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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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45 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Shear deformation of pure-Cu and Cu/Nb nano-laminates using micromechanical testing

Solid phase processing by introducing shear deformation into materials can result in unique microstructure evolution and enhanced mechanical properties, especially for immiscible systems such as Cu/Nb. To better understand the correlation between microstructure and deformation behavior during shear, a dedicated testing design of stress localization at predicted sites is necessary. In this study, a specialized S-shaped specimen geometry is implemented to apply localized simple-shear loading in pure-Cu and Cu/Nb accumulative roll-bonded nanolaminates. The nanoscale microstructure and proximity of interfaces in Cu/Nb offer a ~2.8-fold increase in shear stresses than pure-Cu. In pure-Cu, the plastic instability causes shear banding and an in-plane lattice rotation. In Cu/Nb, a partial bending of the interfaces occurred, resulting in a localized lattice rotation. The adapted geometry for micro-scale specimens thus successfully captures the shear deformation at predicted sites in two distinct material systems and could potentially be a powerful technique to study the deformation mechanisms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Martensitic transformation in superlattices of two non-transforming metals

A number of studies have shown that the coherent integration of a second non-transforming phase in martensitic materials results in unprecedented thermo-mechanical properties. We demonstrate the possibility of martensitic transformation by epitaxially combining two non-transforming materials, Mg (hexagonal closed packed) and MgLi (body centered cubic). Density functional theory calculations predict that MgLi/Mg superlattices undergo a transformation crystallographically equivalent to MgSc alloys and can be expected to result in finite temperature shape memory behavior. We predict the zero-temperature energy of the martensite phase to be 9.3 meV/atom lower than austenite for a 50–50 at. % MgLi/Mg nanolaminate, which is expected to result in a martensitic transformation temperature of approximately 150 K. This energy difference can be tuned between 4.9 and 18.1 meV/atom by varying the fraction of the pure Mg phase in the superlattice, potentially enabling the transformation from cryogenic to room and higher temperatures. While Li diffusion might limit the applications of the systems proposed, this work opens the door to a new approach to create martensitic materials.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Effects of diffusion barriers on reaction wave stability in Co/Al reactive multilayers

Bimetallic, reactive multilayers are uniformly structured materials composed of alternating sputter-deposited layers that may be ignited to produce self-propagating mixing and formation reactions. These nanolaminates are most commonly used as rapid-release heat sources. The specific chemical composition at each metal/metal interface determines the rate of mass transport in a mixing and formation reaction. The inclusion of engineered diffusion barriers at each interface will not only inhibit solid-state mixing but also may impede the self-propagating reactions by introducing instabilities to wavefront morphology. Here, this work examines the effect of adding diffusion barriers on the propagation of reaction waves in Co/Al multilayers. The Co/Al system has been shown to exhibit a reaction propagation instability that is dependent on the bilayer thickness, which allows for the occurrence of unstable modes in otherwise stable designs from the inclusion of diffusion barriers. Based on the known stability criteria in the Co/Al multilayer system, the way in which the inclusion of diffusion barriers changes a multilayer's heat of reaction, thermal conductivity, and material mixing mechanisms can be determined. These factors, in aggregate, lead to changes in the wavefront velocity and stability.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Effective medium approximation for the refractive index of stratified metal oxide composites synthesized by atomic layer deposition

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a unique method for synthesizing conformal layers with precise composition. It is especially useful for the synthesis of mixed metal oxides for functional materials. One application of interest is the use of ALD for tailoring the refractive index of coatings. In homogeneously distributed composites of metal oxides, the refractive properties can be approximated as the average of the indices of the components. This is known as an effective medium approximation (EMA) and can be used to design the macroscopic properties of composites. ALD produces layered, anisotropic films, so the validity of an EMA in describing these films is not clear. Here, we use optical simulations and experimental characterization of stratified composites of TiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 to study the application of an EMA to the transmission and reflection behavior of ALD-prepared mixed metal oxide thin films. We found that when the characteristic layer thickness is smaller than roughly 10 nm, the optical spectra of theoretical and experimental ALD films match the equivalent theoretical spectra for a material with a refractive index calculated from a simple, compositionally weighted EMA. Hence, this EMA could describe the transmission and reflectance spectra in ALD-derived TiO2–Al 2 O 3 nanolaminates when the films were sufficiently stratified even without thorough characterization of the real layers in the films. As a result, we demonstrated that ALD can be used to prepare effectively homogenous mixed metal oxide films with a predictable, tailorable refractive index of any value between those of the TiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 component materials.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

A New Family of Ternary Intermetallic Compounds with Dualistic Atomic Ordering – The ZIP Phases

A new family of nanostructured ternary intermetallic compounds − named the ZIP phases − is introduced in this work. The ZIP phases exhibit dualistic atomic ordering, i.e., they form two structural variants: one with the fcc diamond cubic structure (space group Fd$\bar{3}$m) and one with the hexagonal structure (space group P6 3 /mmc). They are also characterized by metallic behavior, ionic bonding, and atomic zigzagging. Powder metallurgical routes involving pressure-assisted densification are adopted to demonstrate ZIP phase synthesis in the Nb-Si-Ni, Nb-Si-Co, Ta-Si-Ni, V-Si-Ni, and Nb-Si-Fe ternary systems. Crucially, reactive hot pressing is capable of producing high-purity ZIP phase materials after the judicious, elemental system-specific optimization of the processing route. Synthesis of phase-pure materials – demonstrated in the Nb-Si-Ni ternary system by the synthesis of quasi phase-pure Nb 3 SiNi 2 and Ni 3 SiNb 2 ZIP phase-based materials – is a steppingstone to the prospective exploitation of the ZIP phases. Characterization of Nb 3 SiNi 2 and Ni 3 SiNb 2 involves crystal structure determination, spatially resolved chemical analysis, and determination of select thermal, electrical, magnetic, mechanical, and physical properties. Density functional theory is used to assess the stability of Nb 3 SiNi 2 & Ni 3 SiNb 2 and derivative binary compounds at different temperatures, also exploring the exfoliation of these two ZIP phases along specific surfaces to produce 2D derivatives.

Intermetallic compounds (IMCs)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantifying the effects of artificial aging on the ignition and self-propagating reactions of Ni(V)/Al multilayers

Bimetallic, reactive multilayers are uniformly structured materials composed of alternating nanoscale layers that may be ignited to produce self-propagating intermetallic-formation reactions. When reactive multilayers age, there is a change in local composition and loss of stored chemical energy due to mass transport and rearrangement at the interfaces. Here, to quantify the long-term reliability of commercial Ni(V)/Al multilayers, the effects of accelerated aging on both ignition sensitivity and self-propagating reactions have been examined. Thermally aged samples were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and laser ignition combined with high-speed videography. The analytically quantifiable nature of both continuous wave laser ignition and reactive wave propagation enabled calculations of Arrhenius rate constants for as-received and various heat-treated multilayers. With heat treatment, there is a change in the intermixed thickness and interfacial chemistry that decreases the activation energy for point ignition but increases it for self-propagating reactions. This finding implies that with increased thermal aging, the reaction becomes easier to facilitate in the solid state but harder in the liquid phase.

Energetic material↗
DOE OSTI2020

The effects of nanoscale confinement on the behavior of metal laminates

By reducing the layer thickness, h, in metal multilayers from micrometer- to nanometer-levels, scale-dependent transitions in behavior are observed. The role of interface properties in these transitions has been extensively investigated. However, reducing h to the nanoscale regime also imposes a physical geometric confinement on defect-related processes occurring within the layers, an effect that is relatively less explored. Herein, we present illustrative examples of the influence of nanoconfinement on the strength, structure, and radiation response of multilayers. These examples show that nanoconfinement and interface structure and topology act cooperatively in the nanoscale limit, affecting behaviors that cannot be explained based on either factor alone.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Critical length scales for chemical heterogeneity at Cu/Nb 3D interfaces by atom probe tomography

Cu/Nb nanocomposites containing sharp, two-dimensional (2D) interfaces have outstanding strength but limited deformability. In contrast, Cu/Nb with three dimensional (3D) biphase interfaces exhibiting crystallographic, topological, and chemical variations in all spatial dimensions overcomes this limitation by simultaneously enhancing material strength and deformability. Here, while structural characterization of 3D interfaces has been performed to understand their mechanical behavior, three dimensional chemical characterization of such interfaces is lacking. In this work we quantify the local chemistry of 3D interfaces in Cu/Nb nanocomposites using atom probe tomography (APT). Our analysis demonstrates chemical heterogeneities along all spatial dimensions in 3D interfaces, establishes the length scale of such features, and quantifies the morphology of 3D interfaces. 3D interface heterogeneities form by surface diffusion during physical vapor deposition (PVD), suggesting that deposition parameters can be used to control interface structure and provide unique ways to explore processing-structure-property relationships in interface-dominated nanocomposites.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Role of Grain Boundary Structure and Chemistry in Materials Failure

The objective of this project was to reveal how we can design materials with a tunable mechanical behavior through interface engineering. To do so we focused on understanding slip transmission across internal surfaces and how it relates to the strength and chemistry of the internal surface. In doing so we followed an interdisciplinary approach that employed theory, experiments and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. Our guideline was that interfaces are characterized by their own mechanically induced interface parameter. New dislocation-grain boundary interaction mechanisms were revealed and the strengthening effects of non-traditional interfaces. We began studying simple grain boundaries in Fe systems, and then moved on to newly explored systems such as graphene-metal and nanolayer composites.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗