Projects
8A - Tensile Testing of Engineering Materials
8B - Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
8C - Composite Material Processing
Teacher Advisor:
Ms Teo Wei Ting
Today was a good day. All the activities were interesting and I had a bit of prior knowledge about some projects for example I had a rough idea of how epoxy works and how to use fiberglass. The break times were appropriate and I also gained some additional knowledge about science during the last session.
For the first experiment/activity, I learnt about practical uses of Fiberglass and Carbon Fiber. They are relatively lightweight and very strong. Composites are combinations of two or more materials to get desirable properties that materials do not have individually and are used in modern planes (cannot be fully made of composite materials) and even racing cars to make them lightweight yet strong. We got to make our own Fiberglass and Carbon Fiber using epoxy and bring a piece back tomorrow.
For the second experiment/activity, I learnt about how to test for the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and breaking point of a material. The width and thickness are measured and a graph is plotted on the computer about the different points and strengths of the materials during the respective tests. We tested mild steel bar, aluminium-copper alloy bar (code 6061), polyethylene bar and PMMA (Poly methyl methacrylate) bar. In real life applications, materials are roughly tested like this to see which material is most suitable for a specific purpose.
For the last experiment/activity, I learnt about how Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) work, how to operate them and what they are used for. The SEM has an electron gun which creates an electron beam to stream down the electron column and observe the surface morphology and elemental information of the object. It has a very high resolution (<1nm) but also has its limitation. It cannot zoom to the atoms of the object. Specimens are coated with gold to conduct the electrons and prevent the electrons from burning it away. We also got to try a virtual experiment since we are not qualified to operate the actual SEM. We got to see a demonstration of the instructor using the actual SEM and it is roughly how it is in the simulation.
Overall, these activities are those few that I gained the most knowledge about science from and I gained a lot of valuable experience. Those are very applicable in real life situations and I would definitely apply those knowledge in the near future.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
NTU Flagship: Day 1
Projects
8A - Tensile Testing of Engineering Materials
8B - Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
8C - Composite Material Processing
Teacher Advisor:
Ms Teo Wei Ting
Today, I learnt about different interesting things during different Plenary Sessions:
Plenary Session 1 - Earthquake Research on the Coral Reefs of Sumatra - by Professor Kerry Sieh, Director, Earth Observatory of Singapore:
I learnt how people predict when future tsunamis will occur by looking at different layers of deposits underground and also predict the cycle by looking at the coral reefs that are above the surface and seeing how much uplift occurred. The cycle is when the island sinks into the ocean deeper and deeper as years go by and then rise back up again during an earthquake.
Plenary Session 2 - IT for Animation - by Professor Seah Hock Soon, Division of Computer Systems, School of Computer Engineering:
I learnt how animations were made when 3D softwares were not available. People had to draw the scenes frame by frame and scan them into a computer to see if the animation was done correctly. They were then painted and a final scan was done on a layer different from the background before being made into an animation. NTU students and staff also created softwares that allow conversion of images from 2D to 3D, 3D to 2D and also creating animation from keyframes. Two of the softwares are currently patented and one of them is patent pending.
Plenary Session 3 - Innovation Breakthroughs in Nano-Science and Nano-Technology - by Assoc Professor David Butler, Division of Manufacturing Engineering, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering:
I learnt about the Electron Microscope how it works and also how nano-technology is used in our daily lives, for example some cars are coated with a kind of material that uses nano-technology to keep the surface dry or to prevent scratches. Sunglasses and some glasses are also coated with a material that uses nano-technology to give them a tint or to turn the glass translucent when exposed to sunlight and to prevent scratches.
To sum it up:
These sessions roughly taught me how some things that we use in our daily lives work or some things that can affect us, for example how it would affect Singapore if there was an earthquake very near us or how nano-technology prevents scratches on different items we use.
Behavioural wise, overall, I felt that as what the teachers said, we could have done much better and controlled ourselves not to talk so much unnecessary and we should work more orderly and have initiative to help in simple things like clearing up the area after dinner.
8A - Tensile Testing of Engineering Materials
8B - Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
8C - Composite Material Processing
Teacher Advisor:
Ms Teo Wei Ting
Today, I learnt about different interesting things during different Plenary Sessions:
Plenary Session 1 - Earthquake Research on the Coral Reefs of Sumatra - by Professor Kerry Sieh, Director, Earth Observatory of Singapore:
I learnt how people predict when future tsunamis will occur by looking at different layers of deposits underground and also predict the cycle by looking at the coral reefs that are above the surface and seeing how much uplift occurred. The cycle is when the island sinks into the ocean deeper and deeper as years go by and then rise back up again during an earthquake.
Plenary Session 2 - IT for Animation - by Professor Seah Hock Soon, Division of Computer Systems, School of Computer Engineering:
I learnt how animations were made when 3D softwares were not available. People had to draw the scenes frame by frame and scan them into a computer to see if the animation was done correctly. They were then painted and a final scan was done on a layer different from the background before being made into an animation. NTU students and staff also created softwares that allow conversion of images from 2D to 3D, 3D to 2D and also creating animation from keyframes. Two of the softwares are currently patented and one of them is patent pending.
Plenary Session 3 - Innovation Breakthroughs in Nano-Science and Nano-Technology - by Assoc Professor David Butler, Division of Manufacturing Engineering, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering:
I learnt about the Electron Microscope how it works and also how nano-technology is used in our daily lives, for example some cars are coated with a kind of material that uses nano-technology to keep the surface dry or to prevent scratches. Sunglasses and some glasses are also coated with a material that uses nano-technology to give them a tint or to turn the glass translucent when exposed to sunlight and to prevent scratches.
To sum it up:
These sessions roughly taught me how some things that we use in our daily lives work or some things that can affect us, for example how it would affect Singapore if there was an earthquake very near us or how nano-technology prevents scratches on different items we use.
Behavioural wise, overall, I felt that as what the teachers said, we could have done much better and controlled ourselves not to talk so much unnecessary and we should work more orderly and have initiative to help in simple things like clearing up the area after dinner.
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