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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Additive Manufacturing of Thermal Energy Storage Composites with Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials Supported in a Multipolymer Matrix

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques to directly integrate phase change materials (PCMs) are of interest for efficient thermal energy storage (TES) architectures. Complex, high surface-to-volume ratio composites embedded with PCM can improve thermal management with reduced material waste for customizable device fabrication. Reducing feature sizes of TES-integrated heat exchangers using AM can increase heat transfer without thermal conductivity enhancement. Here, composite AM materials containing 60 wt% microencapsulated phase change materials (MEPCM) are fabricated using off-the-shelf printers at common speeds and resolutions. High MEPCM loading in filaments is achieved with powder extrusion using two polymers, thermoplastic-polyurethane (TPU) and polycaprolactone (PCL), that mediate flexibility and rigidity for effective extrusion and printing without filament fracture or buckling. Furthermore, with PCL and TPU at 20 wt% each and 60 wt% MEPCM (P 20 T 20 M 60 ), smooth, form-stable filaments are consistently printed. Powder-based extrusion displays negligible damaging effects on the MEPCM. Printed P 20 T 20 M 60 demonstrates 105 J/g of energy storage with no degradation through 250 thermal cycles, within 5% of the theoretical storage enthalpy. Combining PCL/TPU shows good interfacial adhesion between print layers and produces high surface area objects, like 15% gyroids, and dense, 100% infilled pucks. Prints are also scalable to a 900 cm 3 honeycomb heat exchanger with an estimated 9 Wh energy storage.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Self-Healable Sulfide/Polymer Composite Electrolyte for Long-Life, Low-Lithium-Excess Lithium-Metal Batteries

Solid electrolyte-protected lithium-metal anodes promise energy-dense, safe cells. While sulfide solid electrolytes enable facile processability and fast ion transport, they suffer from complex chemo-mechanical issues, including Li plating-induced fracture and Li stripping-induced contact loss. To address these issues, a grafting approach is implemented to functionalize the sulfide solid electrolyte (Li 3,85 Sn 0.85 Sb 0.15 S 4 ) with a self-healing unit. This leads to a dynamic bonding between the solid electrolyte network and a mechanically robust polymer scaffold, which reversibly accommodates the volume changes of the lithium-metal anode. Thus, the approach improves the interfacial contact between the lithium-metal anode and the composite electrolyte, enabling stable cycling at a mild stack pressure (160 kPa). With a negative to positive capacity ratio equals to 1, pouch full cells with a high-nickel cathode (nickel content > 90%) and lithium-metal anode display 92% capacity retention for 140 cycles. Engineering the interface between solid electrolyte and the polymeric binder offers a promising pathway to address the chemo-mechanical issues.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1979

Improved adherence of sputtered titanium carbide coatings on nickel- and titanium-base alloys

Rene 41 and Ti-6Al-4V alloys were radio frequency sputter coated with titanium carbide by several techniques in order to determine the most effective. Coatings were evaluated in pin-on-disk tests. Surface analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to relate adherence to interfacial chemistry. For Rene 41, good coating adherence was obtained when a small amount of acetylene was added to the sputtering plasma. The acetylene carburized the alloy surface and resulted in better bonding to the TiC coating. For Ti-6Al-4V, the best adherence and wear protection was obtained when a pure titanium interlayer was used between the coating and the alloy. The interlayer is thought to prevent the formation of a brittle, fracture-prone, aluminum oxide layer.

Wheeler, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Surface analysis in composite bonding

The role of the interfacial region in determining the bond strength and durability of composite bonds is discussed. The characterization of a variety of carbon fibers including Celion 6000 using both scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is discussed. The emphasis is on composite bonding, that is, the adhesive bonding between composites in contrast to fiber-matrix interaction. The primary objective of the research is the characterization of composite surfaces before adhesive bonding and after fracture of bonded specimens. Work done on the analysis of composite samples pretreated in a number of ways prior to bonding is detailed.

Messick, D. L.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Direct Observation of Interfacial Mechanical Failure in Thiophosphate Solid Electrolytes with Operando X-Ray Tomography

Herein, the mechanical behaviors of Li 10 GeP 2 S 12 (LGPS) solid electrolytes during electrochemical cycling using operando X-ray tomography are investigated. It is demonstrated that the bulk mechanical decomposition of LGPS when cycled against lithium is a direct result of electrochemical reduction of the solid electrolyte at the LGPS/Li 0 interface. The reductive decomposition of LGPS during lithium plating results in the formation of low-density domains at the electrode/electrolyte interface, which impose sufficient mechanical stress on the underlying LGPS to crack the SE pellet. The critical stress developed prior to pellet fracture is significantly lower than the bulk shear modulus of LGPS, suggesting that the electrochemical instability of LGPS dramatically worsens the mechanical stability of the material near the LGPS/Li 0 interface. It is also shown that the application of a highly concentrated liquid electrolyte to the LGPS surface suppresses the reductive decomposition of LGPS, improving both the electrochemical performance and mechanical stability of the bulk LGPS solid electrolyte.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Investigation of Bone Growth in Additive-Manufactured Pedicle Screw Implant by Using Ti-6Al-4V and Bioactive Glass Powder Composite

In this study, we optimized the geometry and composition of additive-manufactured pedicle screws. Metal powders of titanium-aluminum-vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) were mixed with reactive glass-ceramic biomaterials of bioactive glass (BG) powders. To optimize the geometry of pedicle screws, we applied a novel numerical approach to proposing the optimal shape of the healing chamber to promote biological healing. We examined the geometry and composition effects of pedicle screw implants on the interfacial autologous bone attachment and bone graft incorporation through in vivo studies. The addition of an optimal amount of BG to Ti-6Al-4V leads to a lower elastic modulus of the ceramic-metal composite material, effectively reducing the stress-shielding effects. Pedicle screw implants with optimal shape design and made of the composite material of Ti-6Al-4V doped with BG fabricated through additive manufacturing exhibit greater osseointegration and a more rapid bone volume fraction during the fracture healing process 120 days after implantation, per in vivo studies.

stress-shielding effect↗
DOE OSTI2026

Evaluation of the interfacial bonding strength between hafnia and silica layers deposited by electron-beam evaporation

Factors contributing to the mechanical strength of multilayer optical coatings involving alternating layers of electron-beam evaporated hafnia and silica is investigated. It is observed that upon rupture resulting from nanosecond laser damage, fragments consisting of layer pairs are produced. These pairs are formed as a result of a strong asymmetry in adhesion strength between interfaces, leading to preferential delamination at interfaces where silica is deposited on hafnia, and not the reverse, despite the fact that both interface types consist of the same pair of materials. The observed disparity in adhesion strength was further studied using nanomechanical scratch tests, revealing loads at which fracture occurs, and fracture morphology, both of which are highly dependent on deposition order. Based on these measurements, along with the morphological analysis of the nanostructure of the coatings, we conclude that the surface microstructure in each coating layer affects its adhesion strength with the succeeding layer. The findings outlined here are particularly relevant to the production of large aperture, high-performance optics designed for use in next-generation lasers.

adhesion strength↗
NASA NTRS1995

CVD silicon carbide monofilament reinforced SrO-Al2O3-2SiO2 (SAS) glass-ceramic composites

Unidirectional CVD SiC fiber-reinforced SrO.Al2O3.2SiO2 (SAS) glass-ceramic matrix composites have been fabricated by hot pressing at various combinations of temperature, pressure and time. Both carbon-rich surface coated SCS-6 and uncoated SCS-0 fibers were used as reinforcements. Almost fully dense composites have been obtained. Monoclinic celsian, SrAl2Si2O8, was the only crystalline phase observed in the matrix from x-ray diffraction. During three point flexure testing of composites, a test span to thickness ratio of approximately 25 or greater was necessary to avoid sample delamination. Strong and tough SCS-6/SAS composites having a first matrix crack stress of approximately 300 MPa and an ultimate bend strength of approximately 825 MPa were fabricated. No chemical reaction between the SCS-6 fibers and the SAS matrix was observed after high temperature processing. The uncoated SCS-0 fiber-reinforced SAS composites showed only limited improvement in strength over SAS monolithic. The SCS-0/SAS composite having a fiber volume fraction of 0.24 and hot pressed at 1400 deg C exhibited a first matrix cracking stress of approximately 231 +/- 20 MPa and ultimate strength of 265 +/- 17 MPa. From fiber push-out tests, the fiber/matrix interfacial debonding strength (tau(sub debond)) and frictional sliding stress (tau(sub friction)) in the SCS-6/SAS system were evaluated to be approximately 6.7 +/- 2.3 MPa and 4.3 +/- 0.6 MPa, respectively, indicating a weak interface. However, for the SCS-0/SAS composite, much higher values of approximately 17.5 +/- 2.7 MPa for tau(sub debond) and 11.3 +/- 1.6 MPa for tau(sub friction) respectively, were observed; some of the fibers were so strongly bonded to the matrix that they could not be pushed out. Examination of fracture surfaces revealed limited short pull-out length of SCS-0 fibers. The applicability of various micromechanical models for predicting the values of first matrix cracking stress and ultimate strength of these composites were examined.

Bansal, Narottam P.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Semi-solid alkali metal electrodes enabling high critical current densities in solid electrolyte batteries

The need for higher energy density rechargeable batteries has generated interest in alkali metal electrodes paired with solid electrolytes. However, metal penetration and electrolyte fracture at low current densities have emerged as fundamental barriers. Here, we show that for pure metals in the Li-Na-K system, the critical current densities scale inversely to mechanical deformation resistance. Furthermore, we demonstrate two electrode architectures in which the presence of a liquid phase enables high current densities while preserving the shape retention and packaging advantages of solid electrodes. First, biphasic Na-K alloys show K + critical current densities (with K-β*-Al 2 O 3 electrolyte) that exceed 15 mA∙cm -2 . Second, introducing a wetting interfacial film of Na-K liquid between Li metal and Li 6.75 La 3 Zr 1.75 Ta 0.25 O 12 (LLZTO) solid electrolyte doubles the critical current density and permits cycling at areal capacities exceeding 3.5 mAh∙cm -2 . These design approaches hold promise for overcoming electro-chemo-mechanical stability issues that have heretofore limited performance of solid-state metal batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Revisiting the capacity-fading mechanism of P2-type sodium layered oxide cathode materials during high-voltage cycling

We report P2-type sodium layered oxide cathode (Na 2/3 Ni 1/3 Mn 2/3 O 2 , P2-NNMO) has attracted great attention as a promising cathode material for sodium ion batteries because of its high specific capacity. However, this material suffers from a rapid capacity fade during high-voltage cycling. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the capacity fade, including intragranular fracture caused by the P2-O2 phase transion, surface structural change, and irreversible lattice oxygen release. Here we systematically investigated the morphological, structural, and chemical changes of P2-NNMO during high-voltage cycling using a variety of characterization techniques. It was found that the lattice distortion and crystal-plane buckling induced by the P2-O2 phase transition slowed down the Na-ion transport in the bulk and hindered the extraction of the Na ions. The sluggish kinetics was the main reason in reducing the accessible capacity while other interfacial degradation mechanisms played minor roles. Our results not only enabled a more complete understanding of the capacity-fading mechanism of P2-NNMO but also revealed the underlying correlations between lattice doping and the moderately improved cycle performance.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Functional group activation and coupling agent migration induced by plasma treatment in adhesive for enhanced toughness of metal-composite joints

Commercial adhesive paste was additionally activated using low-power oxygen plasma with different plasma exposure durations to investigate its interfacial bonding contribution in adhesively-bonded Aural-5/CFRP-PA6 double cantilever beam (DCB) joints with plasma-treated adherends. The plasma-treated adhesive showed enhanced functional peak intensities in Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) as plasma exposure time was increased, and some degree of oxidation was also detected via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A small molecule, dicyandiamde (coupling agent) in adhesive was migrated to adhesive layer, where double concentration of coupling agent was detected after 10 minutes of plasma treatment. As a result, characterization of the adhesive/CFRP-PA6 interface after DCB fracture showed additional chemical bonds formed through amine-initiated epoxy ring opening polymerization, as well as amide bonds and ester bonds. In conclusion, these additional bonds at the adhesive/CFRP-PA6 interfaces led to significantly increased failure extensions and fracture energies of the joints as the plasma exposure time on the adhesive increased, compared to the joints with plasma-treated adherends but non-plasma-treated adhesive as commonly seen in the literature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2015

Effects of Atomic-Scale Structure on the Fracture Properties of Amorphous Carbon - Carbon Nanotube Composites

The fracture of carbon materials is a complex process, the understanding of which is critical to the development of next generation high performance materials. While quantum mechanical (QM) calculations are the most accurate way to model fracture, the fracture behavior of many carbon-based composite engineering materials, such as carbon nanotube (CNT) composites, is a multi-scale process that occurs on time and length scales beyond the practical limitations of QM methods. The Reax Force Field (ReaxFF) is capable of predicting mechanical properties involving strong deformation, bond breaking and bond formation in the classical molecular dynamics framework. This has been achieved by adding to the potential energy function a bond-order term that varies continuously with distance. The use of an empirical bond order potential, such as ReaxFF, enables the simulation of failure in molecular systems that are several orders of magnitude larger than would be possible in QM techniques. In this work, the fracture behavior of an amorphous carbon (AC) matrix reinforced with CNTs was modeled using molecular dynamics with the ReaxFF reactive forcefield. Care was taken to select the appropriate simulation parameters, which can be different from those required when using traditional fixed-bond force fields. The effect of CNT arrangement was investigated with three systems: a single-wall nanotube (SWNT) array, a multi-wall nanotube (MWNT) array, and a SWNT bundle system. For each arrangement, covalent bonds are added between the CNTs and AC, with crosslink fractions ranging from 0-25% of the interfacial CNT atoms. The SWNT and MWNT array systems represent ideal cases with evenly spaced CNTs; the SWNT bundle system represents a more realistic case because, in practice, van der Waals interactions lead to the agglomeration of CNTs into bundles. The simulation results will serve as guidance in setting experimental processing conditions to optimize the mechanical properties of CNT composites.

Jensen, Benjamin D.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Effect of water and ice on strength and fracture toughness of intermittently bonded boron-epoxy composites

The effects of water and ice on the strength and fracture toughness of boron-epoxy composites with polyurethane intermittent bonding have been investigated. Neither simple soaking in water nor soaking followed by freezing and thawing have marked effects on the strength of the fully-coated composites, but they have disastrous effects on the uncoated composites. Toughness is affected only marginally, with some small reductions in the fully-coated samples, and with essentially no effect on the uncoated composites. An analysis is presented which explains adequately the experimental strength and toughness results obtained, and which is based on an argument that water absorption reduces the interfacial shear strength only of the uncoated areas and not those regions coated by the polyurethane varnish. The results indicate that the advantages of appropriate intermittent bonding (i.e., high strength combined with high toughness) are retained in wet conditions so that such composites may be favorably used in such adverse environmental conditions.

Atkins, A. G.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Interlaminar fracture toughness of composites. II - Refinement of the edge delamination test and application to thermoplastics

The mixed mode interlaminar fracture toughness, G(c), is obtained for the two thermoplastic matrices UDEL P1700 polysulfone and ULTEM polyetherimide by means of edge delamination tensile (EDT) tests on unnotched, eleven-ply graphite fiber reinforced composite specimens. A novel method is used to obtain the stiffness parameter employed in the closed form equation for the calculation of G(c), decreasing the number of stiffness measurements required and simplifying the calculations. The G(Ic) values from double cantilever beam (DCB) measurements on composites of the two thermoplastics were similar to each other, but slightly higher than the G(c) data obtained by EDT. Interfacial resin/fiber failures predominated in both the EDT and DCB tests.

Johnston, N. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Analysis of interface cracks in adhesively bonded lap shear joints, part 4

Conservation laws of elasticity for nonhomogeneous materials were developed and were used to study the crack behavior in adhesively bonded lap shear joints. By using these laws and the fundamental relationships in fracture mechanics of interface cracks, the problem is reduced to a pair of linear algebraic equations, and stress intensity solutions can be determined directly by information extracted from the far field. The numerical results obtained show that: (1) in the lap-shear joint with a given adherend, the opening-mode stress intensity factor, (K sub 1) is always larger than that of the shearing-mode (K sub 2); (2) (K sub 1) is not sensitive to adherent thickness abut (K sub 2) increases rapidly with increasing thickness; and (3) (K sub 1) and (K sub 2) increase simultaneously as the interfacial crack length increases.

Wang, S. S.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Computational Simulation of Composite Behavior

Composite microfracture technique developed here is based on the concept of global strain energy release rate. Step-by-step procedures were outlined to evaluate composite microfracture. The technique can predict microfracture initiation/propagation, predict the "structural fracture toughness", and establish the hierarchy of fracture modes. Both unidirectional and cross-ply metal-matrix composite laminates were evaluated for microfracture, subjected to thermal and mechanical loads. Five NASA reports were published as shown in the bibliography and several presentations were made at the technical conferences/ symposia. Work was also performed to develop simplified micromechanics and macromechanics for ceramic matrix composites. A novel fiber sub-structuring technique was developed, which divides the fiber into several "slices" and applies the micromechanics equation at the "slice" level, which are then integrated upwards to get the ply and the laminate properties. It allows for a more accurate representation of interfacial conditions such as partial interface bond etc. It also predicts the stress-strain behavior of a composite up to failure by taking into account material properties dependence upon temperature as well as stress redistribution that occurs due to damage initiation and propagation. A computer code CEMCAN (Ceramic Matrix Composites Analyzer) which includes all these capabilities has been developed as a part of this research activity.

Keith, Theo G., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Reinforcing Additives for Ice Adhesion Reduction Coatings

Adhesion of contaminants has been identified as a ubiquitous issue for aeronautic exterior surfaces. In-flight icing is particularly hazardous for all aircraft and can be experienced throughout the year under the appropriate environmental conditions. On larger vehicles, the accretion of ice could result in loss of lift, engine failure, and potentially loss of vehicle and life were it not for active deicing or anti-icing equipment. Smaller vehicles though cannot support the mass and mechanical complexity of active ice mitigating systems and thus must rely upon passive approaches or avoid icing conditions altogether. One approach that may be applicable to all aircraft is the use of coatings. Durability remains an issue and has prevented realization of coatings for leading edge contamination mitigation. In this work, epoxy coatings were generated as a passive approach for ice adhesion mitigation and methods to improve durability were evaluated. Highly cross-linked epoxy systems can be extremely rigid, which could have deleterious consequences regarding application as a leading edge coating. Incorporation of flexible species, such as poly(ethylene glycol) may improve coating toughness.8 Additionally, core-shell rubber (CSR) particles have been utilized to improve fracture toughness of epoxies.9 Both of these more established additives are investigated in this work. An emerging additive that is also evaluated here is holey graphene. This nanomaterial possesses many of the advantageous properties of graphene (excellent mechanical properties, thermal and electrical conductivity, large surface area, etc.) while also exhibiting behaviors associated with flexible, porous materials (i.e., compressibility, increased permeation, etc.). Holey graphene, HG, was synthesized by the oxidation of defect-rich sites on graphene sheets through controlled thermal expo-sure.10 It is envisioned that the porous nature of HG would allow resin penetration through the graphitic plane, resulting in better interfacial interaction and therefore better translation of the nanomaterial’s properties to the surrounding matrix.

Wohl, Christopher J↗
NASA NTRS1989

Composites with improved fiber-resin interfacial adhesion

The adhesion of fiber reinforcement such as high modulus graphite to a matrix resin such as polycarbonate is greatly enhanced by applying a very thin layer, suitably from 50 Angstroms to below 1000 Angstroms, to the surface of the fiber such as by immersing the fiber in a dilute solution of the matrix resin in a volatile solvent followed by draining to remove excess solution and air drying to remove the solvent. The thin layer wets the fiber surface. The very dilute solution of matrix resin is able to impregnate multifilament fibers and the solution evenly flows onto the surface of the fibers. A thin uniform layer is formed on the surface of the fiber after removal of the solvent. The matrix resin coated fiber is completely wetted by the matrix resin during formation of the composite. Increased adhesion of the resin to the fibers is observed at fracture. At least 65 percent of the surface of the graphite fiber is covered with polycarbonate resin at fracture whereas uncoated fibers have very little matrix resin adhering to their surfaces at fracture and epoxy sized graphite fibers exhibit only slightly higher coverage with matrix resin at fracture. Flexural modulus of the composite containing matrix resin coated fibers is increased by 50 percent and flexural strength by 37 percent as compared to composites made with unsized fibers.

Cizmecioglu, Muzaffer↗