Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

2707

Date

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Mechanical Engineering

Committee Chair

Gladius Lewis

Committee Member

Esra Roan

Committee Member

John Williams

Abstract

Due to the complexity of the in vivo environment, in vitro cell studies provide valuable insights into the mechanisms behind cell response to mechanical stimulus. Many devices have been developed to apply tensile stress to elastomer membranes on which cell monolayers are cultured and observe cell response. The present study characterizes stretch-induced strain fields for an improved stretcher system using an open source digital image correlation software. Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio are measured for a widely used membrane material. Strains on the membrane surface were found to be uniform and equibiaxial within approximately 5 mm of the center of the membrane. The membrane Young’s modulus was found to be 910 kPa, and Poisson’s ratio was found to vary from 0.42 at 0% elongation to 0.3 at 50% elongation. This study provides critical information on a previously reported stretcher and previously unreported data on a widely used membrane material.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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