Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “softening coefficient”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2

Constitutive modeling of δ-phase zircaloy hydride based on strain rate dependent nanoindentation and nano-scale impact dataset

In this work, a constitutive model for zircaloy-4 embedded with δ-phase hydride rim/blister structures (δ-phase zircaloy hydride) is presented. Nanoindentation and nano-scale impact experiments were performed on the δ-hydride blisters as a function of temperature in order to obtain strain rate dependent location specific constitutive response. A power law viscoplastic constitutive model was chosen to represent the strain rate dependent behavior. The strength coefficient and the strain hardening exponent in the power law relation were found to decrease with increase in temperature indicating softening behavior at higher temperatures. The strain rate exponent remained constant with increase in temperature indicating that the rate dependent ductility does not change significantly at higher temperatures. A finite element method based model was created to analyze the failure behavior and the ductile to brittle transition in zircaloy hydride. The model predicted that fracture strength of δ-phase zircaloy hydride decreases linearly with increase in temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Crystallization behavior and properties of BaO-Al2O3-2SiO2 glass matrices

Glass of stoichiometric celsian composition, BaO-Al2O3-SiO2, has a density of 3.39 g/cu cm, a thermal expansion coefficient of 6.6 x 10 to the -6th/C, a glass-transition temperature of 910 C, and a dilatometric softening point of 925 C. On heat treatment, only hexacelsian crystallized out on the surface, but both celsian and hexacelsian were present in the bulk. Effects of cold isostatic pressing (CIP), sintering, and hot-pressing, in the presence and absence of an additive, on the formation of the celsian phase in the glass have been studied. CIP'd samples, after appropriate heat treatments, always crystallized out as celsian, whereas presence of 5-10 wt pct of an additive was necessary for formation of celsian in sintered as well as hot-pressed specimens. Green density increased with CIP'ing pressure but had no effect on sintered density. Hot-pressing resulted in fully dense samples.

Drummond, Charles H., III↗

Properties of Desert Sand and CMAS Glass

As-received desert sand from a Middle East country has been characterized for its phase composition and thermal stability. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the presence of quartz (SiO2), calcite (CaCO3), gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O), and NaAlSi3O8 phases in as-received desert sand and showed weight loss of approx. 35 percent due to decomposition of CaCO3 and CaSO4.2H2O when heated to 1400 C. A batch of as-received desert sand was melted into calcium magnesium aluminosilicate (CMAS) glass at approx. 1500 C. From inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry, chemical composition of the CMAS glass was analyzed to be 27.8CaO-4MgO-5Al2O3-61.6SiO2-0.6Fe2O3-1K2O (mole percent). Various physical, thermal and mechanical properties of the glass have been evaluated. Bulk density of CMAS glass was 2.69 g/cc, Young's modulus 92 GPa, Shear modulus 36 GPa, Poisson's ratio 0.28, dilatometric glass transition temperature (T (sub g)) 706 C, softening point (T (sub d)) 764 C, Vickers microhardness 6.3 +/- 0.4 GPa, indentation fracture toughness 0.75 +/- 0.15 MPa.m (sup 1/2), and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) 9.8 x 10 (exp -6)/degC in the temperature range 25 to 700 C. Temperature dependence of viscosity has also been estimated from various reference points of the CMAS glass using the Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman (VFT) equation. The glass remained amorphous after heat treating at 850 C for 10 hr but crystallized into CaSiO3 and Ca-Mg-Al silicate phases at 900 C or higher temperatures. Crystallization kinetics of the CMAS glass has also been investigated by differential thermal analysis (DTA). Activation energies for the crystallization of two different phases in the glass were calculated to be 403 and 483 kJ/mol, respectively.

Desert sand↗

UV massive resonance from IR double copy consistency

From the perspective of effective field theory (EFT), Wilson coefficients of the low energy theory are determined by integrating out modes of the full ultraviolet (UV) theory. The spectrum can be in principle resummed if one has access to all available infrared (IR) coefficients at low energies. In this work we show that there exists a general class of consistent massive resonance double-copy (CMRDC) models where UV massive residues are reconstructed through double-copy consistency conditions between the IR Wilson coefficients of the full EFT expansion. Through a color-dual bootstrap, we find surprisingly that double-copy consistency alone introduces the kinematic factors of CMRDC models that soften high energy behavior by exponentiating color-dual contacts. This bootstrap suggests that our massive resonance paradigm is an inevitable consequence of the duality between color and kinematics, thereby providing a path towards emergent UV structure directly from the IR. We then demonstrate how CMRDC models can capture a spectrum of massive modes compatible with general multiplicity, and use Padé extrapolation to solve the inverse problem of identifying massive UV resonance from a small number of IR Wilson coefficients. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Anomalous thermoelectricity at the two-dimensional structural transition of SnSe monolayers

The thermoelectric figure of merit ZT comprises electronic and vibrational contributions that drastically change across phase transitions, and the most common theoretical ab initio approach to thermoelectricity fails to describe the evolution of ZT across finite-temperature structural transitions in its entirety. Furthermore, while the thermoelectric behavior of bulk SnSe has been extensively studied, SnSe monolayers have been experimentally realized only recently, and the existent prediction of thermoelectricity on this two-dimensional material is unreliable because it misses its structural transition altogether. SnSe monolayers (and similar GeS, GeSe, GeTe, SnS, and SnTe monolayers) experience a temperature-induced two-dimensional Pnm2 1 → P4/nmm structural transition precipitated by the softening of vibrational modes, and we describe their thermoelectric properties across the phase transition, using molecular dynamics data to inform both electronic and vibrational coefficients directly and within the same footing. Similar to recent experimental observations pointing to an overestimated ZT past the transition temperature in bulk SnSe, we find a smaller ZT on SnSe monolayers when compared to its value predicted by the standard paradigm, due to the dramatic changes in the electrical conductivity and lattice thermal conductivity as the structural transition ensues. Here, the process described here lends a strong focus to both the vibrational and electronic evolutions throughout the structural transition, and it applies to thermoelectric materials undergoing thermally driven solid-to-solid structural phase transitions in one, two, and three dimensions.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

New techniques for fusion bonding and replication for large glass reflectors

Lightweight, space-deployable glass honeycomb telescope primary mirror structures are produced by a novel method which involves the heating to softening temperature of many borosilicate or silica glass tube sections that are packed to form a honeycomb matrix and filled with a high expansion coefficient refractory sand. The close packed tubes yield a hexagonal-cell honeycomb. Attention is given to the results of an experiment in which a highly refractory master was used to shape a honeycomb of less refractory glass, employing a 1-micron thick, vacuum-deposited gold coating as a parting layer between the two.

Angel, J. R. P.↗

A prediction of the thermodynamic, thermophysical, and mechanical properties of CrTaO 4 from first principles

It is reported that the self-forming CrTaO 4 oxide scale can protect refractory high-entropy alloys from oxidation, superior to Cr 2 O 3 . In this paper, the phase stability, mechanical, and thermal properties of three polymorphous phases of CrTaO 4 are systematically investigated from first-principles density functional theory calculations. The mechanical properties predicted using the strain–energy methods indicated that all three phases are mechanically stable. The temperature dependence of elastic constants and polycrystalline moduli of three phases demonstrated the thermal softening as temperature increase. The Helmholtz-free energies as a function of volume and temperature are derived from phonon dispersions within the quasi-harmonic approximation at six strained volumes. The calculated apparent bulk coefficients of thermal expansion of these three phases are evaluated, the highest value approximately 13.4× 10 –6 K –1 within a temperature range of 500–2000 K for the rutile I4 1 md phase. The lattice thermal conductivity calculated by the Debye–Callaway model suggested that the rutile type I4 1 md phase has the lowest value of approximately 2.1 W/m/K at 1800 K. The other two phases, C2/m and P2/c, exhibit higher values due to relatively lower Grüneisen parameters and larger phonon velocities. The melting point of CrTaO 4 is predicted to be between 1975 and 2449 K using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Finally, this work provides a comprehensive theoretical understanding of the thermodynamic, mechanical, and thermal properties for the new material CrTaO 4 and serves as an example of a viable computational design strategy for improved oxidation resistance of refractory alloys at high temperatures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Surface effects of corrosive media on hardness, friction, and wear of materials

Hardness, friction, and wear experiments were conducted with magnesium oxide exposed to various corrosive media and also with elemental iron and nickel exposed to water and NaOH. Chlorides such as MgCl2 and sodium containing films were formed on cleaved magnesium oxide surfaces. The MgCl2 films softened the magnesium oxide surfaces and caused high friction and great deformation. Hardness was strongly influenced by the pH value of the HCl-containing solution. The lower the pH, the lower the microhardness. Neither the pH value of nor the immersion time in NaOH containing, NaCl containing, and HNO3 containing solutions influenced the microhardness of magnesium oxide. NaOH formed a protective and low friction film on iron surfaces. The coefficient of friction and the wear for iron were low at concentrations of NaOH higher than 0.01 N. An increase in NaOH concentration resulted in a decrease in the concentration of ferric oxide on the iron surface. It took less NaOH to form a protective, low friction film on nickel than on iron.

Miyoshi, K.↗

Surface effects of corrosive media on hardness, friction, and wear of materials

Hardness, friction, and wear experiments were conducted with magnesium oxide exposed to various corrosive media and also with elemental iron and nickel exposed to water and NaOH. Chlorides such as MgCl2 and sodium containing films were formed on cleaved magnesium oxide surfaces. The MgCl2 films softened the magnesium oxide surfaces and caused high friction and great deformation. Hardness was strongly influenced by the pH value of the HCl-containing solution. The lower the pH, the lower the microhardness. Neither the pH value of nor the immersion time in NaOH containing, NaCl containing, and HNO3 containing solutions influenced the microhardness of magnesium oxide. NaOH formed a protective and low friction film on iron surfaces. The coefficient of friction and the wear for iron were low at concentrations of NaOH higher than 0.01 N. An increase in NaOH concentration resulted in a decrease in the concentration of ferric oxide on the iron surface. It took less NaOH to form a protective, low friction film on nickel than on iron.

Miyoshi, K.↗

Modeling Liquid Water by Climbing up Jacob’s Ladder in Density Functional Theory Facilitated by Using Deep Neural Network Potentials

Within the framework of Kohn–Sham density functional theory (DFT), the ability to provide good predictions of water properties by employing a strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) functional has been extensively demonstrated in recent years. Here, we further advance the modeling of water by building a more accurate model on the fourth rung of Jacob’s ladder with the hybrid functional, SCAN0. In particular, we carry out both classical and Feynman path-integral molecular dynamics calculations of water with the SCAN0 functional and the isobaric–isothermal ensemble. To generate the equilibrated structure of water, a deep neural network potential is trained from the atomic potential energy surface based on ab initio data obtained from SCAN0 DFT calculations. For the electronic properties of water, a separate deep neural network potential is trained by using the Deep Wannier method based on the maximally localized Wannier functions of the equilibrated trajectory at the SCAN0 level. The structural, dynamic, and electric properties of water were analyzed. The hydrogen-bond structures, density, infrared spectra, diffusion coefficients, and dielectric constants of water, in the electronic ground state, are computed by using a large simulation box and long simulation time. For the properties involving electronic excitations, we apply the GW approximation within many-body perturbation theory to calculate the quasiparticle density of states and bandgap of water. Compared to the SCAN functional, mixing exact exchange mitigates the self-interaction error in the meta-generalized-gradient approximation and further softens liquid water toward the experimental direction. For most of the water properties, the SCAN0 functional shows a systematic improvement over the SCAN functional. However, some important discrepancies remain. The H-bond network predicted by the SCAN0 functional is still slightly overstructured compared to the experimental results.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Lubricating Properties of Lead-Monoxide-Base Coatings of Various Compositions at Temperatures to 1250 F

A number of ceramic coatings of different compositions containing lead monoxide (PbO) were studied to determine their relative merits as dry-film lubricants. Lead monoxide is known to be an effective solid lubricant at elevated temperatures, and this oxide was the main component in all compositions studied. Friction and wear properties were determined at temperatures from 750 to 1250 F, at a sliding velocity of 430 feet per minute, and at a normal load of 1 kilogram. In all of the coatings, PbO was the component primarily responsible for the lubricating properties. Oxides other than PbO had an indirect effect on lubrication by influencing such properties as adhesion, hardness, vitrifying or glaze-forming tendency, melting or softening point, and chemical stability of the coatings. Notable among these oxides were magnetite (Fe3O4.), which had generally a beneficial influence on ceramic- to-metal adhesion, and silica (SiO2), which inhibited the oxidation of PbO and enhanced the tendency for glaze formation on the sliding surfaces. Several of the compositions studied provided protection against metal-to-metal adhesive wear, galling, or seizure at test temperatures from 750 to 1250 F. Coating friction coefficients ranged from 0.20 to 0.37 at 75 F but were around 0.08 to 0.20 at temperatures of 1250 F.

Sliney, Harold E.↗

Elastic and thermodynamic properties of cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnets

Cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnets (Y 3-x Ce x Al 5 O 12 , Ce:YAGs) are promising yellow light-emitting components of solid-state white light-emitting diodes. Although there have been numerous studies examining the effects of Ce concentrations on the luminescent properties of Y 3-x Ce x Al 5 O 12 , the impacts of Ce dopant on the elastic and thermodynamic properties are not well understood. In this work, we used resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) to determine the effects of Ce doping (0.025, 0.1, 1 at. %) on the elastic and thermodynamic properties of Y 3-x Ce x Al 5 O 12 . The elastic moduli calculated via the Voigt–Reuss–Hill (VRH) method demonstrated that low Ce dopant concentrations (≤0.1 at. %) induced negligible effects on the elasticity of the YAG host matrix, while a high Ce concentration (1 at. %) yielded significant softening. RUS spectral analysis and SEM images suggested that the elastic softening originated from microstructural differences induced at higher Ce dopant concentrations. Additionally, we demonstrated an increase in elastic anisotropy at higher Ce concentrations, which further elucidated the correlations between structure and elasticity of Y 3-x Ce x Al 5 O 12 . Debye temperatures ($θ_D$), heat capacities ($C_p$), and thermal conductivities ($\mathit{κ}$) were calculated for Ce:YAGs through the relations of RUS-derived parameters (sound velocities, elastic moduli) and previously determined thermal expansion coefficients. Ce:YAG was found to have a significant reduction in $θ_D$, Cp, and $\mathit{κ}$ at Ce concentrations ≥1 at. %. Lastly, extrapolation of $C_p$ and $\mathit{κ}$ to higher temperatures allowed the modeling of thermal stress experienced by Y 3-x Ce x Al 5 O 12 disks up to 1073.15 K.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Multiphysics Modeling for Dimensional Analysis of a Self-Heated Molten Regolith Electrolysis Reactor for Oxygen and Metals Production on the Moon and Mars

The technology of direct electrolysis of molten lunar regolith to produce oxygen and molten metal alloys has progressed greatly in the last few years. The development of long-lasting inert anodes and cathode designs as well as techniques for the removal of molten products from the reactor has been demonstrated. The containment of chemically aggressive oxide and metal melts is very difficult at the operating temperatures ca 1600 C. Containing the molten oxides in a regolith shell can solve this technical issue and can be achieved by designing a self-heating reactor in which the electrolytic currents generate enough Joule heat to create a molten bath. In a first phase, a thermal analysis model was built to study the formation of a melt of lunar basaltic regolith irradiated by a focused solar beam This mode of heating was selected because it relies on radiative heat transfer, which is the dominant mode of transfer of energy in melts at 1600 C. Knowing and setting the Gaussian-type heat flux from the concentrated solar beam and the phase and temperature dependent thermal properties, the model predicts the dimensions and temperature profile of the melt. A validation of the model is presented in this paper through the experimental formation of a spherical cap melt realized by others. The Orbitec/PSI experimental setup uses an 3.6-cm diameter concentrated solar beam to create a hemispheric melt in a bed of lunar regolith simulant contained in a large pot. Upon cooling, the dimensions of the vitrified melt are measured to validate the thermal model. In a second phase, the model is augmented by multiphysics components to compute the passage of electrical currents between electrodes inserted in the molten regolith. The current through the melt generates Joule heating due to the high resistivity of the medium and this energy is transferred into the melt by conduction, convection and primarily by radiation. The model faces challenges in two major areas, the change of phase as temperature increases, and the dominance of radiative heat flux as heat transfer mechanism within the melt the change of phase concerns the regolith itself which is present in states ranging from a fine grain regolith with low thermal conductivity and low density to a vitrified melt with much higher thermal conductivity, and higher density. As the regolith is heated, it starts to soften around 1300 C the melt iS very viscous and evolving gas bubbles out in thick, lava-like fashion. By 1600 C the regolith is completely melted and the viscosity is low The second challenge resides in the proper modeling of the radiative heat flux requiring the addition of the computing-demanding radiative-heat-transfer function to the general heat transfer equation. The model Includes temperature-dependent properties (density, thermal conductivity, heat capacity, and viscosity, and absorption coefficients) and solves the radiative heat flux equation assuming gray (fine grains) and semi-transparent (melt) media and using an absorption coefficient spectral found in the literature for terrestrial minerals similar in composition to those of lunar regolith simulant

Dominguez, Jesus A.↗

Temperature-dependent elastic constants of thorium dioxide probed using time-domain Brillouin scattering

Herein we report the adiabatic elastic constants of single-crystal thorium dioxide over a temperature range of 77–350 K. Time-domain Brillouin scattering, an all-optical, non-contact picosecond ultrasonic technique, is used to generate and detect coherent acoustic phonons that propagate in the bulk perpendicular to the surface of the crystal. These coherent acoustic lattice vibrations have been monitored in two hydrothermally grown single-crystal thorium dioxide samples along the (100) and (311) crystallographic directions. The three independent elastic constants of the cubic crystal (C 11 , C 12 , and C 44 ) are determined from the measured bulk acoustic velocities. The longitudinal wave along the (100) orientation provided a direct measurement of C 11 . Measurement of C 44 and C 12 was achieved by enhancing the intensity of quasi-shear mode in a (311) oriented crystal by adjusting the polarization angle relative to the crystal axes. We find the magnitude of softening of the three elastic constants to be ~2.5% over the measured temperature range. Good agreement is found between the measured elastic constants with previously reported values at room temperature, and between the measured temperature-dependent bulk modulus with calculated values. We find that semi-empirical models capturing lattice anharmonicity adequately reproduce the observed trend. We also determine the acoustic Grüneisen anharmonicity parameter from the experimentally derived temperature-dependent bulk modulus and previously reported temperature-dependent values of volumetric thermal expansion coefficient and heat capacity. This work presents measurements of the temperature-dependent elasticity in single-crystal thorium dioxide at cryogenic temperature and provides a basis for testing ab initio theoretical models and evaluating the impact of anharmonicity on thermophysical properties.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES STUDY ON ENERGY MATERIALS: THERMOELECTRIC MATERIAL TETRAHEDRITE AND LITHIUM ION CONDUCTOR LiPON

Development of efficient energy materials is critical in order to ease the energy demand and reduce our dependence of fossil fuel. Thermoelectric materials are promising due to their capability of generating electrical power by recovering waste heat. The performance of thermoelectric materials is quantified by a dimensionless figure of merit zT, which depends on their properties such as electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity. Tetrahedrites, a copper antimony sulfosalt mineral, typified by Cu12-xMxSb4S13, where M is a transition metal element such as Ni, Zn, Fe or Mn, have great potential for thermoelectric application due to their relatively high zT (close to 1 at 700 K), earth-abundance, environmental friendliness, favorable electrical properties, and most importantly intrinsic low lattice thermal conductivity (less than 1 W m-1 K-1) in wide temperature. In addition to energy recovery, reliable energy storage devices are also emerging to relieve the energy demand and improve the efficiency of consuming energy resources. Lithium-ion batteries are known to be reliable and successful electrochemical energy storage devices and appliable in various aspects, including laptops, smartphones and electrical vehicles. Lithium phosphorous oxynitride (LiPON) are widely used as thin-film solid-state electrolytes in Li-ion battery, which is the only demonstrated solid-state electrolyte that is quite stable in direct contact with Li metal at potentials from 0-5 V. However, the structure of LiPON, the effects of N doping, and the origin of its good electrochemical stability remains inconclusive.In this thesis, reliable modeling techniques accompanied with experimental tools, are applied to study the thermoelectric material tetrahedrite and the ionic conductor LiPON, in order to study their structural and dynamical properties. Accurate and efficient density-functional theory (DFT) and density-functional tight-binding (DFTB) methods, combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are utilized in order to investigate the structures and properties of these energy materials. The incoherent and coherent atomic dynamics study of tetrahedrite Cu10.5NiZn0.5Sb4S13 provides the origin of softening upon cooling by investigate the motion of Cu12e at different temperatures. The dynamic structure factors in the longitudinal and transverse direction will also be discussed. The Cu movement of Cu-rich tetrahedrite Cu14Sb4S13 is revealed by Cu self-diffusivity, nuclear density map and "nudged elastic band" (NEB). Moreover, we investigate the effect of simulation cell size and basis sets on the DFT-based MD simulation results using tetrahedrite Cu10Zn2Sb4S13 thermoelectric as a model material, showing the advantage of larger cell by accessing smaller Q range. In addition, the low-temperature structural properties of Cu12Sb4S13 is measured by neutron diffraction, which indicates that no cubic to tetragonal transition occurs at metal-semiconductor transition (MST) temperature. Thermoelectric properties such as Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity and electrical thermal conductivity will also be investigated. DFTB method is implemented to study the structure and transport properties of Li3PO4 and LiPON, while the exploration of N doping effect is included. Lastly, the LiPON/Li interphase will be revealed in order to study the origin of electrochemical stability

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Water-vapor effects on friction of magnetic tape in contact with nickel-zinc ferrite

The effects of humidity of moist nitrogen on the friction and deformation behavior of magnetic tape in contact with a nickel-zinc ferrite spherical pin were studied. The results indicate that the coefficient of friction is markedly dependent on the ambient relative humidity. Although the coefficient of friction remains low below 40-percent relative humidity, it increases rapidly with increasing relative humidity above 40 percent. The general ambient environment of the tape does not have any effect on the friction behavior if the area where the tape is in sliding contact with the ferrite pin is flooded with controlled nitrogen. The response time for the friction of the tape to humidity changes is about 10 sec. The effect of friction as a function of relative humidity on dehumidifying is very similar to that on humidifying. A surface softening of the tape due to water vapor increases the friction of the tape.

Miyoshi, K.↗

STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES STUDY ON ENERGY MATERIALS: THERMOELECTRIC MATERIAL TETRAHEDRITE AND LITHIUM ION CONDUCTOR

Development of efficient energy materials is critical in order to ease the energy demand and reduce our dependence of fossil fuel. Thermoelectric materials are promising due to their capability of generating electrical power by recovering waste heat. The performance of thermoelectric materials is quantified by a dimensionless figure of merit zT, which depends on their properties such as electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity. Tetrahedrites, a copper antimony sulfosalt mineral, typified by Cu 12-x MxSb 4 S 13 , where M is a transition metal element such as Ni, Zn, Fe or Mn, have great potential for thermoelectric application due to their relatively high zT (close to 1 at 700 K), earth-abundance, environmental friendliness, favorable electrical properties, and most importantly intrinsic low lattice thermal conductivity (less than 1 W m -1 K -1 ) in wide temperature. In addition to energy recovery, reliable energy storage devices are also emerging to relieve the energy demand and improve the efficiency of consuming energy resources. Lithium-ion batteries are known to be reliable and successful electrochemical energy storage devices and appliable in various aspects, including laptops, smartphones and electrical vehicles. Lithium phosphorous oxynitride (LiPON) are widely used as thin-film solid-state electrolytes in Li-ion battery, which is the only demonstrated solid-state electrolyte that is quite stable in direct contact with Li metal at potentials from 0-5 V. However, the structure of LiPON, the effects of N doping, and the origin of its good electrochemical stability remains inconclusive. In this thesis, reliable modeling techniques accompanied with experimental tools, are applied to study the thermoelectric material tetrahedrite and the ionic conductor LiPON, in order to study their structural and dynamical properties. Accurate and efficient density-functional theory (DFT) and density-functional tight-binding (DFTB) methods, combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are utilized in order to investigate the structures and properties of these energy materials. The incoherent and coherent atomic dynamics study of tetrahedrite Cu 10.5 NiZn 0.5 Sb 4 S 13 provides the origin of softening upon cooling by investigate the motion of Cu12e at different temperatures. The dynamic structure factors in the longitudinal and transverse direction will also be discussed. The Cu movement of Cu-rich tetrahedrite Cu 14 Sb 4 S 13 is revealed by Cu self-diffusivity, nuclear density map and “nudged elastic band” (NEB). Moreover, we investigate the effect of simulation cell size and basis sets on the DFT-based MD simulation results using tetrahedrite Cu1 0 Zn 2 Sb 4 S 13 thermoelectric as a model material, showing the advantage of larger cell by accessing smaller Q range. In addition, the low-temperature structural properties of Cu 12 Sb 4 S 13 is measured by neutron diffraction, which indicates that no cubic to tetragonal transition occurs at metal-semiconductor transition (MST) temperature. Thermoelectric properties such as Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity and electrical thermal conductivity will also be investigated. DFTB method is implemented to study the structure and transport properties of Li 3 PO 4 and LiPON, while the exploration of N doping effect is included. Lastly, the LiPON/Li interphase will be revealed in order to study the origin of electrochemical stability.

Li, Junchao↗

Residual stress of controlled atmosphere plasma spray blended metal deposits measured via in-situ substrate curvature method

The preliminary use of the in-situ curvature measurement technique for analyzing the planar stress evolution of controlled atmosphere plasma spray (CAPS) refractory metal deposits was performed with SNL-NM org. 1834’s CAPS system. A porous refractory metal exemplar of Ta-Nb was sprayed onto Ni-200, Ti-6Al-4V, and Al 7075-T6 substrates using a constant plasma torch parameter setting and deposition toolpath. Residual stresses of the deposits were found to be largely influenced by the substrate coefficient of thermal expansion and were calculated to be 49, 90, and -136 MPa for Ni 200, Ti-6Al-4V, and Al 7075-T6, respectively. The “Evolving stress” of the Ta-Nb deposits, which more accurately describes the mean intrinsic splat quenching stress of the spray material during deposition, was calculated to be 67, 92, and 129 MPa for Ni-200, Ti-6Al-4V, and Al 7075-T6, respectively. Notable difference in curvature measurement for the 1st coating pass for the Al 7075- T6 substrate was observed, with interface micrograph evidence suggesting potential softening and/or melting of the Al 7075-T6 substrate surface during deposition. Substrate temperature measurements prior to Ta-Nb deposition were used to calculate thermal energy absorbed from the hot gas plume by the different substrates and were found to correlate to the substrate’s thermal effusively. These calculated thermal energies were also found to be ~10 to 15% of the calculated energy output from the plasma torch’s nozzle exit for these experimental conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗