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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 55 records · Page 3

Performance of 40-millimeter-bore ball bearings with lead- and lead-alloy-plated retainers in liquid hydrogen at 1.2 million DN

Forty-millimeter-bore ball bearings with lead- and lead-alloy-coated retainers were operated in liquid hydrogen at 30,000 rpm under a thrust load of 1780 N (400 lb.) Four different substrate materials were used for the retainer. Longer bearing run times were achieved with a lead-tin-copper alloy coating plated onto a leaded-bronze material (22.5 hr) and an aluminum-bronze alloy (19.3 hr). One bearing with a pure lead coating achieved the desired objective of 10 hr. This bearing had an aluminum - bronze substrate retainer and ran successfully for 12.4 hr. Additions of antimony to the lead provided an alloy coating with better wear resistance than pure lead; however, this coating was abrasive to the outer-race lands.

Brewe, D. E.↗

Transfer Lubrication For Cryogenic Bearings

Report presents evaluation of bronze-filled polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), known as Salox M, as cage material for ball bearings in high-pressure turbopumps for liquid oxygen. Material evaluated as potentially longer-lived replacement for glass-filled PTFE, known as Armalon. Cage transfers PTFE to balls to form solid lubricant film. However, glass fibers in glass-filled material tend to interfere with transfer. Two cage-design concepts developed; one involves metal-reinforced cage of bronze-filled PTFE; other calls for bronze-filled PTFE inserts in metal structure.

Barber, S. A.↗

Measurement of heat conduction through stacked screens

This paper describes the experimental apparatus for the measurement of heat conduction through stacked screens as well as some experimental results taken with the apparatus. Screens are stacked in a fiberglass-epoxy cylinder, which is 24.4 mm in diameter and 55 mm in length. The cold end of the stacked screens is cooled by a Gifford-McMahon (GM) cryocooler at cryogenic temperature, and the hot end is maintained at room temperature. Heat conduction through the screens is determined from the temperature gradient in a calibrated heat flow sensor mounted between the cold end of the stacked screens and the GM cryocooler. The samples used for these experiments consisted of 400-mesh stainless steel screens, 400-mesh phosphor bronze screens, and two different porosities of 325-mesh stainless steel screens. The wire diameter of the 400-mesh stainless steel and phosphor bronze screens was 25.4 micrometers and the 325-mesh stainless steel screen wire diameters were 22.9 micrometers and 27.9 micrometers. Standard porosity values were used for the experimental data with additional porosity values used on selected experiments. The experimental results showed that the helium gas between each screen enhanced the heat conduction through the stacked screens by several orders of magnitude compared to that in vacuum. The conduction degradation factor is the ratio of actual heat conduction to the heat conduction where the regenerator material is assumed to be a solid rod of the same cross sectional area as the metal fraction of the screen. This factor was about 0.1 for the stainless steel and 0.022 for the phosphor bronze, and almost constant for the temperature range of 40 to 80 K at the cold end.

NASA Discipline Environmental Health↗

Effects of heteroatom doping on hydrogen uptake in tungsten oxide

Redox-active transition metal oxides (TMOs) that can undergo proton-insertion coupled electron transfer (PICET) are promising candidates for catalyzing molecular conversion reactions which require the transfer of hydrogen atoms (or the thermochemical equivalent, H + , e − ). Herein, we studied the effects of isovalent (Mo 6+ ) and aliovalent (V 5+ and Nb 5+ ) heteroatom doping on the electrochemical PICET behavior of monoclinic tungsten oxide (WO 3 ). Cyclic voltammetry in aqueous acidic electrolytes shows that the addition of redox-active heteroatoms (Mo 6+ and V 5+ ) leads to systematic shifts in redox couple half-wave potentials (E 1/2 ), broadening, and an overall decrease in the current response. Conversely, the non-redox active heteroatom (Nb 5+ ) only reduces the current response with no observable peak-current broadening. This broadening is attributed to changes in the proton binding affinities of oxygen in different chemical environments, i.e., bridging different pairs of redox-active transition metal cations. We determined the hydrogen bond dissociation free energy (H BDFE) values to elucidate the thermodynamic effect of heteroatom substitution. Density functional theory calculations reveal a differentiation in the hydrogen binding and oxygen vacancy formation energies between heteroatom doped structures. The PICET-induced structural phase transitions of the pristine and doped samples were further probed with operando electrochemical X-ray diffraction (EC-XRD) and with ex situ chemical reduction. The broadening of the potential-dependent current response with increased heteroatom doping manifests in the operando EC-XRD results as prolonged structural regions where multiple hydrogen bronze phases exist and the appearance of cubic bronze phases at lower degrees of reduction compared to pristine WO 3 .

Holzapfel, Noah P. [North Carolina State Universit↗

Templated epitaxy of TiO 2 (B) on a perovskite

The bronze-phase TiO 2 (B) has an open atomic framework that makes it a good candidate for applications in photochemical and electrochemical conversion of energy. However, the synthesis of bronze-phase TiO 2 (B) thin films on perovskite substrates, such as SrTiO 3 (STO), which is one of the most conventional versatile substrates for oxide epitaxy, has been extremely challenging owing to the preferential formation of the anatase TiO 2 over TiO 2 (B). The main reason is that the anatase TiO 2 has not only a smaller lattice mismatch than TiO 2 (B), but also a better structural symmetry match when grown on STO. Here, we demonstrate a way to circumventing this problem by using a VO 2 (B) buffer layer, yielding the growth of a high-quality single crystalline TiO 2 (B) film on a (001)-oriented STO substrate. Finally, from the resulting TiO 2 (B) film, we found that this film has a large optical bandgap of ~3.6 eV, which is close to the known theoretical value, the largest among TiO 2 polymorphs, and useful for developing high-power energy devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Heat Transfer Characteristics of Particle and Air Flow Through Additively Manufactured Lattice Frame Material Based on Octet-Shape Topology

Particle-to-supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ) heat exchanger is a critical component in next-generation concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. The inherently low heat transfer between falling particles and sCO 2 imposes a challenge toward economic justification of levelized cost of electricity produced through solar energy. Introduction of integrated porous media with the walls bounding particle flow has the potential to enhance the overall particle-to-sCO 2 heat exchanger performance. Here, this paper presents an experimental study on heat transfer characterization of additively manufactured lattice frame material based on Octet-shaped unit cell with particles and air as working fluids. The lattice structures were additively manufactured in stainless steel (SS) 316L and SS420 (with 40% bronze infiltration) via Binder jetting process, where the lattice porosities were varied between 0.75 and 0.9. The mean particle diameters were varied from 266 μm to 966 μm. The effective thermal conductivity and averaged heat transfer coefficient were determined through steady-state experiments. It was found that the presence of lattice enhances the effective thermal conductivity by 2–4 times when compared to packed bed of particles alone. Furthermore, for gravity-assisted particle flow through lattice panel, significantly high convective heat transfer coefficients ranging from 200 W/m2K to 400 W/m2K were obtained for the range of particle diameters tested. The superior thermal transport properties of Octet-shape-based lattice frame for particle flow makes it a very promising candidate for particle-to-sCO 2 heat exchanger for CSP application.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

The Need for Nb3Sn Coated Cu Cavities for Future Accelerators

Based on current efforts in the U.S. on the novel concept of parallel-feed RF accelerator structures, and in the U.S. and abroad in producing Nb3Sn films on either Cu or bronze, we rec-ommend that the Particle Physics community foster R&D in Superconducting Nb3Sn coated Cu RF Cavities instead of costly bulk Nb. The paper includes methods to process the coated cavi-ties at temperatures consistent with Cu retaining its shape. A devoted global effort in develop-ing Cu cavity structures coated with Nb3Sn would make the ILC or Higgs factories more afforda-ble and more likely to be built. Not only do parallel-feed RF structures enable both higher ac-celerating gradients and higher efficiencies, but they would be applicable to both Cu and Nb3Sn coated Cu cells. Increased effort on these two techniques would synergize expenditures to-wards progress, which will converge on the choice of technology for the RF of an ILC or any fu-ture accelerator. The current methods of Nb3Sn coatings on Cu or bronze can be geared also towards standard cavity cells. In conclusion, the use of distributed coupling structure topology within improved performance parameters together with Nb3Sn coating technology can lead to a paradigm shift for superconducting linacs, with higher gradient, higher temperature of opera-tion, and reduced overall costs for any future collider.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Performance of high speed ball bearings with lead and lead alloy plated retainers in liquid hydrogen at 1.2 million DN

Ball bearings with lead- and lead-alloy-coated retainers were operated in liquid hydrogen at 30,000 rpm under a thrust load of 400 lb. Bearing lives were compared using different: (1) lead- and lead-alloy coatings, (2) coating thicknesses, (3) substrate materials, (4) retainer locating surfaces, and (5) plating techniques. Longer bearing run times were achieved using retainers with a lead-tin-copper alloy coating electroplated onto a leaded-bronze material and an aluminum-bronze alloy. Thirty percent of the bearings tested achieved the desired objective of 10 hours. All of the lead-alloy coated retainers exceeded this objective. A coating thickness of at least 0.0014 in. was used for all bearings exceeding the 10-hour goal.

Brewe, D. E.↗

Program to develop sprayed, plastically deformable compressor shroud seal materials

A study of fundamental rub behavior for 10 dense, sprayed materials and eight current compressor clearance materials was conducted. A literature survey of a wide variety of metallurgical and thermophysical properties was conducted and correlated to rub behavior. Based on the results, the most promising dense rub material was Cu-9A1. Additional studies on the effects of porosity, incursion rate, blade solidity, and ambient temperature were carried out on aluminum bronze (Cu-9Al-1Fe) with and without a 515B Feltmetal underlayer. A further development effort was conducted to assess the property requirements of a porous, aluminum bronze, seal material. Strength, thermal cycle capabilities, erosion and oxidation resistance, machinability, and abradability at several porosity levels were examined.

Schell, J. D.↗

Electrolytic Sharpening of Diode-Contact Whiskers

Phosphor bronze wire pointed without highly-toxic chemical reagents. Phosphor bronze wire to be pointed affixed to metal post held by fixture, such as pin vise. Fixture moved axially by micrometer allows precise control of position of end of wire with respect to surface of pointing solution. Solution consists of 4 weight percent sulfamic acid crystals in deionized water. Dissolution current adjusted via the autotransformer setting.

Green, G.↗

Thin wire pointing method

A method is described for forming sharp tips on thin wires, in particular phosphor bronze wires of diameters such as one-thousandth inch used to contact micron size Schottky barrier diodes, which enables close control of tip shape and which avoids the use of highly toxic solutions. The method includes dipping an end of a phosphor bronze wire into a dilute solution of sulfamic acid and applying a current through the wire to electrochemically etch it. The humidity in the room is controlled to a level of less than 50%, and the voltage applied between the wire and another electrode in the solutions is a half wave rectified voltage. The current through the wire is monitored, and the process is stopped when the current falls to a predetermined low level.

Green, G.↗

Deformation and erosion of f.c.c. metals and alloys under cavitation attack

Experimental investigations have been conducted to determine the early stages of cavitation attack on 6061-T6 aluminum alloy, electrolytic tough pitch copper, brass, and bronze, all having polycrystalline fcc matrices. The surface profiles and scanning electron micrographs show that the pits are initially formed at the grain boundaries, while the grain surfaces are progressively roughened by multiple slip and twinning. The initial erosion is noted to have occurred from the material in the grain boundaries, as well as by fragmentation of part of the grains. Further erosion occurred by shearing and necking of the surface undulations caused by plastic deformation. The mean penetration depth, computed on the basis of mass loss, was lowest on the bronze and greatest on the copper. Attention is given to the relation of cavitation attack to grain size, glide stress and stacking fault energy.

Rao, B. C. S.↗

Pratt and Whitney cryogenic turbopump bearing experience

Successful, reusable bearings require lubrication, traditionally, a transfer film from sacrificial cage wear. Early testing included materials screening programs to identify suitable cryogenic cage materials. A specially developed element tester that simulated the function of a ball bearing cage was used. Suitable materials must provide lubrication with an acceptably low wear rate, without abrading contacting surfaces. The most promising materials were tested in full scale bearings at speeds up to 4 MDN. Teflon, filled with 40 percent bronze powder, was the best performing material. A variety of bearings were designed and successfully tested in LH2 and LOX. Bearings with bronze filled Teflon cages were successfully tested for 150 hrs. In overload tests, the same design was tested for 5 hrs at maximum Hertz stresses above 450 ksi and an additional 5 hrs with a maximum Hertz stress exceeding 500 ksi. Four bearings were tested in LOX for 25 hrs, with a maximum time per bearing of 10 hrs.

Poole, W. E.↗

Replacement bearing for Rocketdyne SSME HPOTPs using alternate self-lubricating retainer materials

Research was conducted to develop replacement bearings for the Rocketdyne Space Shuttle main engine (SSME) high pressure oxidizer turbopumps (HPOTPs). The replacement bearings consisted of standard balls and races with a special Battelle Self-Lubricating Insert Configuration (BASIC) retainer. The BASIC retainer consists of a phosphor bronze housing with inserts consisting of a polytetrafluoretheylene (PTFE) and bronze compound. The PTFE contacts the balls and the land guiding surface on the outer race. A PTFE transfer film is formed on balls and races, which lubricates the critical interfaces. The BASIC retainer is a one-to-one replacement for the current Armalon retainer, but has superior lubricating properties and is stronger over the broad temperature range anticipated for the HPOTP bearings. As a part of the project 40 sets of balls and races (two sizes) and 52 BASIC retainers were shipped to NASA/MSFC.

Gleeson, J.↗

Investigation of Wear and Friction Properties Under Sliding Conditions of Some Materials Suitable for Cages of Rolling-Contact Bearings

An investigation of wear and friction properties of a number of materials sliding against SAE 52100 steel was conducted. These materials included brass, bronze, beryllium copper, monel, nichrome v, 24s-t aluminum, nodular iron, and gray cast iron. The metals investigated may be useful as possible cage (separator or retainer) materials for rolling-contact bearings of high-speed turbine engines. The ability of materials to form surface films that prevent welding is a most important factor in both dry friction and boundary lubrication. On the basis of wear and resistance to welding only, the cast irons were the most promising materials investigated; they showed the least wear and the least tendency to surface failure when run dry, and when boundary lubricated they showed the highest load capacity. On the basis of mechanical properties, nodular iron is superior to gray cast iron. Bronze had the lowest friction coefficient under dry sliding conditions. The results with brass, beryllium copper, and aluminum were poor and these materials do not appear, with regard to friction and wear, to be suitable for cages.

Johnson, Robert L↗

XPS analysis of the effect of fillers on PTFE transfer film development in sliding contacts

The development of transfer films atop steel counterfaces in contact with unfilled and bronze-filled PTFE has been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The sliding apparatus was contained within the vacuum of the analytical system, so the effects of the native oxide, hydrocarbon, and adsorbed gaseous surface layers of the steel upon the PTFE transfer behavior could be studied in situ. For both the filled and the unfilled PTFE, cleaner surfaces promoted greater amounts of transfer. Metal fluorides, which formed at the transfer film/counterface interface, were found solely in cases where the native oxide had been removed to expose the metallic surface prior to sliding. These fluorides also were found at clean metal/PTFE interfaces formed in the absence of frictional contact. A fraction of these fluorides resulted from irradiation damage inherent in XPS analysis. PTFE transfer films were found to build up with repeated sliding passes, by a process in which strands of transfer filled in the remaining counterface area. Under these reported test conditions, the transfer process is not expected to continue atop previously deposited transfer films. The bronze-filled composite generated greater amounts of transfer than the unfilled PTFE. The results are discussed relative to the observed increase in wear resistance imparted to PTFE by a broad range of inorganic fillers.

Blanchet, T. A.↗

Carbon Fiber Composites

HyComp(R), Inc. development a line of high temperature carbon fiber composite products to solve wear problems in the harsh environment of steel and aluminum mills. WearComp(R), self-lubricating composite wear liners and bushings, combines carbon graphite fibers with a polyimide binder. The binder, in conjunction with the fibers, provides the slippery surface, one that demands no lubrication, yet wears at a very slow rate. WearComp(R) typically lasts six to ten times longer than aluminum bronze. Unlike bronze, WearComp polishes the same surface and imparts a self-lube film for years of service. It is designed for continuous operation at temperatures of 550 degrees Fahrenheit and can operate under high compressive loads.

Source record↗

Experimental Permeability Measurements on a Strut-Supported Transpiration-Cooled Turbine Blade with Stainless-Steel Shell made by the Federal-Mogul Corporation under Bureau of Aeronautics Contract N0as 51613-C

A turbine blade with a porous stainless-steel shell sintered to a supporting steel strut has been fabricated for tests at the NACA by Federal-Mogul Corporation under contract from the Bureau of Aeronautics, Department of the Navy. The apparent permeability of this blade, on the average, more nearly approaches the values specified by the NAGA than did two strut-supported bronze blades in a previous investigation. Random variations of permeability in the present blade are substantialy greater than those of the bronze blades, but projected improvements in certain phases of the fabrication process are expected to reduce these variations.

Richards, Hadley T.↗