nano-fibers are used to produce tissue and organ templates. Despite its ability to produce very fine fibers, the electrospinning process as a manufacturing technique is poorly controlled. The very same forces responsible for drawing the fibers are also at play in generating an undesirable instability, leading to random fiber distribution and poor control over the location of the produced fibers. This award supports fundamental research to provide knowledge required for the development of a controlled nano-fiber deposition process. This project's dynamic stabilization approach will enable the manufacturing of woven polymeric stents that can be used in tissue engineering and in the production of new biodegradable drug-delivery stents. Therefore, results from this research will benefit the U.S. economy, and will lead to the development of advanced therapeutic devices. This research contains an outreach program using an analog of the approach aimed at motivating children from disadvantaged communities and underrepresented minorities to pursue STEM careers.
More specifically, this research will explore dynamic stabilization and electrostatic focusing as a new means to control the deposition of electrospun fibers. For the first time, it will examine the feasibility of focusing charged filaments inside a Paul-type linear ionic trap. Despite their widespread use in mass spectroscopy, linear ionic traps have never been used to trap macroscopic ions such as electrospun polymeric fibers. Using Floquet analysis, the research will examine theoretically the feasibility of trapping charged fibers and will establish the required trapping parameters. A closed-loop control of the electrospinning process based on the dynamic stabilization is also planned.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Electrospinning, first discovered in the late 1930s, is a versatile method to create ultra-fine fibers from polymer solutions with diameters ranging from a few nanometers to several micrometers. Currently, electrospinning is the only method for the fabrication of continuous fibers at the nanometer scale. One of the main application areas of electrospinning is tissue engineering, where electro-spun nano-fibers are used to produce tissue and organ templates. Despite its ability to produce very fine fibers, the electrospinning process as a manufacturing technique is poorly controlled. The very same forces responsible for extruding the fibers lead to an undesirable instability and deposition of randomly oriented fibers. This project developed new process control strategy based on the use of electrostatic forces that are varied dynamically in order to produce fiber deposits with desirable orientation. A mathematical model and several proof-of-concept test articles were also produced.
Intellectual Merit:
The research effort undertaken under this grant led to the development of new mathematical model of the nano-fiber deposition process. The dynamic model allowed the prediction of the fiber trajectory and the effect of the added electrostatic field on it. The model was tuned using experimental data and subsequently used in order to optimize the process conditions.
Broader Impact:
The project resulted in an improved manufacturing process allowing better control of nano-fiber deposition. Potential application of the method include production of tissue engineering templates, and production of artificial grafts for repair of damaged nerves. Additionally, the effort resulted in an invention disclosure that could contribute to the economic development of the country.
Last Modified: 05/08/2019
Modified by: Eniko T Enikov
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