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Appropriate animal models of osteoarthritis (OA) are essential to develop new treatment modalities for OA. A combination of surgical and chemical induction could be appropriate for OA models.Rabbit knee OA models developed by surgical induction (anterior cruciate ligament transection [ACLT]), chemical induction (monosodium iodoacetate [MIA] injection), and a combination of both were compared to assess compositional and structural destruction of the knee joint. Twenty-one New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into 3 groups to induce OA (group 1: ACLT, n = 3; group 2: MIA [3, 6, 9 mg] injection, n = 9; group 3: ACLT + MIA [3, 6, 9 mg] injection, n = 9).In all groups, the Modified Mankin score was significantly higher in the osteoarthritis-induced knee than in the control. Modified Mankin scores were compared by category. The ACLT group was observed to score high in cartilage structure. In the MIA group, chondrocytes and matrix staining showed higher scores, and the ACLT+MIA group scored higher in all categories for cartilage structure, chondrocytes, matrix staining, and tidemark integrity. The ACLT + 3 mg MIA showed definite OA characteristics such as cartilage surface destruction and degeneration of cartilage layers, and the ACLT + 6 mg MIA and ACLT + 9 mg MIA showed more prominent OA characteristics such as cartilage surface destruction, matrix disorganization, and osteophyte formation.The combination of MIA injection and ACLT could be an appropriate method for OA induction in rabbit models.

Vast improvements have been made to the capabilities of advanced manufacturing (AM), yet there are still limitations on which materials can effectively be used in the technology. To this end, parts created using AM would benefit from the ability to be developed from feedstock materials incorporating additional functionality. A common three-dimensional (3D) printing polymer, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, was combined with bismuth and polyvinylidene fluoride via a solvent treatment to fabricate multifunctional composite materials for AM. Composites of varying weight percent loadings were extruded into filaments, which were subsequently 3D printed into blocks via fused filament fabrication. Investigating the material properties demonstrated that in addition to the printed blocks successfully performing as radiation shields, the chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties are suitable for AM. Thus, this work demonstrates that it is possible to enhance AM components with augmented capabilities while not significantly altering the material properties which make AM possible.

Due to increased environmental pressures, significant research has focused on finding suitable biodegradable plastics to replace ubiquitous petrochemical-derived polymers. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a class of polymers that can be synthesized by microorganisms and are biodegradable, making them suitable candidates. The present study looks at the degradation properties of two PHA polymers: polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polyhydroxybutyrate-co-polyhydroxyvalerate (PHBV; 8 wt.% valerate), in two different soil conditions: soil fully saturated with water (100% relative humidity, RH) and soil with 40% RH. The degradation was evaluated by observing the changes in appearance, chemical signatures, mechanical properties, and molecular weight of samples. Both PHB and PHBV were degraded completely after two weeks in 100% RH soil conditions and showed significant reductions in mechanical properties after just three days. The samples in 40% RH soil, however, showed minimal changes in mechanical properties, melting temperatures/crystallinity, and molecular weight over six weeks. By observing the degradation behavior for different soil conditions, these results can pave the way for identifying situations where the current use of plastics can be replaced with biodegradable alternatives.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have emerged as a promising class of biosynthesizable, biocompatible, and biodegradable polymers to replace petroleum-based plastics for addressing the global plastic pollution problem. Although PHAs offer a wide range of chemical diversity, the structure–property relationships in this class of polymers remain poorly established. In particular, the available experimental data on the mechanical properties is scarce. In this contribution, we have used molecular dynamics simulations employing a recently developed forcefield to predict chemical trends in mechanical properties of PHAs. Specifically, we make predictions for Young’s modulus, and yield stress for a wide range of PHAs that exhibit varying lengths of backbone and side chains as well as different side chain functional groups. Deformation simulations were performed at six different strain rates and six different temperatures to elucidate their influence on the mechanical properties. Our results indicate that Young’s modulus and yield stress decrease systematically with increase in the number of carbon atoms in the side chain as well as in the polymer backbone. In addition, we find that the mechanical properties were strongly correlated with the chemical nature of the functional group. The functional groups that enhance the interchain interactions lead to an enhancement in both the Young’s modulus and yield stress. Finally, we applied the developed methodology to study composition-dependence of the mechanical properties for a selected set of binary and ternary copolymers. Overall, our work not only provides insights into rational design rules for tailoring mechanical properties in PHAs, but also opens up avenues for future high throughput atomistic simulation studies geared towards identifying functional PHA polymer candidates for targeted applications.

In the present study, heat transfer performance and flow characteristics of turbulent flow in asymmetrical corrugated tubes (ACT) are numerically and experimentally investigated. Experiments on a smooth tube and ACT were conducted for the validation of the numerical methods. Numerical simulations were then conducted to obtain an understanding of the physical behavior of thermodynamics and fluid flow in the ACT with the Reynolds number ranging from 12,000 to 66,000. Thermodynamic results between the tube side and the shell side of the ACT were then compared. Flow directions were defined as opposite, when large corrugation fillet radii ( rl ) located at the upstream or downstream. And the thermo-hydraulic performance and mechanism at the shell side, which were caused by two opposite flow directions, were presented and analyzed. The results show that, compared with the tube side of the ACT, the Nu, f, and the performance evaluation criterion (PEC) of the shell side in the ACT is more obvious and the maximum increment were 1.7, 1.13, and 1.26 respectively. It was also found that the value of various rl/D located at upstream does not influence on thermo-hydraulic performance. And a lower Re condition should be selected in the ACT for saving energy. While rl located at the downstream can significantly increase the overall heat transfer coefficient and decrease the Reynolds stress. The PEC was increased by 10–20% which is much more than the increase when rl was located at the upstream.

A double pipe heat exchanger with outward helically corrugated tube is numerically studied and optimized. Under the determined geometry parameters of the corrugated tube, the parameter of the shell side is desired to obtain. Also, the mechanism of enhanced heat transfer and complex flow features on the shell side is investigated and compared with the tube side. Matching flow rates of tube and shell sides are solved by a multi-objective optimization method concerning simultaneously the heat transfer performance, pressure drop and energy benefit. It was found that, the variation tendencies of local heat transfer and pressure drop on tube and shell sides are exactly the same, and both the heat transfer and pressure drop are increased with decreasing the shell diameter. For a comprehensive consideration, the shell diameter of 38 mm is the best parameter to obtain a high heat transfer coefficient, and a low pressure drop. The optimal solutions of the matching flow rates on tube and shell sides are obtained by the genetic algorithm, and two equilibrium solutions are obtained for the tube and shell sides.

The growing need for the implementation of stretchable biosensors in the body has driven rapid prototyping schemes through the direct ink writing of multidimensional functional architectures. Recent approaches employ biocompatible inks that are dispensable through an automated nozzle injection system. However, their application in medical practices remains challenged in reliable recording due to their viscoelastic nature that yields mechanical and electrical hysteresis under periodic large strains. Herein, we report sponge-like poroelastic silicone composites adaptable for high-precision direct writing of custom-designed stretchable biosensors, which are soft and insensitive to strains. Their unique structural properties yield a robust coupling to living tissues, enabling high-fidelity recording of spatiotemporal electrophysiological activity and real-time ultrasound imaging for visual feedback. In vivo evaluations of custom-fit biosensors in a murine acute myocardial infarction model demonstrate a potential clinical utility in the simultaneous intraoperative recording and imaging on the epicardium, which may guide definitive surgical treatments., Printed biosensors are important for health monitoring and research purposes. Here, the authors report on the development of a soft poroelastic silicone based sensor which can be easily printed and is resistant to mechanical strain hysteresis, allowing for more accurate electrophysiology readings and imaging.

A unique design arrangement for longitudinal and pin fins involving surface dehumidification is proposed for improving the fin’s heat transfer enhancement under transient operating condition. The new design arrangement involves dual primary fin surfaces. For the present analysis, the assessment of Fourier and non-Fourier effects is made, and a closed form solution methodology involving separation of variables is adopted to evaluate the fin performance. The proposed closed form methodology for the non-Fourier heat transfer effect in the wet fin is well-validated with the corresponding numerical solution obtained under finite differencing framework. Furthermore, for a dry surface condition, the validation of the present non-Fourier model is done with the pertinent results available in the literature. The Fourier and the non-Fourier heat transfer effects are investigated with various design variables of the wet fin and surface conditions. It is highlighted that the effect of air dehumidification in fins promotes waviness in the temperature distribution. The efficiency is determined to be higher in the case of the longitudinal fin than that of the pin fin, whereas, an opposite behavior is revealed in terms of the fin effectiveness. Higher fin efficiency is observed at lower values of the Fourier number and higher values of the Vernote number. It is apparent from the present study that the proposed new fin design considerably enhances the rate of heat transfer as compared to the conventionally used design. Additionally, the proposed design results in a compact geometry that in turn provides additional mechanical strength resulting in the savings of space utilization and costs related to fin manufacturing.

Post-polymerization reactions of Diels-Alder polyphenylene with ring-substituted benzoyl chloride derivatives using triflic acid as the catalyst, effected selective Friedel-Crafts acylation of the lateral phenyl groups attached to the polyphenylene backbone. Using 4-(trifluoromethyl) benzoyl chloride gave a polymer with increased hydrophobicity. Using 4-fluorobenzoyl chloride afforded lateral 4-(fluorobenzoyl)phenyl substituents, which were further functionalized by nucleophilic aromatic substitution of the reactive fluoro substituent by 4-methoxyphenol.

A numerical model for predicting frost layer growth based on computational fluid dynamics is developed. This model can predict the growth behavior of a highly porous frost layer formed by desublimation. A new volumetric mass transfer rate equation is proposed, which can consider water vapor penetration into a frost layer. The model is validated through experimental results under various operating conditions and used for analyzing the frost layer growth process. The density distribution inside the frost layer is almost linearly changed in the direction perpendicular to the cooling surface under the operating conditions favorable for desublimation, showing different characteristics from the case in the operating conditions favorable for freezing after condensation. In addition, the average mass transfer rate is analyzed as a function of time. As time passes, the porosity of the frost layer decreases and the mass transfer rate due to water vapor penetration decreases gradually.

The thermal performance of a plate fin heat sink was investigated as a function of the location of multiple heat sources to minimize the thermal interference effect. Numerical analysis was performed under forced-convection conditions to design a cooling system for a high-power heat source. The thermal behaviors of the heat sink and surrounding air were simulated. We also investigated the thermal performances of various base thicknesses under local heat flux conditions to determine the optimal heat sink base thickness using the width of the heat source and conduction coefficient of the heat sink. The optimal location was determined by investigating the effects of the Reynolds number, thermal conductivity of the heat sink, heat transfer rate ratio for multiple heat sources, and width of the heat source. An installation guideline of the plate fin heat sink was prepared to help users avoid the thermal interference effect depending on the width of their heat source. By applying a correlation equation to obtain the optimal location where the maximal temperature of the heat source is minimized, the thermal resistance was decreased by up to 30%.

We experimentally investigate the frosting and defrosting performance of slippery surfaces which have low sliding angles of water droplets and low ice adhesion strengths. The frosting and defrosting characteristics of slippery surfaces are compared with those of bare aluminum, hydrophilic, and superhydrophobic surfaces. The enhanced sliding properties of water droplets on the slippery surfaces effectively promote the drainage of the condensate on their surfaces, which not only leads to significant frost retardation under frosting conditions, but also substantially reduces the mass of the retained water on the surfaces after defrosting by heat. In addition, when mechanical vibration is applied together with heating during defrosting process, the low ice adhesion strengths of the slippery surfaces enable the effective detachment of the lumped frost layer from their surfaces, thereby significantly reducing the defrosting time.

The thermal performance of a heat sink is analyzed according to the position of the partially heated surface. Numerical models for simulating forced convection were used to analyze the heat transfer between the heat sink and ambient air. The optimal partial heating position was discussed in terms of the effects of total heat transfer rate, air velocity, the ratio of total heat sink length to partially heated surface width, the thermal conductivity of the heat sink, and the thickness of the heat sink base. Finally, a correlation was suggested to determine the partial heating position that maximizes thermal performance by using the experimental design method. It was thus possible to reduce the thermal resistance of the heat sink by up to approximately 30% by finding the optimal partial heating position.

We report a fabrication method to obtain a low-ice-adhesion aluminum surface by surface texturing using solution etching and subsequent thin-film coating. Specifically, the textured surface has microstructures of a low aspect ratio, that is, with a much smaller height than width. Such microstructures can effectively reduce ice-adhesion strengths by sliding the ice during detachment. Because our method is based on solution etching, it can be applied to curved surfaces with complex shapes for uniformly constructing the morphology of a low-ice-adhesion aluminum surface. Finally, the low-ice-adhesion aluminum surface reduces the ice-adhesion strengths by up to 95%.

The purpose of this study is to understand the behavior of frost layer growth under conditions favorable for desublimation. The frosting experiments were conducted on a horizontal cooling surface. Condensation did not occur at the initial stage of frosting, and feather-shaped frost crystals were formed on the cooling surface. These frost crystals grew one-dimensionally while maintaining their shapes. In addition, the effects of operating conditions (air temperature, air velocity, air absolute humidity, cooling surface temperature) on frost layer growth under the conditions favorable for desublimation were investigated. As the cooling surface temperature decreased, the increase in the amount of frost was insignificant. Additionally, an increase in air velocity increased the frost density but not the thickness of the frost layer.

A cooling system with a flow guide is proposed to enhance the winding cooling of an air-cooled motor. Thermal and flow modeling was performed using computational analysis and the results are validated through experiments. In addition, the effects of the flow guide installation on the flow and heat transfer characteristics inside the motor are analyzed. The variation in the cooling effect and pressure drop ratio with various design factors at experimental points selected based on the design of experiments are investigated through numerical analysis. When a flow guide is installed at the rear cavity of the motor, the cooling air directly cools the winding end-turn, thereby reducing the winding temperature. The installed flow guide reduces the pressure drop by enhancing the cooling path. Optimization was conducted to obtain the optimal design points of the flow guides based on the numerical data. Correlations are proposed to establish the design criteria for maximizing the winding cooling for different types of flow guides. The use of these correlations results in the improvement of the cooling effect by up to 28% without the degradation of flow rate due to increased pressure drops.

We proposed a new method for preventing dew condensation on the case surfaces of ceiling-cassette indoor air conditioning units. We investigated the dew condensation problem numerically using a diffusion boundary layer phase-change model that incorporates the effect of non-condensable gases. By installing a blocking device on the case surface, we significantly reduced the suction flow of warm, humid air and the total condensation rate on the surface. We optimized the installation location, height, and angle of the blockage in order to minimize dew condensation. When the optimized blockage device was installed, and the air conditioning unit was operated at low discharge speed, we observed that the total numerical and experimental condensation rate fell by 41 and 30%, respectively.

The defrosting method of the conventional household refrigerator increases freezer temperature during the defrosting operation, and defrosting efficiency reduces because the heater consumes more power than the amount of frost on the surface of the heat exchanger. To solve this problem, three defrost heater control methods, applicable to refrigerators equipped with conduction and radiation heaters, are being proposed. The control methods were classified as a method of simultaneously pulsating two heaters, method of individually pulsating two heaters, and method of step-by-step reduction of radiation heater power. The operation effect of each heater on freezer temperature was analyzed. For the three methods, a heater control optimization process was performed to reduce the temperature increase in the freezer. The power consumed by the heater was minimized and defrosting efficiency improved. The Best performance was observed when two heaters pulsated individually. For this method, the variation in freezer temperature, between before and after the defrost process, was reduced from approximately 11 °C to 5 °C. Additionally, the defrosting efficiency improved by 15%.

Fuel cells are attractive devices that convert chemical energy into electricity through the direct electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. Intermediate temperature fuel cells operated at 200–300 °C can simplify water and thermal managements, enable the use of non-precious or low-loading precious metal catalysts and provide insensitivity toward fuel and air impurities such as carbon monoxide. However, the performance of current intermediate temperature fuel cells is poor due to a lack of highly-conductive membrane electrolytes and optimal electrodes designed for these fuel cells. Here, we demonstrate high-performing intermediate temperature fuel cells that use SnP2O7–polymer composite membranes and a quaternary ammonium-biphosphate ion-pair coordinated polymer electrolyte in the electrodes. The peak power density of the fuel cell under H2 and O2 reached 870 mW cm−2 at 240 °C with minimal performance loss under exposure to 25% carbon monoxide.

The waste generated by single-use plastics is often non-recyclable and non-biodegradable, inevitably ending up in our landfills, ecosystems, and food chain. Through the introduction of biodegradable polymers as substitutes for common plastics, we can decrease our impact on the planet. In this study, we evaluate the changes in mechanical and thermal properties of polyhydroxybutyrate-based composites with various additives: Microspheres, carbon fibers or polyethylene glycol (2000, 10,000, and 20,000 MW). The mixtures were injection molded using an in-house mold attached to a commercial extruder. The resulting samples were characterized using microscopy and a series of spectroscopic, thermal, and mechanical techniques. We have shown that the addition of carbon fibers and microspheres had minimal impact on thermal stability, whereas polyethylene glycol showed slight improvements at higher molecular weights. All of the composite samples showed a decrease in hardness and compressibility. The findings described in this study will improve our understanding of polyhydroxybutyrate-based composites prepared by injection molding, enabling advancements in integrating biodegradable plastics into everyday products.

Experimental research was conducted to study the frost formation on superhydrophobic surfaces at ultra-low temperatures, which might broaden the insight into frost growth behavior on the heat exchangers. The frost properties were examined over time, and the frost retardation according to the frosting factor was identified using the frost reduction ratios. The ablimation-dominant (desublimation) mechanism was observed at ultra-low temperatures in which almost no water droplets were generated. Consequently, the influence of the superhydrophobic surface on frost retardation was insignificant within −5% owing to the frosting mechanism. It is difficult to expect an increase in thermal performance of heat exchangers by applying superhydrophobic surfaces; using superhydrophobic surfaces for the purpose of frost retardation at ultra-low temperatures is not recommended.

Frost formation on a cold plate was modeled numerically using the frost formation resistance. A multiphase Eulerian method was used to model the humid-air and frost phases. The grids in the computational domain were classified into three zones, and a frost density threshold was suggested to construct an algorithm of frost growth and densification. To verify the present model, analyses were performed under various operating conditions, and the results were compared with published experimental results. In addition, the frost formation resistance was verified by analyzing the frost formation resistance profiles on the frost surface and at the frost inside, and temperature of the frost and absolute humidity of the humid-air inside the frost were also predicted using the verified model. This showed that the frost formation resistance matched the general well-known behavior of frost formation. The temperature of the frost and absolute humidity of the humid-air in the frost showed larger variation near the frost surface, which has lower frost density, than near the cold plate, which has higher frost density.

A heat exchanger with vortex-generating fins at the center of each louver was manufactured. Through 3D computational analysis, we analyzed the air flow characteristics and the fin temperature in the heat exchanger under dry conditions. In addition, we conducted an experiment for observing frost behavior and variation in thermal performance of the louvered fin heat exchanger. The fins generated vortexes and increased the length of air flow, which improved the dry condition thermal performance by 12%. The vortex-generating fins reduced the blockage ratio of frost at the louvers of the head part and improved the frost uniformity of the front and rear sides of the heat exchanger, increasing the usability of the rear louver. Therefore, the decrease in the heat transfer rate of the heat exchanger with vortex-generating fins over time by frost formation was smaller than that of the conventional heat exchanger, and the heat transfer performance was improved by at least 28%.

We report the fabrication of a three-dimensional (3D) metal-graphene network-based phase change composite with a tunable size of individual phase change materials under the same amount of metal contents. Mixing the granules of phase change material with metal paste and subsequent hot pressing effectively forms 3D metal networks among phase change materials with a minimal inclusion of metal. Specifically, the formation of a 3D silver network with 6 volume percentages among pure erythritol increases the thermal conductivities of pure erythritol by 2.7-fold, while achieving a heat capacity that is comparable to that of pure erythritol. Decreasing the size of the individual erythritol part with the same metal content significantly suppresses the subcooling phenomena of erythritol by 24 °C due to the effectively increased interfacial surface areas for active heterogeneous nucleation. The addition of graphene sheets between the erythritol granules and 3D metal network further enhances the thermal conductivities of phase change composites by 4.7-fold compared to those of pure erythritol. Finally, the stable operation of the 3D metal or metal-graphene network-based phase change composite during repeated melting and solidification cycling revealed the good structural integrity of the fabricated phase change composite.

In this study, a generalized shape of the heat sink for most of the commercial LED light bulbs was considered. The thermal resistance of a radial heat sink with triangular fins on a circular base was investigated at different angles. A numerical model with the consideration of natural convection and radiation was established to investigate the effects of the Rayleigh number, finning factor, porosity factor, installation angle, and radius of the heat sink base. The numerical model was validated through experiment. Then, based on numerical results, a correlation was suggested to estimate the degree of enhancement of cooling performance between the radial heat sinks with and without triangular fins.

The thermal characteristics of a large-capacity induction motor were investigated with an air-gap flow temperature that is higher than the stator and winding temperatures. Air-gap flow heating phenomena were defined and classified into three states: under-heating, over-heating, and super-heating. A non-dimensional temperature was suggested to predict the corresponding air-gap flow heating state of a motor. Based on the non-dimensional temperature, the over-heating state is inevitable for a motor with a capacity above 50 kW, and the super-heating state is inevitable for a motor with a capacity above 100 kW. Furthermore, the effects of the over-heating and super-heating states of the air-gap flow on the stator and windings were investigated. Under these two states, the cooling of the stator by the air-gap flow was diminished. Additionally, the winding temperature increased because of the discharged air-gap flow.

We carried out experiments of repeated frosting/defrosting cycles while varying the heat exchanger inclination angles (0°, 15°, 30°, and 45°) of a louvered fin heat exchanger and analyzed the variations in thermal performance, residual water, and defrosting efficiency according to the heat exchanger inclination angle. For larger inclination angles, the heat transfer rate and pressure drop varied less during repeated cycling. The use of high inclination angles improved the drainage performance of the louvered fin heat exchanger and reduced the mass of its residual water. The defrosting efficiency varied less during repeated cycling for high inclination angles than for low inclination angles.

Fabrication methods of the hydrophobic property on metal surfaces and frosting characteristics on hydrophobic surfaces were investigated. A hydrophobic surface with a static contact angle of less than 150° was implemented by surface coating or etching, and a superhydrophobic surface with a static contact angle of greater than 150° was realized by a hybrid method using both coating and etching. The changes in surface properties affected the behaviors of the early stage frosting from the dry surface to the formation of ice crystals. On the hydrophobic surfaces, ice crystals were formed by freezing after condensation. Isolated-droplet freezing and inter-droplet freezing are mechanisms by which the condensate undergoes a phase change into ice crystals. Through isolated-droplet freezing, a supercooled condensate changes phase into ice crystals by forming ice nuclei based on the classical nucleation theory. In addition, through inter-droplet freezing, ice crystals are propagated due to the difference in saturation vapor pressure between supercooled condensates and ice crystals. The formation and propagation of ice crystals are delayed as the static contact angle increases. Additionally, based on a review, future researches that is needed to improve hydrophobic technologies are discussed.

Power optimization was conducted for the defrosting heaters (conductive and radiant heaters) in a freezer to enhance their performance. The distribution of frost in the evaporator was measured experimentally, and the required defrosting energy corresponding to frost accumulation was calculated. The influence of defrosting heaters on frost was evaluated by measuring the heat quantity of the evaporator. The optimization was carried out such that the two heaters distribute the valid energy to the evaporator minimizing the excessive waste heat. At the optimum heater power, the maximum surface temperature of the evaporator was reduced, and the temperature distribution of the evaporator became uniform. The heater power and defrosting time were reduced through power optimization, thereby increasing the defrosting efficiency up to 6.7%. The effective heater power distribution could be further promoted to other heat exchangers with various heat transfer technologies.

In order to meet the needs of constantly advancing technologies, fabricating materials with improved properties and predictable behavior has become vital. To that end, we have prepared polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer samples filled with carbon nanofibers (CFs) at 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 CF loadings (w/w) to investigate and optimize the amount of filler needed for fabrication with improved mechanical properties. Samples were prepared using easy, cost-efficient mechanical mixing to combine the PDMS and CF filler and were then characterized by chemical (FTIR), mechanical (hardness and tension), and physical (swelling, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and coefficient of thermal expansion) analyses to determine the material properties. We found that hardness and thermal stability increased predictably, while the ultimate strength and toughness both decreased. Repeated tension caused the CF-filled PDMS samples to lose significant toughness with increasing CF loadings. The hardness and thermal degradation temperature with 4 wt.% CF loading in PDMS increased more than 40% and 25 °C, respectively, compared with the pristine PDMS sample. Additionally, dilatometer measurements showed a 20% decrease in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) with a small amount of CF filler in PDMS. In this study, we were able to show the mechanical and thermal properties of PDMS can be tuned with good confidence using CFs.