Personalized Bone Surgery Techniques

Given the rise in obesity and an increase in the average life-span of people in the United States, surgeries involving total joint replacements (TJRs) such as knee and hip-replacement have nearly doubled between the years of 1992-2010. The success of TJR surgeries relies primarily on the skills of the surgeon in removing skeletal tissue and in shaping the bone. This research looks at the fundamental issues that affect the morphology of the bone surface during the surgery.
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Graphene-based Lubricants for Micro-machining

The life-cycle of high performance micro/meso-scale parts such as missile bearings depends greatly on the surface integrity of the machined surface and the residual stresses in the part. These are in-turn a strong function of the cutting forces and temperatures encountered during the micro-machining operation. To address this challenge, we are exploring the effective use of nano-scale additives to improve the cooling and lubrication performance of cutting fluids used in micro-scale cutting applications.
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Collaborator: Prof. Nikhil Koratkar (Graphene expert)
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Collaborator: Prof. Nikhil Koratkar (Graphene expert)
3D Printing of Hierarchical Fiber-reinforced Soft Composites

Hierarchical fiber-reinforced soft-composites (HFrSCs) are composites made up of polymeric fibers (with specific material properties and hierarchical length-scales) embedded within a soft polymer matrix. This project involves fundamental research directed towards developing 3D printing processes for these composites. The research findings will enable the development of a reliable and scalable 3D printing technology for such composites, leading to the creation of a new market-segment for 3D printers. It will also facilitate innovations in fields such as bio-inspired materials, embedded sensing, and 4D printing (3D printed products with shape-memory properties).
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Collaborator: Prof. Sandipan Mishra (Controls Expert)
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Collaborator: Prof. Sandipan Mishra (Controls Expert)
Novel 3D Printier for Surgeon Training
This project aims at developing novel 3D printing technologies to print artificial body parts for surgeon training. The successful development of these manufacturing processes will ensure a reduction in the use of animal models and will also enable surgeon training for patient-specific surgeries. The 3D printing technology also has broader applications to the manufacture of hierarchical polymer composites.
Funding Agency: Defense Health Program Collaborators : Prof. Sandipan Mishra (Controls expert), Vivonics Inc., MA (Industry) |
Ultrasonically-assisted Micro-machining Processes

This project aims are the use of ultrasonic vibrations to increase the material removal rate during micro-machining operations involving high-aspect ratio drilling.
Funding Agency: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
Industrial Partner: Saturn Industries, NY
Funding Agency: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
Industrial Partner: Saturn Industries, NY
@ RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
*-Corresponding Author, Student Advisee - Bold
Under Review:
*-Corresponding Author, Student Advisee - Bold
Under Review:
- Picha, K., Spackman, C., and Samuel J.*, “Droplet Spreading Characteristics Observed During 3D Printing of Aligned Fiber-reinforced Soft Composites”, Submitted to Additive Manufacturing (August 2015, Revised Dec, 2015)
- Chu, B., Shi, Y., and Samuel, J.*, “Mitigation of Chemical Wear by Graphene Platelets during Diamond Cutting of Steel", Accepted for publication to Carbon (June 2016).
- Conward, M., and Samuel, J.*, “Machining Characteristics of the Haversian and Plexiform Components of Bovine Cortical Bone”, Journal of Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, (Accepted for Publication March 2016).
- Frank, C.R., and Samuel, J.*, “Scalable Production of Hierarchical Polymer Nanofiber Ropes, Cables and Coatings” ,2016, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 133 (33), 43747 ( 8 Pages). [Cover Selection]
- Samuel, J.*, Spackman, C., Ruff, L., Crucetti, J., Chiappone, S., and Schadler, L., 2016, “A Research University and Community College Collaboration Model to Promote Micro-manufacturing Education: Preliminary Findings”, Procedia Manufacturing, 44th SME North American Manufacturing Research Conference .
- Spackman, C., Frank, C.R., Picha, K., and Samuel J.*, “3D Printing of Fiber-reinforced Soft Composites: Process Study and Material Characterization”, Journal of Manufacturing Processes (Accepted for Publication, March 2016).
- Silverman,D., Chu, B., Jacoby, B.E., and Samuel, J.*, “Evaluation of micro-drilling technologies for metal injection molded 420 stainless steel”, Journal of Machining Science and Technology (Accepted for Publication, Jan 2016)
- Chu, B., Singh, E., Samuel, J.*, and Koratkar, N.., 2015, “Graphene Oxide Colloidal Suspensions as Cutting Fluids for Micromachining - Part 1: Fabrication and Performance Evaluation”, ASME Journal of Micro and Nano Manufacturing (May 2015)
- Chu, B., and Samuel, J.*,2015, “Graphene Oxide Colloidal Suspensions as Cutting Fluids for Micromachining- Part 2: Droplet Dynamics and Film Formation”, ASME Journal of Micro and Nano Manufacturing (May 2015)
- Spackman, C., Picha, K., Gross, G., Nowak, J., Smith, P.J., Zheng, J., Samuel, J.* , and Mishra, S., 2015, “A Novel Multi-material Additive Manufacturing Technique for Fabricating Laminated Polymer Nancomposite Structures”, ASME Journal of Micro and Nano Manufacturing, 3(1), 011008 (11 pages)
- Smith, P.J., Chu, B., Singh, E., Chow, P., Samuel, J.*, and Koratkar, N., 2015, “Graphene oxide colloidal suspensions mitigate carbon diffusion in diamond-based cutting tools”, SME, Journal of Manufacturing Processes, 17, pp. 41-47
- Chu, B., Samuel, J.*, and Koratkar, N., 2014, “Micro-milling Responses of Hierarchical Graphene Composites”, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 137(1), 011002 (9 pages).
- Jiang, L., Nath, C., Samuel, J., and Kapoor, S.G.*, 2015, "An Enhanced Microstructure-level Finite Element Machining Model for Carbon Nanotube (CNT) -Polymer Composites", ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering 137(2), 021009 (11 pages).
- Jiang, L., Nath C., Samuel, J., and Kapoor, S. G.*, 2014,“Estimating the Cohesive Zone Model Parameters for Carbon Nanotube-Polymer Interface For Machining Simulations”, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 136(3), 031004 (8 pages)
- Carter, W., Popell, G.C., Samuel, J.*, and Mishra, S., 2014, “Fundamental Study and Modeling of the Droplet Formation in Near-field Electrohydrodynamic Printing”, ASME Journal of Micro and Nano Manufacturing , 2(2), 021005 (12 pages)
- Chu, B., Singh, E., Samuel, J.*, and Koratkar, N., 2013, “Graphene-Enhanced Environmentally-Benign Cutting Fluids for High-Performance Micro-Machining Application”, Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 13(8), pp. 5500-5504.
- Arora, I., Samuel, J.*, and Koratkar, N., 2013, “Experimental Investigation of the Machinability of Epoxy Reinforced with Graphene Platelets”, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 135(4), pp. 041007 (7 Pages).
- Ghai, I., Samuel, J., DeVor, R. E., and Kapoor, S. G.*,2013, “Analysis of Droplet Spreading on a Rotating Surface and the Prediction of Cooling and Lubrication Performance of an Atomization-based Cutting Fluid System”, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 135(3), pp. 031003 (12 Pages).
- Samuel, J.*, Rafiee, K., Dhiman, P., Yu, Z., and Koratkar, N.*, 2011, “Graphene Colloidal Suspensions as High Performance Synthetic Metal Working Fluids”, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 115 (8), pp. 3410–3415.
- Calzada, K. A., Kapoor, S. G.*, DeVor, R. E., Samuel, J., and Srivastava, A. K., 2011, “Modeling and Interpretation of Fiber Orientation-based Failure Mechanisms in Machining of Carbon Fiber-reinforced Polymer Composites”, Journal of Manufacturing Processes, 14(2), pp. 141-149.
- Calzada, K.A., Samuel, J., Kapoor, S. G.*, DeVor, R. E., Srivastava, A., and Iverson, J., 2010, “Failure Mechanisms Encountered during Micro-milling of Aligned Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites”, Transactions of NAMRI/SME, 38, pp. 221-228.
- Samuel, J., Kapoor, S. G.*, DeVor, R. E., and Hsia, K. J., 2010, “Effect of Microstructural Parameters on the Machinability of Aligned Carbon Nanotube Composites”, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 132(5), pp. 051012 (9 pages).
- Ghai, I., Wentz, J. E., Kapoor, S. G.*, DeVor, R. E., and Samuel, J., 2009 “Droplet Behavior on a Rotating Surface for Atomization-based Cutting Fluid Application in Micro-machining”, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 132(1), pp. 011017 (10 pages).
- Dikshit, A., Samuel, J., DeVor, R. E., and Kapoor, S. G.*, 2008, “Microstructure-Level Machining Simulation of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Polymer Composites—Part II: Model Interpretation and Application”, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 130(3), pp. 031115 (8 pages).
- Dikshit, A., Samuel, J., DeVor, R. E., and Kapoor, S. G.*, 2008, “Microstructure-Level Machining Simulation of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Polymer Composites—Part I: Model Development and Validation”, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 130(3), pp. 031114 (8 pages).
- Dikshit, A., Samuel, J., DeVor, R. E., and Kapoor, S. G.*, 2008, “A Microstructure-Level Material Model for Simulating the Machining of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Polymer Composites”, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 130(3), pp. 031110 (8 pages).
- Samuel, J., Dikshit, A., DeVor, R. E., Kapoor, S. G.* and Hsia, K. J., 2008, “Effect of Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Loading on the Thermo-mechanical Properties and the Machinability of CNT-Reinforced Polymer Composites”, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 131(3), pp. 031008 (9 pages).
- Samuel, J., DeVor, R. E., Kapoor, S. G.*, and Hsia, J., 2006, “Experimental Investigation of the Machinability of Polycarbonate Reinforced With Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes”, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 128, pp. 465-473.