Liu, Zhanwei | Search NASA

DOE OSTI2018

Determination of the Cryolite Ratio of KF-NaF-AlF{sub 3} Electrolyte by Conductivity Method

The cryolite ratio (CR) is an important parameter for the electrolyte in aluminum reduction cells. The measurement method for the CR of the KF-NaF-AlF{sub 3} system acid (CR < 3) electrolyte by means of electrical conductivity was initially developed, and the formula for calculating the CR was deduced. This method has the advantages of simple operation and high precision. In addition, the relative standard deviations (RSD) of the measurement are < 1.2 pct, and the analysis error of the NaF or KF content has little effect on the determination of the CR.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2014

Novel scanning electron microscope bulge test technique integrated with loading function

Membranes and film-on-substrate structures are critical elements for some devices in electronics industry and for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems devices. These structures are normally at the scale of micrometer or even nanometer. Thus, the measurement for the mechanical property of these membranes poses a challenge over the conventional measurements at macro-scales. In this study, a novel bulge test method is presented for the evaluation of mechanical property of micro thin membranes. Three aspects are discussed in the study: (a) A novel bulge test with a Scanning Electron Microscope system realizing the function of loading and measuring simultaneously; (b) a simplified Digital Image Correlation method for a height measurement; and (c) an imaging distortion correction by the introduction of a scanning Moiré method. Combined with the above techniques, biaxial modulus as well as Young's modulus of the polyimide film can be determined. Besides, a standard tensile test is conducted as an auxiliary experiment to validate the feasibility of the proposed method.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗