Nanotechnology with

respect to Mechanical
Engineering

Dr. G. H. Upadhyay
Professor & Head
Mechanical Engineering Department
L. D. College of Engineering
Ahmedabad
Email:
gautam.upadhyay@gmail.com
Compared to Human Hair
A Human Hair is about 100,000µm wide
How small is Nano - small?
Units in nanometers (µm)
For Pam Norris- July 2009
Length Scales: Another perspective
Richard Feynman - “Grandfather” of
Nanotechnology
 1959 - Richard Feynman - Nobel Prize in
Physics
 “There’s plenty of room at the bottom” - an
invitation to enter a new field of physics
 Offered two $1000 prizes:
◦ Build an electric motor in a 1/64 inch cube
◦ Reduce a page of a book by a factor of 25,000;
read using an electron microscope
 1960 - engineer claimed the first prize
 1985 - graduate student wrote a page from A
Tale of Two Cities 1/160 millimeter in length
using Ebeam lithography
Why Nanotechnology?
At the nanoscale, the physical, chemical,
and biological properties of materials differ
in fundamental and valuable ways from the
properties of individual atoms and
molecules or bulk matter.

Nanotechnology R&D is directed toward

understanding and creating improved
materials, devices, and systems that exploit
these new properties.
Nanotechnology
The art and science of manipulating and
rearranging individual atoms and
molecules to create useful materials,
devices, and systems.

Features
• Small Particles- More surface area
more atoms to contact a surface
• Extremely precise – Materials can be
made close to perfection to the point that
exact number of atoms can be measured.
Nanotechnology spans many Areas

Information Mechanical Biotechnology

Technology Engineering
Eng. & /
Robotics
Transportation

Advance
Materials &
Textiles NANOTECHNOLOGY National
Security &
Defense

Energy &
Environment
Food and
Aerospace Medicine Agriculture
/
Health
 Nanotechnology Reaches Many Disciplines

Nanotech
Space

Biology Chemistry Electronics Materials Energy

 Drug • Chemical/ • Memory • Textiles • Fuel Cell

Delivery Gas • Flat Panel • Conducting Storage
Systems Detectors Displays Plastics • Efficient
 Artificial • Self- CNT Solar
• Single • Lightweight
Organs Assembled Cells
Electron Materials
 Biological Electronics
Detectors Devices • High Strength • Capacitors
 BioArrays • Water • Molecular Composites
Purification
 Imaging Wires
 Sensors • Waste • Moletronics
Removal
Nanotechnology

 is already making today’s products:

◦ Lighter
◦ Stronger
◦ Faster
◦ Smaller
◦ More Durable
Sporting Goods
Cosmetics, Clothes and Food
 Clean and Cheap Energy

Solid oxide fuel cell

Courtesy: Steve
Computational McIntosh, UVA
catalysis
Courtesy: Matthew
Neurock, UVA
Laser-textured silicon for
solar cells
Courtesy: Mool Gupta, UVA
Courtesy of NASA
Examples

• Clothing that can act as a computer, TV’s that use Carbon

Nanotubes – vibrant pictures, from any angle, much
thinner, use less energy.

• Flooring tiles that can never be scratched and change

color or pattern on demand.

• Nanolubricants that can operate at much higher

temperatures.

• Building tiles coated with Titanium Dioxide Nano

Particles that never need repainting or washing (What
happens to the 17b paint industry?)
• Refrig. And counter tops that clean themselves
(what happens to paper towels and cleaning product
companies?)

• Impermeable plastic beer bottles that don’t allow

hydrogen to escape – allowing them to be stored
much longer. (What happens to the overland
shipping industry or beer distribution companies?)

• Car windows that can’t be broken, materials that fix

themselves when dented (–how does this impact
insurance industry?)
Fuel Cells

• Nanotech creates materials strong enough to withstand high

pressure while containing very small hydrogen atoms.
• Nano membranes will more easily separate hydrogen from
many sources.
• Graphite fibers will absorb more hydrogen by weight
increasing storage capacity.
• Nanocatalysts will split hydrogen more easily increasing
power of each cell, new sensors can detect any leak before it
becomes a threat.
• Toyota introduces a new fuel cell car in 2003 –but implications
extend into entire energy sector.
• Batteries will begin to use Carbon Nanotubes instead of
graphite, increasing storage and battery life – computers, cell
phones, go longer before charging and changing the 10b.
Battery market.
 Impact of Nanotechnology

Impact of Nanotechnology
Applications of Nanotechnology
 burn and wound dressings, water filtration
devices, paints, cosmetics, coatings,
lubricants, textiles, memory/storage
devices
 medical diagnostics, displays, sensors,
drug delivery, composite materials, solid
state lighting, bio-materials, nano arrays,
more powerful computers, protective
armor, chem-bio suits, and chem-bio
sensors

Current Applications
 2011-15 -- nanobiomaterials,
microprocessors, new catalysts, portable
energy cells, solar cells, tissue/organ
regeneration, smart implants
 2016 and beyond – molecular
circuitry, quantum computing, new
materials, fast chemical analyses

Future Applications
• "The buckyball, being the roundest of round
molecules, is also quite resistant to high speed
collisions.
• In fact, the buckyball can withstand slamming into a
stainless steel plate at 15,000 mph, merely bouncing
back, unharmed.
• When compressed to 70 percent of its original size,
the buckyball becomes more than twice as hard as
its cousin, diamond.(The Buckyball - Rodrigo de Almeida Siqueira.)
• Because the buckyballs sphere is hollow, other atoms
can be trapped within it. They have heat-resistance
and electrical conductivity.
Applications of “The buckyball” appear to be
endless.

Current research indicates that some of their projected

applications are:
• Polymers/reinforcements
• Compounds
• High quality diamond films for electronic chips and other devices.
• Insulator
• Batteries and fuel cell electrodes
• Strengthening and hardening of metals
• Sensor applications
• Surface hardening coatings
• Catalysts
• Biological/pharmaceuticals
• Copier toner
• Organic chemistry building blocks
• Chemical reagents
• MEMS is also not about making things out of silicon, even
though silicon possesses excellent materials properties, which
make it an attractive choice for many high-performance
mechanical applications; for example, the strength-to-weight
ratio for silicon is higher than many other engineering
materials which allows very high-bandwidth mechanical
devices to be realized.

• Instead, the deep insight of MEMS is as a new manufacturing

technology, a way of making complex electromechanical
systems using batch fabrication techniques similar to those
used for integrated circuits, and uniting these
electromechanical elements together with electronics.
Advantages of MEMS Manufacturing

 First, MEMS is an extremely diverse technology that could

significantly affect every category of commercial and military
product.

MEMS are already used for tasks ranging from in-dwelling

blood pressure monitoring to active suspension systems for
automobiles.

The nature of MEMS technology and its diversity of useful

applications make it potentially a far more pervasive
technology than even integrated circuit microchips.
Advantages of MEMS Manufacturing (cont.)

 Second, MEMS blurs the distinction between complex

mechanical systems and integrated circuit electronics.
Historically, sensors and actuators are the most costly and
unreliable part of a macroscale sensor-actuator-electronics
system.

MEMS technology allows these complex electromechanical

systems to be manufactured using batch fabrication
techniques, increasing the reliability of the sensors and
actuators to equal that of integrated circuits.

Yet, even though the performance of MEMS devices and

systems is expected to be superior to macroscale
components and systems, the price is predicted to be much
lower.
• The US market for nanomaterials (which totaled only $125 million
in 2000) is expected to reach $35 billion by 2020.

• Early growth will come from numerous niche applications that span
the entire US manufacturing sector.
•
• These include
wafer polishing abrasives and high density data storage media for the electronics industry
improved diagnostic aids for the medical community
transparent sunscreens
stain-resistant pants and wear-resistant flooring for consumers
cost-cutting equipment coatings for the defense industry
fuel-saving components for the auto industry; and
better paper and ink for the printing industry.

• In the long run, however, the best opportunities are expected in

health care and electronics, which together are expected to
comprise nearly two-thirds of the market by 2020.
Nano-coating Technology in Mechanical Manufacuring
 Using nano-material technology for key machine elements
(such as bearings, gears, springs, etc.) covered with nano-
powder coating of metal surfaces can increase the wear
resistance, hardness and service life of mechanical devices.
 Fine ceramic made of nano-particles has good flexibility and
processability.
-it can be used to manufacture bearings and balls with high-
temperature stability and corrosion resistance.
 Adding a small amount of ceramic nano-particles into
aluminium can obtain new structural materials of light
weight, high strength, good toughness and good heat-
resistance.
Key Terms
 Nonotechnology  Dislocation
 Nanometer  Molecule
 Nanotube  Molecular Dynamics
 Atom  Computational Materials
 Atomic Level Science
 System  Newton’s Laws of
 Atomic Structure Motion
 Fluence (Laser)
 Defects
Material Sciences

 Atomic – level Simulations: Molecular

Dynamics
 Computational Research
 Dislocation Dynamics
Emphasis of Research

 Atomic – level Simulations:

Molecular Dynamics
 Computational Research
 Dislocation Dynamics
Challenges
 Change in Physical
Properties
 Solids, Liquids, and gases
confined to regions
smaller than 100 nm
 Affected Properties
◦ Thermal Conductivity
◦ Electrical Conductivity
◦ Optical Absorption
◦ Emission Spectra
◦ Mechanical Strength
◦ Viscosity http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/state.html
Mechanical Applications

 Instruments
◦ Nano-indentors
◦ Atomic Force Microscopes http://www.thealarmclock.com/eur
 Feedback control o/archives/2007/10/from_austria_s
emicon_1.html
◦ Nano-scale precision
◦ Measure forces down to
piconewton levels
 Integration and Packaging
◦ Integrating building blocks in a
rational manner to make a
functional device or system
 Manufacturing
◦ Assembling large quantities of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki
/File:Atomic_force_microscope_bl
nanostructures ock_diagram.png
Vision

http://www.pdphoto.org/PictureDetail.php?m
at=pdef&pg=5667

 Basis for structures, devices, and

systems http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Ente
that could have tremendous impact rtainment/pages-2/Cancer-Ecstatic-to-be-free-
◦ Information of-Jade-Goody-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your-
side.html
◦ Energy
◦ Health
◦ Agriculture
◦ Security
◦ Transportation
 1 terabit per square inch
 High efficiency solid-state engines
 Analysis of single cells for diagnosis
 Ultra Light and Ultra Strong Materials

http://green.autoblog.com/2007/06/18/loremo-
high-res-gallery-of-live-pics/
Advice for mechanical engineers: get into nanotechnology

 The term 'mechanical engineering' generally describes the branch

of engineering that deals with the design and construction and
operation of machines and other mechanical systems.
 Students training to become engineering professionals have to
delve into subjects such as instrumentation and measurement,
thermodynamics, statics and dynamics, heat transfer, strengths of
materials and solid mechanics with instruction in CAD and CAM,
energy conversion, fluid dynamics and mechanics, kinematics,
hydraulics and pneumatics, engineering design and so on.
 If you are currently doing coursework in mechanical engineering,
better add nanotechnology courses to your core curriculum.
 Back in April, 2008 the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) convened more than
120 engineering and science leaders from 19
countries representing industry, academia and
government in Washington, DC to imagine what
mechanical engineering will become between now
and 2028.
 They identified the elements of a shared vision that
mechanical engineering will collaborate as a global
profession over the next 20 years to develop
engineering solutions that foster a cleaner, healthier,
safer and sustainable world.
 One of the key conclusions from this Global Summit
on the Future of Mechanical Engineering was that
nanotechnology and biotechnology will dominate
technological development in the next 20 years and
will be incorporated into all aspects of technology
that affect our lives on a daily basis.

 Bio- and nanotechnologies will provide the building

blocks that future engineers will use to solve
pressing problems in diverse fields including
medicine, energy, water management, aeronautics,
agriculture and environmental management.
 Echoing a trend that already has taken shape among
globally operating industrial companies, the ASME panel
argues that emerging technologies in computer aided
design (CAD), materials, robotics, nanotechnology and
biotechnology will likely come together to transform how
engineers work.

 "Faster processing and network speeds will soon allow

future engineers to design entire products as a system
rather than separate pieces.

 This will expand the capacities of engineers and enable

more complex designs to be completed anywhere.
 Within 20 years, it is likely that home based personal fabricators will
be economically attractive and available to anyone who wants
them.

 Engineers will be able to act as independent operators interacting

with colleagues around the world.

 They can design at home with advanced CAD systems or in

collaboration with their global colleagues in virtual worlds.

 They will be able to use home-based fabrication technology to test

many of their designs.

 Engineers of the future will have better tools to build careers as

individual inventors, independent entrepreneurs and employees in
distributed businesses that draw on engineering talent from around
the world.
(Nanowerk, Posted: Aug 18, 2008)
 Any physical substance or device with structural
dimensions below 100 nm is called nanomaterial or
nano-device.

 Nanotechnology rests on the technology that

involves fabrication of material, devices and systems
through direct control of matter at nanometer
length scale or less than 100 nm.
 Nanoparticles can be defined as building blocks of nanomaterials
and nanotechnology.

 Nanoparticles include nanotubes, nanofibers, fullerenes,

dendrimers, nanowires and may be made of ceramics, metal,
nonmetal, metal oxide, organic or inorganic.

 At this small scale level, the physical, chemical and biological

properties of materials differ significantly from the fundamental
properties at bulk level.

 Many forces or effects such inter-molecular forces, surface tension,

electromagnetic, electrostatic, capillary becomes significantly more
dominant than gravity.

 Nanomaterial can be physically and chemically manipulated to

alter the properties, and these properties can be measured using
nanoscale sensors and gages.

53
 A structure of the size of an atom represents one of the
fundamental limit.
 Fabricating or making anything smaller require manipulation
in atomic or molecular level and that is like changing one
chemical form to other.
 Scientist and engineers have just started developing new
techniques for making nanostructures.

Nanoscience
The nanoscience is matured.
The age of nanofabrication is here.
The age of nanotechnology - that is the
Nanofabrication Nanotechnology practical use of nanostructure has just
started.
 Nanotechnology
in
Mechanical Engineering

New Basic
Concepts

Nano-
Nano-Scale Nano-fluidics
Mechanics
Heat Transfer

Applications
55
Applications

 Structural materials
 Nano devices and sensors
 Coolants and heat spreaders
 Lubrication
 Engine emission reduction
 Fuel cell – nanoporous electrode/membranes/nanocatalyst
 Hydrogen storage medium
 Sustainable energy generation - Photovoltaic cells for power
conversion
 Biological systems and biomedicine

56
Carbon -Nanotubes
 Carbon nanotubes are hollow
cylinders made up of carbon
atoms.
 The diameter of carbon nanotube
is few nanometers and they can be
several millimeters in length.
 Carbon nanotubes looks like rolled
tubes of graphite and their walls
are like hexagonal carbon rings and
are formed in large bundles.
 Have high surface area per unit
volume
 Carbon nanotubes are 100 times
stronger than steel at one-sixth of
the weight.
 Carbon nanotubes have the ability
to sustain high temperature ~
2000 C.

57
There are four types of carbon
nanotube: Single Walled Carbon
Nanotube (SWNT), Multi Walled
Xarbon nanotube (MWNT),
Fullerene and Torus.
SWNTs are made up of single
cylindrical grapheme layer
MWNTs is made up of multiple
Grapheme layers.
SWNT possess important electric
properties which MWNT does
not.
SWNT are excellent conductors,
so finds its application in
miniaturizing electronics
components.

58
Nanocomposites
 Formed by combining two or
more nanomaterials to
achieve better properties.
 Gives the best properties of
each individual nanomaterial.
 Show increase in strength,
modulus of elasticity and
strain in failure.
 Interfacial characteristics,
shape, structure and
properties of individual
nanomaterials decide the
properties.
 Find use in high performance,
lightweight, energy savings
and environmental protection
applications
- buildings and structures,
automobiles and aircrafts.

59
Nanostructured Materials
 All the properties of
nanostructured are controlled by
changes in atomic structure, in length
scales, in sizes and in alloying
components.

 Nanostructured materials are

formed by controlling grain sizes and
creating increased surface area per
unit volume.

 Decrease in grain size causes

increase in volumetric fraction of
grain boundaries, which leads to
changes in fundamental properties of
materials.
60
Different behavior of atoms at surface has
been observed than atom at interior.
Structural and compositional differences
between bulk material and nanomaterial
cause change in properties.
 The size affected properties are color, thermal conductivity,
mechanical, electrical, magnetic etc.

 Nanophase metals show increase in hardness and modulus

of elasticity than bulk metals.

 Nanostructured materials are produced in the form of

powders, thin films and in coatings.

 Synthesis of nanostructured materials take place by Top – Down or

Bottom- Up method.
- In Top-Down method the bulk solid is decomposed into
nanostructure.
- In Bottom-Up method atoms or molecules are
assembled into bulk solid.
 The future of nanostructured materials deal with controlling
characteristics, processing into and from bulk material and
in new manufacturing technologies.

61
Nanofluids
Nanofluids are engineered colloid formed with stable
suspensions of solid nano-particles in traditional base
liquids.
Base fluids: Water, organic fluids, Glycol, oil, lubricants
and other fluids
Nanoparticle materials:
- Metal Oxides:
- Stable metals: Au, cu
- Carbon: carbon nanotubes (SWNTs, MWNTs),
diamond, graphite, fullerene, Amorphous Carbon
- Polymers : Teflon
Nanoparticle size: 1-100 nm

62
Nanofluid Heat Transfer Enhancement

 Thermal conductivity enhancement

- Reported breakthrough in substantially increase ( 20-30%) in
thermal conductivity of fluid by adding very small amounts (3-4%)
of suspended metallic or metallic oxides or nanotubes.

 Increased convective heat transfer characteristic

for heat transfer fluids as coolant or heating fluid.

63
Nanofluids and Nanofludics

Nanofluids have been investigated

- to identify the specific transport mechanism
- to identify critical parameters
- to characterize flow characteristics in macro,
micro and nano-channels
- to quantify heat exchange performance,
- to develop specific production, management
and safety issues, and measurement and
simulation techniques

64
Nano-fluid Applications

 Energy conversion and energy storage system

 Electronics cooling techniques
 Thermal management of fuel cell energy systems
 Nuclear reactor coolants
 Combustion engine coolants
 Super conducting magnets
 Biological systems and biomedicine

65
Nano-Biotechnology
 When the tools and processes of nanotechnology are
applied towards biosystems, it is called nanobiotechnology.
 Due to characteristic length scale and unique properties,
nanomaterials can find its application in biosystems.
 Nanocomposite materials can play great role in
development of materials for biocompatible implant.
 Nano sensors and nanofluidcs have started playing an
important role in diagnostic tests and drug delivering system
for decease control.
 The long term aim of nano-biotechnology is to build tiny
devices with biological tools incorporated into it diagonistic
and treatment..
66
Nanotechnology Research at the School of
Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University
 The research activities are built upon traditional mechanical
engineering disciplines, but extended into the nanoscale
science and technology with the use of modern experimental
and computational tools.
 Current research activities include nanoscale heat transfer,
fluidics, manufacturing, optics, nano- and micro-scale electro-
mechanical devices (NEMS and MEMS)
-with Most of the research is conducted at the newly
established Birck Nanotechnology Center.
 A number of research laboratories provide state-of-the-art
facilities for Nanotechnology research projects
Advanced Micro/Nanomechanical Materials
and Process Technologies
 To date, materials selection capability in micro/nanosystems
applications has been relatively limited, due primarily to the
predominance of microfabrication processes and
infrastructure dedicated to silicon.
 Research in this area, therefore, seeks to develop the
materials and process technologies required for realization of
applications that are either impractical or impossible using
conventional silicon-based micromachining, e.g. biomedical
and harsh environment applications.
 Areas of specific interest with this context that are currently
under development include anisotropic titanium
micromachining, micromechanical composites, and novel
applications thereof.
 The creation of new materials with superior strength,
electrical conductivity, conduction or resistance to heat and
other properties.
 Microscopic machines for a variety of uses, including probes
that could be injected into the body for medical diagnostics
and repair.
 A technology in which biology and electronics are merged,
creating “bio-chips” that detect food-borne contamination,
dangerous substances in the blood or chemical warfare
agents in the air.
 The creation of artificial organs and prosthetics that enhance
the quality of life.
MEMS (Applications)

 Accelerometers for airbags

 Micro heat exchangers
 Sensors
 Actuators
 Micropumps
NEMS (Application)

 Nanostructured Catalysts
 Drug Delivery systems
 Molecular Assembler/Replicators
 Sensors
 Magnetic Storage Applications
 Reinforced Polymers
 Nanofluids
Top 5 Trends in Nanotechnology
(The American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
 For many, nanotechnology is viewed as merely a way
to make stronger and lighter tennis rackets, baseball
bats, hockey sticks, racing bikes, and other athletic
equipment.
 But nanotechnology promises to do so much more. A
more realistic view is that it will leave virtually no
aspect of life untouched and is expected to be in
widespread use by 2020.
 Mass applications are likely to have great impact
particularly in industry, medicine, new computing
systems, and sustainability.
1. Stronger Materials/Higher Strength Composites
 The next generation of graphene and carbon nanotube-based
devices will lead to even lighter but stronger structures than
has been made possible by carbon fibre and will become
increasingly obvious in cars, bicycles, and sporting equipment.
2. Scalability of Production
 One big challenge is how to produce nanomaterials that
makes them affordable. According to Dr. Timothy Fisher,
Purdue University professor of mechanical engineering,
technologies that can impact grand challenge problems such
as food, water, energy, and environment must be scalable.
3. More Commercialization
 "Advances will make the use of carbon nanotube materials
even more compelling for mechanical engineers,“ says David J.
Arthur, CEO, SouthWest NanoTechnologies, a producer of
carbon nanotubes.
 In addition to transforming the automotive, aerospace, and
sporting goods fields, nanotechnology is facilitating so many
diverse improvements:
 thinner, affordable, and more durable flat panel displays
 improved armor materials to protect soldiers
 sensors for medical testing
 more humane and effective treatments for cancer patients
 enhanced cathode materials for safer and longer life Li-ion batteries; and
the list goes on.
4. Sustainability
 Mike Nelson, chief technology officer, NanoInk Inc., says
nanomaterials and nanostructured surfaces are increasingly
employed in many advanced energy storage and conversion
projects, and nanomaterials and nanomanufacturing
contribute to products that are more energy efficient in both
production and use.
 Dr. Eric Majzoub, associate director, Centre for Nanoscience,
University of Missouri - St. Louis, says this is done by
controlling thermodynamics of solid-solid reactions through
nanoscale size reduction and it can improve energy-storage
materials including batteries, supercapacitors and hydrogen
storage.
 Nelson sees the greatest near-term impact in sustainability
coming in the areas of transportation (more efficient and
lighter materials for autos and aircraft, requiring less fuel) and
in three other related areas: lighting, photovoltaics,
and energy storage.
5. Nanomedicine
 Nowhere is the application of nanotechnology more exciting
than in the biomedical field, where advances are being made
in both diagnostics and treatment areas.
 Houston-based Nanospectra Biosciences has been developing
a new therapy using a combination of gold nanoshells and
lasers to destroy cancer tumours with heat.
 Based on work done by Rice University professors, Dr. Naomi
Halas and Dr. Jennifer West, the technology promises to
destroy tumours with minimal damage to adjacent healthy
tissue.
 The great interest in nano-structured ceramics originates from the observations
and expectations of unique mechanical properties in these materials.
 Examples in normally brittle ceramics include:
◦ Very high hardness
◦ High fracture toughness
◦ Superplastic behavior
 Silicon carbide is of particular interest because of its potential technological
applications in high-temperature structural and electronic components.
 Although enhanced mechanical properties are often associated with the
reduction in grain sizes, it has recently been conjectured that nano-structured
ceramics might exhibit an inverse Hall-Petch effect
◦ Hardness decreases when grain size decreases in the nano-scale grain-size
regime
 Such peculiar behavior has been observed in ductile nano-phase materials (e.g.,
nano-structured metals) with porous grain boundaries (GBs) by means of
simulations and experiments.
 The behavior was attributed to a crossover from dislocation-mediated plasticity
for large grain size to GB sliding for small grain size.
 A similar mechanistic understanding in ceramics is still lacking.
 In contrast with nano-structured metals, nano-structured ceramics
have an increased volume fraction of disordered intergranular films,
which are observed both experimentally and by means of molecular
dynamics (MD) simulations.
 In particular, for brittle ceramics such as SiC, mechanical properties
such as toughness are essentially determined by soft (often
amorphous) GB phases.
 Recent experiments of nano-indentation of nano-crystalline SiC (n-
SiC) films with grain sizes of 5 to 20 nm have shown “superhardness,”
i.e., hardness largely exceeding that of a bulk crystalline SiC (3C-SiC).
 The experimental hardness was shown to be sensitive to the grain
size and the fraction of the amorphous GB phase.
 However, their effects on mechanical responses at the atomistic
level are largely unknown.
 Mechanical applications of nanotechnology are upcoming and
necessary for further development.
 Nano-devices need a power source
◦ Power harnessed from light
 Physical properties are dependent on grain size, and nano-
indentation is a unique way to measure a material’s physical
properties
 Nanoscale mechanical resonance are very useful for
measurements
◦ Spectral sensing
◦ Nanoscale transducers
◦ Plasmonic Photodetection
◦ Ultrasensitive mass detection
References:
1. The Basics of Nanotechnology - University of Oxford
https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/basics-of-nanotechnology
2. Key Engineering Materials, Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.
3. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Lorre, Purdue University.
4. Department of Mechanical Engineering -Stevens Institute of Technology.
5. ASME- The American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
6. CRC Press 2009.
7. Nanotechnology-A Brief Overview, Nanotechnology Commercialization Group.
8. Nanowerk Spotlight, Aug 18, 2008.
9. Mechanical Engineering Department, Purdue University.
10. University of Virginia Center for Diversity in Engineering and the School of
Engineering and Applied Sciences.
12. http://www.princeton.edu/~pccm/outreach/NanoScope.jpg
13. Introduction to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, K. K. Chattopadhyay & A. N.
Banerjee, PHI (2009).
14. Nano Materials, A. K. Bandopadhyay, New Age International Pub., 2010.
15. www.sciencespot.net/Pages/kdzchem.html
 Thank you

Thank you