Examination of Lubrication Effects on Fracture Measurements of Hydrogels via Cutting

Despite cutting being a common process in the fracture of soft materials, there is no well-defined method that can be considered equivalent to some of the more traditional methods of fracture based in tension. A recently developed method by the name of razorblade-initiated fracture testing (RIFT) proves itself to be promising for compression-based fracture quantification, however, the effects of friction that arise in some gels makes it difficult to quantify true cutting fracture energy. We identify that by varying lubrication and rate of cutting, the effects of friction can be minimized, but we are unable to eliminate it entirely. These methods prove effective and can be used to further define the RIFT cutting process

Name thesis:degree_name

Bachelor

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Garcia, Marcelo

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• McKinley, Gareth H.

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
• Copyright retained by author(s)

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/151928

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/151928