Carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites are becoming increasingly attractive materials in manufacturing due to their lightweight nature, mechanical strength, and corrosion resistance. Surface activation of these materials is usually required during processing to increase the bond strength of assemblies (aerospace and automotive industries) or improve adhesion with implants (biomedical industry). Industrially-relevant, nondestructive quality control methods for assessing the activation state of these materials do not currently exist, however. Applying principles discovered through the use of scanning probe microscopy, a multiple-probe Kelvin scanning (MPKS) device has been developed that can assess the uniformity of the activation state of plasma-treated CFRTP surfaces. The device can distinguish between control and plasma-treated samples and its measurements have been correlated with shear bond strength of epoxy-bonded assemblies. With the multiple probes increasing measurement speed, the automated device can be scaled for use in manufacturing-relevant environments and improve upon current quality control practices.
","abstract_html":"<p>Carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites are becoming increasingly attractive materials in manufacturing due to their lightweight nature, mechanical strength, and corrosion resistance. Surface activation of these materials is usually required during processing to increase the bond strength of assemblies (aerospace and automotive industries) or improve adhesion with implants (biomedical industry). Industrially-relevant, nondestructive quality control methods for assessing the activation state of these materials do not currently exist, however. Applying principles discovered through the use of scanning probe microscopy, a multiple-probe Kelvin scanning (MPKS) device has been developed that can assess the uniformity of the activation state of plasma-treated CFRTP surfaces. The device can distinguish between control and plasma-treated samples and its measurements have been correlated with shear bond strength of epoxy-bonded assemblies. With the multiple probes increasing measurement speed, the automated device can be scaled for use in manufacturing-relevant environments and improve upon current quality control practices.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Simon, Kirby"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Elijah Thimsen","Dr. Guy Genin, Dr. Patricia Weisensee"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:13:23Z","subjects":["Carbon fiber composites","surface activation","aerospace","quality control","bond strength","non-destructive","Engineering","Maintenance Technology","Manufacturing","Polymer and Organic Materials","Structures and Materials"],"languages":["English (en)"],"rights":["I have not registered my thesis with the U.S. Copyright Office, and do not intend to."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/eng_etds/427"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/eng_etds/427","href":"https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/eng_etds/427","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/7936/v9rn-2613","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Elijah Thimsen","Dr. Guy Genin, Dr. Patricia Weisensee"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Simon, Kirby"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-04-18T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science","McKelvey School of Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Carbon fiber composites","surface activation","aerospace","quality control","bond strength","non-destructive","Engineering","Maintenance Technology","Manufacturing","Polymer and Organic Materials","Structures and Materials"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English (en)"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["I have not registered my thesis with the U.S. Copyright Office, and do not intend to."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/7936/v9rn-2613","https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/eng_etds/427"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Permanent URL: https://doi.org/7936/v9rn-2613"]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites are becoming increasingly attractive materials in manufacturing due to their lightweight nature, mechanical strength, and corrosion resistance. Surface activation of these materials is usually required during processing to increase the bond strength of assemblies (aerospace and automotive industries) or improve adhesion with implants (biomedical industry). Industrially-relevant, nondestructive quality control methods for assessing the activation state of these materials do not currently exist, however. Applying principles discovered through the use of scanning probe microscopy, a multiple-probe Kelvin scanning (MPKS) device has been developed that can assess the uniformity of the activation state of plasma-treated CFRTP surfaces. The device can distinguish between control and plasma-treated samples and its measurements have been correlated with shear bond strength of epoxy-bonded assemblies. With the multiple probes increasing measurement speed, the automated device can be scaled for use in manufacturing-relevant environments and improve upon current quality control practices.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Development of a Multi-Probe Kelvin Scanner Device for Industrially-Relevant Characterization of Surface-Activated Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Elijah Thimsen","Dr. Guy Genin, Dr. Patricia Weisensee"],"dc:creator":["Simon, Kirby"],"dc:date.available":["2020-04-18T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["Permanent URL: https://doi.org/7936/v9rn-2613"],"dc:description.abstract":["Carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites are becoming increasingly attractive materials in manufacturing due to their lightweight nature, mechanical strength, and corrosion resistance. Surface activation of these materials is usually required during processing to increase the bond strength of assemblies (aerospace and automotive industries) or improve adhesion with implants (biomedical industry). Industrially-relevant, nondestructive quality control methods for assessing the activation state of these materials do not currently exist, however. Applying principles discovered through the use of scanning probe microscopy, a multiple-probe Kelvin scanning (MPKS) device has been developed that can assess the uniformity of the activation state of plasma-treated CFRTP surfaces. The device can distinguish between control and plasma-treated samples and its measurements have been correlated with shear bond strength of epoxy-bonded assemblies. With the multiple probes increasing measurement speed, the automated device can be scaled for use in manufacturing-relevant environments and improve upon current quality control practices.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/7936/v9rn-2613","https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/eng_etds/427"],"dc:language":["English (en)"],"dc:rights":["I have not registered my thesis with the U.S. Copyright Office, and do not intend to."],"dc:subject":["Carbon fiber composites","surface activation","aerospace","quality control","bond strength","non-destructive","Engineering","Maintenance Technology","Manufacturing","Polymer and Organic Materials","Structures and Materials"],"dc:title":["Development of a Multi-Probe Kelvin Scanner Device for Industrially-Relevant Characterization of Surface-Activated Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science","McKelvey School of Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:13:23Z"}