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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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Validation of process simulation workflow for thermosetting prepreg platelet molding compounds

Continuous carbon fiber prepreg slit and cut into rectangular platelets has proven to be a useful material for net shape molding of semi-structural and structural components in the aerospace and automotive industries. Furthermore, to assist the designer in use of these prepreg platelet molding compounds, sometimes called carbon fiber sheet molding compounds, simulation tools are required that can predict the as-manufactured fiber orientation state which has a significant impact on the resulting performance. Herein, an analysis workflow for design-enabling predictions is demonstrated for a double dome geometry with two different initial charge configurations. Here, the workflow is validated through comparison with experimental short shots, orientation state, and stiffness trends. Significantly, to complete the validation, a method is proposed for determining the confidence bounds on measured orientation state enhancing the results of optical microscopy which can only produce a small sample of platelet orientations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Transition Helmholtz free energy, entropy, and heat capacity of free-standing smectic films in water: A mean-field treatment

Using the extended McMillan's mean field approach with anisotropic forces a study of both the structural and thermodynamic properties of free-standing smectic film (FSSF) in water on heating to the isotropic temperature is carried out numerically. By solving the self-consistent nonlinear equations for the order parameters, we obtained that the smectic-A-isotropic (AI) transition occurs through the series of layer-thinning transitions causing the films to thin in the stepwise manner as the temperature is increased above the bulk smectic-A-isotropic temperature T{sub AI}(bulk). With enhanced pair interactions in the bounding layers, the smectic-isotropic transition corresponds to smectic melting of the central layers. The effects of surface “enhanced” pair interactions in the bounding layers and of film thickness on the orientational and translational order parameters, the Helmholtz free energy and entropy, as well as the temperature dependence of the heat capacity of FSSFs, have also been investigated. Reasonable agreement between the theoretically predicted and the experimentally obtained – by means of optical microscopy and ellipsometry techniques – data of the temperature when the thin decylcyanobiphenyl smectic film immersing in water ruptures has been obtained.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2026

Thermal Inspection for the Assessment of Adhesively Bonded Metal Adherends

Certification of adhesively bonded structures is currently a challenge for aircraft manufacturers. The ability to certify bonds in primary structure can reduce dependence on fasteners and this will enable more efficient manufacturing. For example, drilling holes and installing fasteners in bonded joints can be a potentially significant bottleneck in airframe manufacturing. In addition, fasteners increase the airframe weight and can add stress concentration areas. Reducing fastener count can accelerate manufacturing and improve aircraft performance. NASA is currently investigating nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques to assess bond integrity. For example, bond thickness influences bond strength and therefore NDE techniques are being investigated to determine bond thickness. For bonded metal structures, there is a large difference in the thermal diffusivity between the 7075 aluminum alloy metal adherends and aircraft grade adhesive. Multi-layered thermal models show a large variation in the thermal response for bondline adhesive thicknesses that vary from 100 to 300 microns for adherend thicknesses of 0.163 cm. Experimental through-transmission thermal measurements reveal promise to quantitatively characterize the bondline thickness. Results were validated with X-ray computed tomography and optical microscopy measurements, and influence of porosity on the thermal model and measurements are investigated.

X-ray computed tomography↗
DOE OSTI2018

Multilayered Coatings for High-Temperature Steam Oxidation: TGA Studies up to 1000 °C

The aim of the study was to obtain a preliminary data focused on the steam oxidation performance of multilayered coatings deposited on 310 stainless steel and 800H Incoloy. The coatings were obtained through the aluminizing thermal diffusion technology with the formation of aluminides; some coating options had an additional top layer of selected composition. In this study, five different coating systems, as well as uncoated metals, were exposed at 1000 °C using thermogravimetric analysis instrumentation simulating an initial stage of steam oxidation corrosion. In this work, along with determination of the mass change of the samples, microanalyses using light optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy x-ray dispersive spectrometry (EDS), as well as surface micro-hardness determination, have been carried out. The designed coating systems demonstrated promising high-temperature steam oxidation performance with no breakaway degradation issues.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Cement paste surface roughness analysis using coherence scanning interferometry and confocal microscopy

Scanning electron microscopy and scanning probe microscopy have been used for several decades to better understand the microstructure of cementitious materials. Very limited work has been performed to date to study the roughness of cementitious materials by optical microscopy such as coherence scanning interferometry (CSI) and chromatic confocal sensing (CCS). The objective of this paper is to better understand how CSI can be used as a tool to analyze surface roughness and topography of cement pastes. Observations from a series of images acquired using this technique on both polished and unpolished samples are described. The results from CSI are compared with those from a STIL confocal microscopy technique (SCM). Comparison between both optical techniques demonstrates the ability of CSI to measure both polished and unpolished cement pastes. - Highlights: • Coherence scanning interferometry (CSI) was used to analyze cement paste surfaces. • The results from the CSI were compared with those from a confocal microscopy. • 3D roughness parameters were obtained using the window resizing method. • Polished and unpolished cement pastes were studied.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Ferroelectric domain inversion and its stability in lithium niobate thin film on insulator with different thicknesses

Ferroelectric domain inversion and its effect on the stability of lithium niobate thin films on insulator (LNOI) are experimentally characterized. Two sets of specimens with different thicknesses varying from submicron to microns are selected. For micron thick samples (∼28 μm), domain structures are achieved by pulsed electric field poling with electrodes patterned via photolithography. No domain structure deterioration has been observed for a month as inspected using polarizing optical microscopy and etching. As for submicron (540 nm) films, large-area domain inversion is realized by scanning a biased conductive tip in a piezoelectric force microscope. A graphic processing method is taken to evaluate the domain retention. A domain life time of 25.0 h is obtained and possible mechanisms are discussed. Our study gives a direct reference for domain structure-related applications of LNOI, including guiding wave nonlinear frequency conversion, nonlinear wavefront tailoring, electro-optic modulation, and piezoelectric devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Tailoring the properties of polymers via formation of a mesophase

The combination of the control of the concentration of stereodefects in isotactic polypropylene using metallocene catalysts and the crystallization via the mesophase is a strategy to tailor the mechanical properties. Stiff materials, flexible materials, and thermoplastic elastomers can be produced depending only on the concentration of rr stereodefects. We show that in the case of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) the material properties can be finely tuned at molecular level via formation of a solid mesophase, characterized by an intermediate degree of order between amorphous and crystalline state. The effect of different degree of stereoregularity on the mesophase formation, thermal stability, morphology, is analyzed at different length scales, using different technique including wide angle X-ray scattering, atomic and optical microscopy. Different morphologies are observed depending on the stereoregularity and conditions of crystallization. In contrast to the lamellar morphology of crystals normally obtained from the melt, the solid mesophase show a nodular morphology.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

The effect of grain boundary character evolution on the intergranular corrosion behavior of advanced Al-Mg-3wt%Zn alloy with Mg variation

Highlights: • The relationship among GBCD, GBPs, IGC behavior and Mg content in the age hardenable Al-Mg-3.0wt%Zn alloy is established. • None of grain boundaries are found to be immune to the GBPs. • GBPs along low angle grain boundaries are more discontinuous than high angle grain boundaries. • The IGC mechanism of Al-Mg-3.0wt%Zn alloy is clarified. • A new method for the statistical analysis of the continuity of GBPs is used in this paper. The characteristics of grain boundary and grain boundary precipitates of Al-Mg-3wt%Zn alloy with different Mg contents were systematically investigated. Observation by optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy show that the morphology and composition of the grain boundary precipitates change little with the variation in the Mg content. Based on the statistical analysis of the spacings between two adjacent grain boundary precipitates, we find that the decrease in the Mg content reduces the continuity of the grain boundary precipitates. Comparing this result with the electron backscattered diffraction analysis, it can be concluded that the continuity of grain boundary precipitates is affected by the proportion of low angle grain boundaries. The observations of grain boundary precipitates at both low angle grain boundaries and high angle grain boundaries using transmission electron microscopy indicate that low angle grain boundaries have more discontinuous grain boundary precipitates. Combining these results with the results of the intergranular corrosion test, the microscopic features of this corrosion behavior and corrosion mechanism are revealed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Plasmonic circular polarization analyzer formed by unidirectionally controlling surface plasmon propagation

Analyzing the polarization of a circularly polarized light is a critical issue. We have fabricated a spiral nano-structure on the Au film by using focused ion beam etching technique. The fabricated structure can be used as a plasmonic circular polarization analyzer. By designing the relative orientation of two nano-apertures in the spiral structural unit, the propagation direction of the surface plasmon polaritons excited by circularly polarized light of opposite handedness can be controlled. Therefore, the spiral structure could be used to accurately determine the helicity of the excited circularly polarized light. Based on the results of scanning near-field optical microscopy, the obtained circular polarization extinction ratio of this structure was above 500. This structure can be used for a flexible detecting size and a very wide spectrum.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Corrosion of Mild Steel Buried Underground for 3 Years in Different Soils of Varying Textures

The effect of moisture content and soil texture on the corrosion behavior of mild steel coupons buried for 3 years in different soils was estimated from weight loss measurements and electrochemical techniques such as Tafel plots and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results showed that the rate of corrosion and intensity of corrosion attack significantly depend on the soil’s moisture content and on the soil type. Corrosion was found to be severe in clayey soil compared to that in mixed and sandy soils. Morphological analysis of the corroded specimens performed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy showed the presence of amorphous oxides and low-intense crystalline phases of goethite and hematite on the surface of the mild steel coupons, indicating only the initial stage of corrosion. It is concluded from this study that mild steel undergoes only less intense surface-level corrosion in 3 years when buried underground.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effects of V addition on recrystallization resistance of 7150 aluminum alloy after simulative hot deformation

The effects of different V contents (0.01 to 0.19 wt.%) on the recrystallization resistance of 7150 aluminum alloys during post-deformation heat treatment were investigated. The microstructural evolutions at as-cast, as-homogenized conditions and after post-deformation annealing were studied using optical, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopes and using the electron backscattered diffraction technique. The precipitation of Al{sub 21}V{sub 2} dispersoids was observed in alloys containing 0.11 to 0.19 wt.% V after homogenization. The dispersoids were mainly distributed in the dendrite cells, and the precipitate-free zones occurred in the interdendritic regions and near grain boundaries. V addition could significantly enhance the recrystallization resistance during post-deformation annealing, particularly in the presence of a great number of Al{sub 21}V{sub 2} dispersoids. Recrystallized grain growth was effectively restricted because of the dispersoid pinning effect. The alloy containing 0.15 wt.% V exhibited the highest recrystallization resistance amongst all V-containing alloys studied. - Highlights: • Investigated the effect of V level on microstructure and flow stress of 7150 alloys • Characterized microstructures using optical microscopy, SEM, TEM and EBSD • Described the precipitation behavior of V-dispersoids in the dendritic structure • Studied the V effect on recrystallization resistance during post heat treatment • V addition greatly enhanced the recrystallization resistance during annealing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Research Update: Reactively sputtered nanometer-thin ZrN film as a diffusion barrier between Al and boron layers for radiation detector applications

In this paper, optimization of the process flow for PureB detectors is investigated. Diffusion barrier layers between a boron layer and the aluminum interconnect can be used to enhance the performance and visual appearance of radiation detectors. Few nanometers-thin Zirconium Nitride (ZrN) layer deposited by reactive sputtering in a mixture of Ar/N{sub 2}, is identified as a reliable diffusion barrier with better fabrication process compatibility than others. The barrier properties of this layer have been tested for different boron layers deposited at low and high temperatures with extensive optical microscopy analyses, electron beam induced current, SEM, and electrical measurements. This study demonstrated that spiking behavior of pure Al on Si can be prevented by the thin ZrN layer thus improving the performance of the radiation detectors fabricated using boron layer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of T6 heat treatment on the microstructural and mechanical properties of Al–Si–Cu–Mg alloys

In this communication, it is aimed to optimize the conditions for T6 heat treatment of permanent die cast Al–Si–Cu–Mg alloys. Various solutionizing temperatures, aging treatments and soaking times were used to improve / modify the mechanical properties of presently studied alloys. Formation mechanism of the particles was understood by carrying out optical microscopy and energy dispersive X–ray (EDX) spectroscopy measurements. Spherical particles of alloys were studied for their microstructural properties using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Microhardness test was performed to investigate their mechanical properties. Dependence of cluster formation and microhardness of the alloys on the adequate solutionizing temperature, aging treatment and soaking time has been discussed in detail.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS2004

Two-Photon Fluorescence Microscopy Developed for Microgravity Fluid Physics

Recent research efforts within the Microgravity Fluid Physics Branch of the NASA Glenn Research Center have necessitated the development of a microscope capable of high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging of intracellular structure and tissue morphology. Standard optical microscopy works well for thin samples, but it does not allow the imaging of thick samples because of severe degradation caused by out-of-focus object structure. Confocal microscopy, which is a laser-based scanning microscopy, provides improved three-dimensional imaging and true optical sectioning by excluding the out-of-focus light. However, in confocal microscopy, out-of-focus object structure is still illuminated by the incoming beam, which can lead to substantial photo-bleaching. In addition, confocal microscopy is plagued by limited penetration depth, signal loss due to the presence of a confocal pinhole, and the possibility of live-cell damage. Two-photon microscopy is a novel form of laser-based scanning microscopy that allows three-dimensional imaging without many of the problems inherent in confocal microscopy. Unlike one-photon microscopy, it utilizes the nonlinear absorption of two near-infrared photons. However, the efficiency of two-photon absorption is much lower than that of one-photon absorption because of the nonlinear (i.e., quadratic) electric field dependence, so an ultrafast pulsed laser source must typically be employed. On the other hand, this stringent energy density requirement effectively localizes fluorophore excitation to the focal volume. Consequently, two-photon microscopy provides optical sectioning and confocal performance without the need for a signal-limiting pinhole. In addition, there is a reduction in photo-damage because of the longer excitation wavelength, a reduction in background fluorescence, and a 4 increase in penetration depth over confocal methods because of the reduction in Rayleigh scattering.

Fischer, David G.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Improving properties of Mg with Al–Cu additions

The present work reports improvement in tensile properties of the Mg matrix reinforced with micron-sized copper–aluminum particulate hybrids. The Al–Cu particulate hybrids were incorporated into the Mg matrix through powder metallurgy method. The synthesized alloys exhibited homogeneously dispersed Mg{sub 2}Cu particles in the matrix, therefore leading to a 110% increase in yield strength (221 MPa) and a 72% enhancement in ultimate tensile strength (284 MPa) by addition of 1.0 wt.%Al–0.6 wt.%Cu particle hybrids. Optical microscopy, scanning election microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the microstructure and intermetallic phases of the synthesized alloys. - Highlights: • Mg matrix is reinforced with Al–Cu particulate hybrids. • Powder metallurgic method is used to fabricate the alloys. • Tensile strength and ductility were increased simultaneously.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Formation of conductive copper lines by femtosecond laser irradiation of copper nitride film on plastic substrates

In this paper, we report a simple method to form conductive copper lines by scanning a single-beam femtosecond pulse laser on a plastic substrate covered with copper nitride (Cu{sub 3}N) film. The Cu{sub 3}N films were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering in the presence of an Ar + N{sub 2} atmosphere at 100 °C. The influence of the laser power and scanning speed on the formed copper line width, surface features, and morphology was analyzed by means of optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, non-contact 3D profilometer, and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental results demonstrate that low laser power and low scanning speed favor the formation of uniform and flat Cu lines. After process optimization, copper lines with a width less than 5 μm were obtained, which provides an attractive application prospect in the field of flexible electronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2021

Melt Pool Imaging using a Configurable Architecture Additive Testbed System

This paper describes the inline (coaxial to laser) near infrared (NIR) camera sensor on the Configurable Architecture Additive Testbed (CAAT). The CAAT is an instrument that provides the capability to investigate laser based additive manufacturing (AM) processes and is configured for the metal powder bed fusion process. A low cost NIR camera is radiometrically calibrated to obtain coaxial, inline, imagery of laser generated melt pools. The camera capabilities, system optical path, and the uncertainty in the temperature measurement from NIR surface area scans on a bare titanium alloy plate are presented and discussed. The surface radiance measurements are compared to optical microscopy images of the melt pool width and depth. A metallic additive manufacturing process thermal model is developed in order to predict thermal distributions during laser scanning. The predicted thermal distributions by the model for different configurations are compared to the coaxial NIR measurements and discussed.

Additive manufacturing↗
DOE OSTI2015

Growth of large naphthalene and anthracene single-crystal sheets at the liquid–air interface

The growth of organic single crystals of naphthalene (C{sub 10}H{sub 8}) and anthracene (C{sub 14}H{sub 10}) at the liquid‒air interface from a mixture of solvents has been investigated. The growth technique used in the study makes it possible to obtain single-crystal sheets up to 10 mm in size for 24 h. The surface morphology and structure of the crystals have been analyzed by optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. C{sub 10}H{sub 8} and C{sub 14}H{sub 10} single crystals grow coplanarly along the (001) plane. A thermodynamic model of the flat-crystal nucleus formation at the liquid‒air interface, based on the analysis of the change in the free Gibbs energy, is considered.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗