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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 73 records · Page 4

A review: applications of the phase field method in predicting microstructure and property evolution of irradiated nuclear materials

Here, complex microstructure changes occur in nuclear fuel and structural materials due to the extreme environments of intense irradiation and high temperature. This paper evaluates the role of the phase field method in predicting the microstructure evolution of irradiated nuclear materials and the impact on their mechanical, thermal, and magnetic properties. The paper starts with an overview of the important physical mechanisms of defect evolution and the significant gaps in simulating microstructure evolution in irradiated nuclear materials. Then, the phase field method is introduced as a powerful and predictive tool and its applications to microstructure and property evolution in irradiated nuclear materials are reviewed. The review shows that (1) Phase field models can correctly describe important phenomena such as spatial-dependent generation, migration, and recombination of defects, radiation-induced dissolution, the Soret effect, strong interfacial energy anisotropy, and elastic interaction; (2) The phase field method can qualitatively and quantitatively simulate two-dimensional and three-dimensional microstructure evolution, including radiation-induced segregation, second phase nucleation, void migration, void and gas bubble superlattice formation, interstitial loop evolution, hydrate formation, and grain growth, and (3) The Phase field method correctly predicts the relationships between microstructures and properties. The final section is dedicated to a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the phase field method, as applied to irradiation effects in nuclear materials.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Evaluation of The Thermophysical Properties and Microstructure of UPu{sub 24}Zr{sub 15} Metallic Fuel

Featuring high burn-up, high fissile and fertile isotopic density, inherent safety characteristics, and favorable thermal response, actinide transmutation metallic fuels are considered to be among the most promising fuel classes for next generation fast reactors. During reactor operation, it is anticipated that fluctuations in chemical potential along the temperature gradient will lead to migration and redistribution of constituents between radial zones of the cylindrical fuel pin, resulting in compositional inhomogeneity and hence unpredictable fuel performance. Limited experimental fuel performance data is available for fuel selection and certification, therefore different compositions of options uranium-plutonium-zirconium (UPu- Zr) alloys have been investigated. Several complementary techniques, including scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM, respectively), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and laser flash diffusivity (LFD) techniques were used to characterize the phase distribution, microstructure, and thermophysical properties of unirradiated U-Pu-Zr fuels in both the as-cast and annealed condition. This information is necessary to understand the irradiated microstructure, properties, and performance of U-Pu-Zr fuels.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Evaluation of the Microstructure and Property of TiNi SMA Prepared using VIM in BaZrO3 Crucible

The contamination from the crucible has been recognized as the main drawback of using vacuum induction melting (VIM) method to prepare TiNi shape memory alloys (SMAs). In the present work, we evaluated the feasibility of utilizing the highly-stable BaZrO3 crucible to prepare TiNi SMAs, whose microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated by High-energy X-ray Diffraction (HE-XRD), analytical Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and tensile test. It was found that there were about 0.035 wt % oxygen and 0.039 wt % zirconium remained in the TiNi alloy after melting in BaZrO3 crucible, which fulfills the ASTM standard on biomedical TiNi alloys. Oxygen from the dissolution of BaZrO3 could form Ti4Ni2Ox phase, and zirconium exists as solute atoms in both of the matrix and second phase. After the thermomechanical processing and vacuum annealing at 850 degrees C, the alloy achieved 37.63% of fracture elongation and 880 MPa of tensile strength. The transformational strain and martensitic yield strain of the alloy reached about 8% and 21% respectively.

Gao, Pengyue↗

Microstructures and Properties of Nanostructured TiN/MoS{sub 2}/Ag Composite Film Prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition

In this work, the structural and mechanical properties, tribological performance, and lubrication mechanism from room temperature to 900 °C of TiN/MoS{sub 2}/Ag composite films were investigated in detail. Nanostructured TiN/MoS{sub 2}/Ag composite film was obtained by assembling targets using pulsed laser deposition. The incorporation of lubricant layered MoS{sub 2} and soft metal Ag led to degraded mechanical properties, which could contribute to the lower friction coefficients at low temperatures. When the temperature increased to above 500 °C, the generated high-temperature lubricant MoO{sub 3} and silver molybdates played a critical synergetic lubrication effect, which formed a layer of lubricating film and reduced the friction coefficient. Thus, the cooperation of various lubrication phases contributed to improvement of tribological performance and resulted in continuous lubrication from room temperature to 900 °C.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Machine learning insights into microstructural origins of transport and mechanical properties in porous microstructures

Multifunctional porous materials are increasingly needed across various fields, but their complex microstructures create significant challenges due to the intricate microstructure-property relationships. This complexity, combined with limitations of traditional analysis methods, hinders efforts to understand and optimize microstructure–property relationships. Here, to address this, we integrate physics-based mesoscale modeling with interpretable machine learning (ML) to uncover how microstructural features govern effective diffusivity and elastic modulus. At constant porosity, we show diffusivity varies by over 150 × and modulus by ∼50 ×, highlighting the power of microstructure engineering. Statistical analysis reveals bimodal behavior in diffusivity and unimodal in modulus. ML identifies connectivity as the dominant factor, while modulus is also sensitive to domain size and feature interactions. Controlled simulations further highlight domain shape as a critical feature for modulus. This framework enables efficient exploration of microstructure-property correlations, offering new insights to guide the design of advanced porous materials.

Bicontinuous microstructure↗

Report on Properties and Microstructure of 3D Printed Inc-718

The report presents the microstructure and mechanical properties of 3D printed Inconel 718 to assess its potential use as a structural material for the Transformation Challenge Reactor (TCR). The structural components near the outlet of the core will experience significant neutron fluxes and outlet coolant temperatures from the hot standby temperature of 300°C to nearly 550°C at the center of the part. These components must support the core in appropriate loading conditions and require structural analysis at relevant temperatures. Strong spatial and chemical heterogeneity was found in as-built (ASB) Inconel 718. Three heat treatments were designed and conducted to simplify the microstructure and determine how each precipitating phase contributed to the overall strength. Baseline mechanical properties were measured from uniaxial tensile tests on subsize SS-J2 specimens at room temperature and at elevated temperatures of 300, 450, and 600°C. Microstructure electron microscopy was performed on ASB Inconel 718 and heat treated to correlate the observed mechanical properties with nanoscale features. Homogenization of the microstructure led to a highly ductile Inconel with lower strength compared with wrought Inconel 718. The tensile properties of additively manufactured 718 using a standard ASTMrecommended heat treatment were consistent with literature and with the ASTM for the properties of this alloy. A higher fraction of the δ phase led to shorter uniform elongation without altering other engineering properties.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

The microstructure and property variations of metals induced by electric current treatment: A review

Heat treatment has been widely applied for manipulating the microstructure and properties of metals with thermal energy. The thermal energy triggers the atomic diffusion accompanied by dislocation movement and results in the subsequent property variations in metals. One of the attractive efforts in the past decades is the development of a direct treatment of metals with electric current stressing as an alternative method for conventional heat treatment. Electric current treatment provides thermal energy from Joule heat (thermal effect) and kinetic energy from electron momentum (athermal effect). This article reviewed the practices of electric current treatment, microstructure-property variations and the physical metallurgy involved in a variety of metals. Both thermal and athermal effects have been well recognized in the literatures. An appropriate manipulation of the electric current treatment enables the control of both effects and thus the microstructure and properties of metals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Mechanical properties and microstructure characterization of unirradiated Eurofer-97 steel variants for the EUROfusion project

To understand the microstructure and mechanical property degradation of various Eurofer-97 steel variants being neutron irradiated at HFIR up to 2.5 and 20 dpa for the EUROfusion programme, it is necessary to develop a general understanding of these steels in non-irradiated form. In this context, room temperature mechanical property evaluation tests and multi-length scale microstructure characterization of the different Eurofer-97 steel variants: H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P and reference E series steels, was performed at ORNL. Mechanical tests consisted of Vickers hardness indentation measurements, uniaxial tensile tests and fracture toughness tests.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

Report on FY18 results on effects of sodium exposure on tensile properties and microstructure of Grade 91 steel

This report provides an update on the understanding of the effect of sodium exposures on microstructure and tensile properties of Grade 91 (G91) steel in support of the design and operation of G91 components in sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). The report is a Level 3 deliverable in FY18 (M3NT- 18AN050503022), under the Work Package NT-18AN05050302, “G91 Sodium Compatibility” performed by the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), as part of the Advanced Materials Development Program for Fast Reactors.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Tailoring material microstructure and property in wire-laser directed energy deposition through a wiggle deposition strategy

Developing effective strategies to directly control material microstructure, property, and anisotropy is an active research area in metal additive manufacturing. This work develops a wiggle deposition pattern for wire-laser directed energy deposition (DED) of 316L stainless steel (SS) to modify the solidification texture, particularly in the building direction, in as-deposited samples. Through multi-physics simulation, operando near-infrared imaging, and synchrotron x-ray characterization, it is found that the wiggle deposition strategy induces highly dynamic melt flow and oscillating thermal gradient in the melt pool, which is responsible for the variation of preferable grain growth direction and crystallographic texture in the sample. The specific texture reduces the anisotropy in the tensile strength of as-printed 316L SS samples cut along different directions. Also, it largely increases the ductility along the build direction. Crystal plasticity simulation is performed to correlate the sample texture with mechanical property. In conclusion, this work offers a unique approach for tailoring local properties through the control of melt pool instability by applying different tool paths.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Morphology Control of Self-Assembled Three-Phase Au-BaTiO 3 –ZnO Hybrid Metamaterial for Tunable Optical Properties

Microstructural control in metal-dielectric hybrid metamaterials presents enormous opportunities in tailoring the physical properties including the magnetic and optical properties. In this paper, we demonstrate a strong tunability achieved in the microstructure of self-assembled ordered three-phase Au-BaTiO 3 –ZnO hybrid metamaterial along with its optical properties, grown by a pulsed laser deposition method. Varying the growth temperature, deposition frequency, and template thickness evolves the microstructure by tuning the Au and ZnO pillar geometry as well as the shape and size of the Au nanoparticles capping the ZnO nanowires. The three-phase hybrid metamaterials exhibit unique optical properties, including enhanced nonlinear optical properties, hyperbolic dispersion in the visible and near-infrared wavelength region, and tuned epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) wavelength upon varying the deposition parameters. This study suggests that the three-phase hybrid metamaterials present great potential in the microstructure and optical property tuning that can also be applied to other two-phase and three-phase nanocomposite systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗