Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Flanagan, W. F.

Publications and source records attributed to Flanagan, W. F..

Electrical conductivity in directionally solidified lead-9 and -20 wt pct copper alloys

Composites consisting of aligned copper dendrites in a lead matrix have been produced by directional solidification processing for potential application as grids in lead-acid batteries. To promote a uniform composite of aligned copper dendrites in a protective lead matrix, two alloy compositions, Pb-9 and -20 wt pct Cu, have been directionally solidified through a temperature gradient of 4.5 K/mm at constant growth velocities which ranged from 1 to 100 micron/s. With slow growth rates (below about 10 microns/s), the copper dendrites were generally columnar and continuous along the sample length; at higher velocities (above 60 microns/s), they assumed an intricate and equiaxed morphology. In accordance with copper content and growth rate, the electrical conductivity of the directionally solidified composites was found to be as much as a 2.5 times that of pure lead. The results are compared with that predicted by a model based on a geometrical dendrite.

Kim, Shinwoo↗

Microstructural observations in rapidly-solidified and heat-treated Ni3Al-Cr alloys

The microstructural development following heat treatments of several rapidly-solidified Ni3Al-Cr and Ni3Al-Cr-B alloys is presented. Depending on composition, the as-solidified samples were either 100 percent gamma-prime phase - in the form of fine antiphase domains (APD) - or a mixture of gamma-prime (APDs) and beta phases. Upon annealing, the as-solidified microstructures transform to either APD-free gamma-prime or mixtures of gamma and gamma-prime phases. For those compositions where the quenched microstructures were 100 percent gamma-prime it was observed that APD coarsening followed conventional grain-growth kinetics, but when gamma phase precipitated on the APD boundaries the rate constant changed abruptly while the time exponent remained unaffected. It was also found that alloys containing critical amounts of chromium and boron are susceptible to precipitation of the boride Cr5B3.

Carro, G.↗

The effect of anti-phase domain size on the ductility of a rapidly solidified Ni3Al-Cr alloy

Tensile tests on splat-quenched Ni3Al-Cr alloys showed a sharp decrease in ductility with long-time annealing. The growth of the initially very-fine-size anti-phase domains showed a tenuous correlation with ductility up to a critical size, where ductility was lost. The grain size was relatively unaffected by these annealing treatments, but the grain-boundary curvature decreased, implying less toughness. An important observation was that, for the longest annealing time, a chromium-rich precipitate formed, which the data indicate could be a boride. Miniaturized tensile tests were performed on samples which were all obtained from the same splat-quenched foil, and the various domain sizes were controlled by subsequent annealing treatments.

Carro, G.↗

The effect of solidification rate on the formability of nickel aluminide containing iron and boron

Following reports that rapid solidification improves the ductility of some nickel aluminides, an investigation has been conducted of the possibility of additional improvement in a nickel aluminide containing both Fe and B. Free fall-solidified and free fall/splat-quenched samples similar to those producible under microgravity conditions in space were prepared, and their microstructure was characterized. Attention is given to the preliminary results of tests quantitatively measuring mechanical properties.

Carro, G.↗

Plasma sprayed Fe(76)Nd(16)B(8) permanent magnets

Thin coatings (0.16 mm) and thick coatings (0.50 mm) of Fe(76)Nd(16)B(8) were deposited on stainless-steel substrates by low pressure plasma spraying. Microscopic examination of the coatings in a light microscope revealed excessive porosity, but good bonding to the substrate. Fracture cross sections examined in a scanning electron microscope showed the grains to be equiaxed and approximately 1 micron or less in diameter in the as-sprayed condition. The intrinsic coercivities of the as-sprayed coatings varied from 5.8 to 10.9 kOe. The effects of postspray heat treatments on the intrinsic coercivity are also given.

Overfelt, R. A.↗