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At least 73 records · Page 4

Characterization of directionally solidified lead chloride

A directionally solidified PbCl2 material was prepared and analyzed and subsequently used to grow single crystals. It was found that silicon, halogens, sulfur, magnesium, and phosphorus were the hardest impurities to remove by the single-pass directional freezing. Single crystals grown from the purified material displayed good scattering beam quality and showed no absorption peaks between 0.30 to 20 microns. Direct photographic observations of the solid-liquid interface at several G/V (denoting the temperature gradient and the translation velocity, respectively) ratio values showed that, as the G/V ratio decreased, the interface varied from a smooth convex surface to dendritic.

Singh, Narsingh Bahadur↗

Probes and monitors for the study of solidification of molten semiconductors

The purpose is to examine solidification in the LiCl-KCl system to determine if phenomena such as solute rejection can be obseved by laser schlieren imaging. Molten salts have attributes that make them attractive as physical models in solidification studies. With optical techniques of investigation such as schlieren imaging, it is possible to study fluid flow phenomena in molten salts and to watch the trajectory of the solid-liquid interface.

Sadoway, D. R.↗

Heat of mixing and morphological stability

A mathematical model, which incorporates heat of mixing in the energy balance, has been developed to analyze the morphological stability of a planar solid-liquid interface during the directional solidification of a binary alloy. It is observed that the stability behavior is almost that predicted by the analysis of Mullins and Sekerka (1963) at low growth velocities, while deviations in the critical concentration of about 20-25 percent are observed under rapid solidification conditions for certain systems. The calculations indicate that a positive heat of mixing makes the planar interface more unstable, whereas a negative heat of mixing makes it more stable, in terms of the critical concentration.

Nandapurkar, P.↗

Morphological transitions in the rapid solidification regime - A re-examination of the fundamental validity of the absolute stability concept of Mullins and Sekerka

The validity of the notion of absolute stability (AS) of a planar solid-liquid interface, proposed by Mullins and Sekerka (M-S, 1964), was tested using experimental data obtained for a number of dilute Ag-Cu and Sn-In alloys and for ultrahigh-purity succinonitrile. It is shown that the restriction applied by the M-S theory is satisfied during the steady-state planar solidification in an undercooled melt, provided the undercooling is quite small. The findings obtained on the Ag-Cu and Sn-In alloys are compared with early measurements by Davis and Fryzuk (1971) in dilute Sn-In alloys with 25 to 400 ppm additions of In.

Laxmanan, V.↗

Natural melting within a spherical shell

Fundamental heat transfer experiments were performed on the melting of a phase change medium in a spherical shell. Free expansion of the medium into a void space within the sphere was permitted. A step function temperature jump on the outer shell wall was imposed and the timewise evolution of the melting process and the position of the solid-liquid interface was photographically recorded. Numerical integration of the interface position data yielded information about the melted mass and the energy of melting. It was found that the rate of melting and the heat transfer were significantly affected by the movement of the solid medium to the base of the sphere due to gravity. The energy transfer associated with melting was substantially higher than that predicted by the conduction model. Furthermore, the radio of the measured values of sensible energy in the liquid melt to the energy of melting were nearly proportional to the Stefan number. The experimental results are in agreement with a theory set forth in an earlier paper.

Bahrami, Parviz A.↗

Radiographic instrumentation for DPM experiments

New developments in x-ray radiography that may be applicable to containerless experimentation are presented. The two features discussed are the use of radiography to determine the position and shape of the solid-liquid interface and, with the aid of appropriate markers, the flow patterns in either the surface or bulk of the liquid state. Both surface energy and fluid viscosity measurements can be made with the aid of the described radiographic system.

Fripp, Archie L.↗

Directional solidification of HgCdTe and HgZnTe in a transverse magnetic field

Hg(0.80)Cd(0.20)Te crystals were grown vertically in a transverse magnetic field by directional solidification. The effect of a magnetic field on the nature of fluid flow in the melts was investigated by measuring compositional variations along the axial and radial directions of the grown ingots. Magnetic field effects were shown to be significant over the entire field range employed (i.e., 2 to 5 kG). The axial compositional profiles (determined by precision density measurements) showed an abrupt decrease in the mole fraction of CdTe when the field was applied. Radial compositional mapping by IR transmission and X-ray energy dispersion spectrometry indicated that the solid-liquid interface evolved through three stages when the field was applied (i.e., from a radially symmetric concave interface to an off-center concave shape when the field was initially applied, then to a tilted plane, and, finally, to an off-center concave interface). The axial compositional profile of an Hg(0.84)Zn(0.16)Te ingot showed similar field effects.

Su, Ching-Hua↗

Low energy gamma ray attenuation in multiphase water

A gauging system is proposed to enable monitoring of slush density, solid-liquid interface, and slush level as well as its flow rate. It is based on the principle that the electromagnetic radiation mass attenuation coefficient of a multiphase chemical compound is constant for all relative phase concentrations. Results showing the essential constancy of mass attenuation coefficients for single-phase water vapor, liquid water, ice, and multiphase mixtures of water/ice are described.

Singh, Jag J.↗

Sintering time and atmosphere influences on the microstructure and mechanical properties of tungsten heavy alloys

The present paper traces the microstructure and mechanical property variations vs sintering time under conditions where the atmosphere was adjusted to suppress pore generation. Attention is given to tracing the mechanical property links to the grain size under optimized sintering conditions. The optimal cycle is used to sinter two heavy alloy compositions (88 and 95 wt pct W) for times up to 600 minutes at 1480 C. The 88-pct-W samples slumped, but the 95-pct-W samples were fully densified and suitable for tensile testing. At long sintering times, the tungsten grains flattened and the tungsten contiguity decreased, indicating a transition to low-energy configurations for the solid-liquid interfaces. The cube of the mean grain size varied linearly with the isothermal sintering time. This allowed the determination of grain size effects on mechanical properties, showing a decreasing yield strength with increasing time in agreement with the Hall-Petch behavior. The tensile strength and elongation were highest for sintering times from 30 to 90 min, reflecting a minimum in the residual porosity.

German, R. M.↗

Growth from a hypercooled melt near absolute stability

The stability of a solid-liquid interface in a hypercooled melt is studied, taking into account attachment kinetics, surface energy, and surface energy in the heat balance. There is a basic-state solution with the planar interface moving at constant speed. Linear-stability theory gives a long-wave absolute-stability limit. Near this point a string model is introduced in which a thermal-boundary-layer approximation is used and an evolution equation for the interface is obtained. In a limiting case this interface equation reduces to a Kuromoto-Sivashinsky equation. Comparison with experimental and numerical results are discussed, and a conceptual picture of unconstrained growth for all undercoolings is addressed.

Umantsev, A.↗

Identification and control of a multizone crystal growth furnace

This paper presents an intelligent adaptive control system for the control of a solid-liquid interface of a crystal while it is growing via directional solidification inside a multizone transparent furnace. The task of the process controller is to establish a user-specified axial temperature profile and to maintain a desirable interface shape. Both single-input-single-output and multi-input-multi-output adaptive pole placement algorithms have been used to control the temperature. Also described is an intelligent measurement system to assess the shape of the crystal while it is growing. A color video imaging system observes the crystal in real time and determines the position and the shape of the interface. This information is used to evaluate the crystal growth rate, and to analyze the effects of translational velocity and temperature profiles on the shape of the interface. Creation of this knowledge base is the first step to incorporate image processing into furnace control.

Batur, C.↗

Shrinkage void formation and its effect on freeze and thaw processes of lithium and lithium-fluoride for space applications

The effects of shrinkage void forming during freezing of lithium and lithium fluoride on subsequent thaw processes are investigated using a numerical scheme that is based on a single (solid/liquid) cell approach. Results show that a void forming at the wall appreciably reduces the solid-liquid interface velocity, during both freeze and thaw, and causes a substantial rise in the wall temperature during thaw. However, in the case of Li, the maximum wall temperature was much lower than the melting temperature of PWC-11, which is used as the structure material in the SP-100 system. Hence, it is concluded that a formation of hot spots is unlikely during the startup or restart of the SP-100 system.

Yang, Jae Y.↗

Mechanisms of voids formation during cooldown and freezing of lithium in SP-100 type systems

The mechanisms of void formation during the cooldown and freezing of lithium coolant within the primary loop of SP-100 type systems are investigated. These mechanisms are: (a) homogeneous nucleation, (b) heterogeneous nucleation, (c) normal segregation of helium gas dissolved in liquid lithium, and (d) shrinkage of lithium during freezing. To evaluate the void formation potential due to segregation, a numerical scheme that couples the freezing and mass diffusion processes in both the solid and liquid regions is developed. The results indicated that the formation of He bubbles is unlikely by either homogeneous or heterogeneous nucleation during the cooldown process. However, homogeneous nucleation of He bubbles following the segregation of dissolved He in liquid Lithium ahead of the solid-liquid interface is likely to occur. Results also show that total volume of He void is insignificant when compared to that of shrinkage voids.

Yang, Jae Y.↗

A versatile low-cost Czochralski crystal growth system for nonlinear optical organic materials

A versatile low-cost Czochralski system for pulling crystals from melt has been described. It is designed for low melting, transparent, and nonlinear optical materials. One of the most important novel feature of this crystal growth system is that the entire growth process including the solid-liquid interface can be viewed from any direction. Another is the use of an after-heater to reduce excess heat loss from the surface of the melt.

Aggarwal, M. D.↗

Enzyme activity in terrestrial soil in relation to exploration of the Martian surface

Sensitive tests for the detection of extracellular enzyme activity in Martian soil was investigated using simulated Martian soil. Enzyme action at solid-liquid water interfaces and at low humidity were studied, and a kinetic scheme was devised and tested based on the growth of microorganisms and the oxidation of ammonium nitrite.

Mclaren, A. D.↗

Noncontact temperature pattern measuring device

This invention relates to a noncontact imagine pyrometer system for obtaining the true temperature image of a given substance in a contactless fashion without making assumptions about localized emissivity of the substance or the uniformity of the temperature distribution. Such a contactless temperature imaging system has particular application in the study and production of many materials where the physical contact required to make a conventional temperature measurement drastically effects or contaminates the physical process being observed. Two examples where accurate temperature profiles are of critical interest are: (1) the solid-liquid phase change interface in the production of electronic materials and (2) metastable materials in the undercooling region. The apparent novelty resides in the recognition that an active pyrometer system may be advantageously adapted to perform contactless temperature imaging so that an accurate temperature profile can be obtained.

Elleman, D. D.↗

Tribology of magnetic storage systems

The construction and the materials used in different magnetic storage devices are defined. The theories of friction and adhesion, interface temperatures, wear, and solid-liquid lubrication relevant to magnetic storage systems are presented. Experimental data are presented wherever possible to support the relevant theories advanced.

Bhushan, Bharat↗

Critical levitation loci for spheres on cryogenic fluids.

The conditions which allow a fluid to support a sphere having a higher specific gravity than its own are investigated. Three basic parameters which together define the maximum floating conditions are considered, including the Bond number, the wetting angle of the interface, and the ratio of solid-liquid specific gravities. The Bond number represents the ratio of buoyancy to surface tension forces. An analysis of the forces at the sphere-liquid interface is conducted to determine the optimum levitation loci, that is, the conditions permitting flotation of a maximum density sphere. Data for glycerine, carbon tetrachloride, and water spheres floating on a liquid nitrogen surface appear to be in good agreement with the analysis. Data for Teflon spheres on water also appear to be in agreement with the analytical results.

Hendricks, R. C.↗