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At least 811 records · Page 45

Effect of Tool Temperature on Microstructure and Properties of Tailored Hot Stamping Components

Traditional boron steel hot stamping technology can achieve components with full martensite and tensile strength of 1500 MPa. However, fully martensitic hot stamped components exhibit very low level of ductility and are rarely used in energy absorbing structures. Hot stamping with segmented heating and cooling tool can obtain multiphase quenched structures and the tailored mechanical properties. Hot stamping experiment of U-shape component was performed with segmented heating and cooling tool. Mechanical properties of the formed component were measured, and scanning electron microscope and color tint etching were used to quantify the quenched phases achieved under different tool temperatures. The results showed that hardness value decreased from 470 to 230 HV and tensile strength reduced about 50% from 1406 to 730 MPa and elongation increased from 4.19 to 10.20% as tool temperatures increased from 25 to 500 °C. Meanwhile, martensite decreased from 85 to 30% and bainite increased from 12 to 55%, and there was also a small increase in ferrite. In order to get the influence of quenched phases on the strength and hardness of tailored hot stamped component, linear fitting optimization was used to establish mathematical models for area fraction of quenched phases and strength and hardness.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Optimizing Bendability and Hardness of Age-Hardenable Aluminum Sheets through Local Thermo-Mechanical Processing

This paper introduces a novel thermo-mechanical process to modify the local mechanical properties of 6xxx aluminum (Al-Mg-Si-Cu) alloy sheets. In this process, two pairs of rollers travel along the length of a sheet while locally bending and unbending it so that the final shape and thickness of the sheet remains unchanged. Room temperature bending/unbending (B/U) produces a deformation gradient through thickness and local hardening in both T4 and T6 sheets (with 41% and 18% greater Vickers hardness, respectively). High temperature bending/unbending performed at ~ 500°C via induction heating, produces significant improvements in local formability as measured by bend testing. Formability levels equivalent to the as-received T4 temper are achieved within the processed zones of T6 sheets with bend angles of ~ 150°, without disturbing the T6 temper in the remainder of the sheet. Finite element simulations and characterization explained the mechanical property improvements and the heterogenous microstructure with weakened Cube texture. Due to its similarity with the roller hemming process, and its compact dimensions, the apparatus developed for B/U has the potential for seamless integration with roller hemming robots to selectively process high strength aluminum sheet materials within mass-production settings.

Efe, Mert [BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)]↗

Process Intensification for Nanocomposite Aluminum Extrusions: CRADA 411 (Final Report)

The project evaluated the feasibility of using Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) for the fabrication of extrusions with a diameter of 0.5” and higher from an Al-alloy powder feedstock that contains nanoscale second phases for achieving enhanced elevated temperature strength. PNNL has previously extruded 0.2” diameter rods with high strength aluminum alloy powder Al-12.4TM. This project aimed to scale the process up to a diameter of 1.0” at a length of >24” while retaining the excellent mechanical properties achieved for the 0.2” diameter rods. As part of the project, extrusion dies were fabricated with various design features. As an example, scroll features on the tool die face was introduced to enhance powder mixing, and reduce extrusion load. Varying extrusion ratios were used to obtain better microstructural homogeneity. Use of tool design features together with the optimization of process parameters helped in the fabrication of extrusions that were up to 48” long with a diameter of 0.5” using Al-12.4 TM powder feedstock in a two-step process involving cold compaction followed by extrusion. Extrusions with a diameter of 1.0” could also be fabricated, but limitations on the extent of consolidation were experienced as a result of the torque and ram force capacity of the current ShAPE machine.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Photon-to-Digital Converters for Neutron Imaging Instruments (Final Report)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) collaborated with the Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS) to design a modular and scalable tile of innovative digital photodetectors called Photon-to-Digital Converters (PDC) and the required subsystems to demonstrate the feasibility of large area single-photon detectors to support high-resolution, depth-of-interaction, fast neutron radiography based on scintillation detectors. The goal is to demonstrate the advantages of using PDC over conventional Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) for neutron imaging systems. The basic building blocks of analog SiPM and PDC are Single-Photon Avalanche Photodiodes (SPAD). The main difference between conventional SiPMs and PDCs, is in the fact that analog SiPMs sum the charge produced by individual SPAD passively, while in PDCs each SPAD is read out individually by an active electronic circuit. Hence, PDCs provide a direct photon-to-bit conversion where a logic “1” means that there was a detection in a given SPAD. Conversely, an analog SiPM requires a sophisticated preamplifier (current amplifiers or transimpedance amplifier) followed by a shaping amplifier and an analog-to-digital converter. Moreover, since the charge from each SPAD varies slightly, the passive sum of the analog SiPM will have signal fluctuations for the same amount of photon detected. This is one of many issues that is completely eliminated by individual one-to-one SPAD read out in PDCs. The large area required for scintillator readouts for neutron imaging is such that the output capacitance of a large area of SiPM arrays is very high. This creates a burden on the signal-to-noise optimization with respect to the power budget. For PDC, the power consumption is dictated by rate of the incident photon flux, or in photon-starved environments, the dark noise rate of the SPAD array. In other words, the power consumption in the absence of events is extremely low. Hence, the power consumption of a PDC read out system is much lower than its analog counterpart. Further, the large SiPM capacitance may introduce signal distortions on the scintillator fast rise or decay time with undesired effects on timing and pulse shape discrimination. The problem is absent in PDCs, as their readout is independent on device capacitance. UdeS is the world leader in 3D vertical integration of frontside illuminated SPAD arrays over CMOS readouts. These capabilities allow future production of “3D PDC” with maximum photosensitive fill factor and electronic functionalities tailored to the application. UdeS' vast knowledge of SPADs and CMOS design made the team an ideal collaborator in the development of large area high-resolution fast neutron radiography.

42 ENGINEERING↗

An experimental investigation of the effectiveness of Ar-CO 2 shielding gas mixture for the wire arc additive process

Wire arc additive manufacturing (AM) is the process by which a large, metallic structure is built layer-by-layer using a welding arc to melt a wire feedstock. A novel opportunity exists to alter the shielding gas composition to fabricate distinct geometrical features without altering the other AM parameters. In this paper, shielding gases with varied concentrations of Argon (Ar) and CO 2 was used to deposit three distinct geometric shapes (walls, infill, and overhang) using a wire-based additive manufacturing system utilizing the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) surface tension transfer (STT) process. Computer-aided design (CAD) models were sliced with a custom-built slicer, and the sliced algorithm was converted into optimal robotic toolpaths. A custom virtual instrument (VI) was built in LabVIEW to compare the temperature profiles on the surface during each deposition process. After each deposition, the geometric features were scanned, and the surface waviness value was evaluated. Tensile and Charpy impact coupons were extracted from the wall geometries in the longitudinal and transverse directions and tested. The results indicated that a higher CO 2 content produced higher melt pool temperatures to an extent, while lower contents of CO 2 resulted in a dimensionally accurate geometry. The data also indicated that the 2%/98% CO 2 /Ar blend produced scatter in tensile strength and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows significant difference. However, the intermediate range of CO 2 (5–10%) resulted in uniform tensile properties. Altogether, these results indicate that a 5%/95% CO 2 /Ar blend is the ideal shielding gas for lowering process temperatures and improving mechanical properties in wire arc additive manufacturing using the gas metal arc welding surface tension transfer process. Additionally, varying concentrations of Ar/CO 2 can be used within the same part in order to modify the local properties or process parameters such as strength, toughness, temperature, or dimensional features. This may improve overall manufacturing quality without sacrificing specific properties.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Bandwidth extension and conversion efficiency improvements beyond phase matching limitations using cavity-enhanced OPCPA

The conversion efficiency and phase matching bandwidth of ultrafast optical parametric amplification (OPA) are constrained by the dispersion and nonlinear coefficient of the employed crystal as well as pulse shaping effects. In our work we show that an enhancement cavity resonant with the pump seeded at the full repetition rate of the pump laser can automatically reshape the small-signal gain in optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) to achieve close-to-optimal operation. This new method termed cavity-enhanced OPCPA or C-OPCPA significantly increases both the gain bandwidth and the conversion efficiency, in addition to boosting gain for high-repetition-rate amplification. The goal in C-OPCPA is to arrive at a condition of impedance matching at all temporal coordinates, such that, in the absence of linear losses, all the incident pump power is dissipated in the nonlinear loss element, i.e., converted to signal and idler. The use of a low finesse enhancement cavity resonant with a low average power (<1W) and a high repetition rate (78MHz) pump source is shown to achieve more than 50% conversion efficiency into signal and idler from the coupled pump in an optical parametric process, whereas an equivalent amount of pump power in a single-pass configuration leads to negligible conversion. Additionally, the gain bandwidth is extended by a factor of 3-4 beyond the phase-matching limit. Our empirical observations are corroborated by a numerical analysis of depletion optimizing the single-pass case, which assesses the underlying impedance matching that is responsible for the observed performance improvements.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Fast ignition inertial fusion energy using laser-driven ion beams

Ion fast ignition (IFI), or fusion fast ignition initiated by a laser-driven ion beam, is a promising path to high-gain inertial fusion energy (IFE). In IFI, cold, dense deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel is first assembled using lasers or pulsed power drivers. Then, a high-power ion beam is focused onto a small volume within the fuel (the hot spot), heating the fuel rapidly to conditions where fusion ignition takes place. Fusion burn in this hot spot propagates to the fuel surrounding the hot spot, leading to burnup of a significant fraction of this fuel and the possibility of high gain (G~100), as needed for inertial fusion energy. IFI uses separate drivers for the two basic elements, fuel compression and ignition, allowing maximum control and optimization of each. On the other hand, conventional laser fusion uses multiple beams of the same driver to compress the fuel and shock-heat its very center to ignite a burn wave. Despite impressive progress in conventional laser fusion, the precise spatial symmetry, temporal pulse shaping and timing required for high gain and IFE remain a serious unmet challenge.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Charging infrastructure access and operation to reduce the grid impacts of deep electric vehicle adoption

Electric vehicles will contribute to emissions reductions in the United States, but their charging may challenge electricity grid operations. We present a data-driven, realistic model of charging demand that captures the diverse charging behaviours of future adopters in the US Western Interconnection. We study charging control and infrastructure build-out as critical factors shaping charging load and evaluate grid impact under rapid electric vehicle adoption with a detailed economic dispatch model of 2035 generation. We find that peak net electricity demand increases by up to 25% with forecast adoption and by 50% in a stress test with full electrification. Locally optimized controls and high home charging can strain the grid. Shifting instead to uncontrolled, daytime charging can reduce storage requirements, excess non-fossil fuel generation, ramping and emissions. Our results urge policymakers to reflect generation-level impacts in utility rates and deploy charging infrastructure that promotes a shift from home to daytime charging.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Prediction of DIII-D Pedestal Structure From Externally Controllable Parameters

The sharp increase of pressure at the edge of a high confinement mode (H-mode) plasma, the pedestal, strongly impacts overall plasma performance. Predicting the pedestal is a necessity to control and optimize tokamak operations. Here, an experimental data-driven machine learning (ML) approach is presented that predicts the pedestal heights and widths of electron density (n e ) and electron temperature (T e ) profiles as well as the separatrix ne from externally controllable parameters such as the plasma shape, heating method and power, and gas puff rate and integrated gas puff. The OMFIT framework was used with DIII-D data to efficiently, robustly, and automatically build a database of pedestal parameters to train machine learning models. Database creation was enabled by the search engine tool for DIII-D data, TokSearch, which parallelizes data fetching, enabling fast searches through basic signals of thousands of DIII-D shots and selection of relevant time intervals. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) separated the database into three clusters that represent classes of plasma shapes that are regularly used in DIII-D. The most important parameters for setting the pedestal structure were plasma current (I p ), toroidal magnetic field (B Φ ), neutral beam heating power (P NBI ) and shaping quantities. The Deep Jointly Informed Neural Networks (DJINN) algorithm was applied to identify suitable neural network (NN) architectures that appropriately capture the features of the pedestal database. Separate NNs were implemented for each pedestal parameter, and ensembling methods were used to improve the prediction accuracy and allowed estimation of the prediction uncertainty. The pedestal predictions of the test dataset lie within the measurement uncertainties of the pedestal parameters. The NN outperformed simple Linear Regression (LR) analysis, indicating non-linear dependencies in the pedestal structure. The presented achievements illustrate a promising path for future research, using feature extraction to infer experimental trends and thereby improve pedestal models as well as deploying NN for a fast pedestal prediction in DIII-D scenario development.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Iridium thin-film coatings for the BabyIAXO hybrid X-ray optic

Reflective coatings are an essential feature of X-ray telescopes. Their overall performance relies heavily on substrate compatibility and how well they conform to the optics assembly processes. We use X-ray reflectometry (XRR) to demonstrate the compatibility of shaping flat substrates coated with iridium, and show that specular and nonspecular reflectance before and after shaping is on par with traditional hot-slumped coated substrates. From 1.487 and 8.048 k e V measurements, we find that the substrates have rms roughness of 0.38 n m and magnetron sputtered iridium deposits with rms surface roughness of 0.27 − <#comment/> 0.35 n m . A hydrocarbon overlayer from atmospheric contamination is present with a thickness of 1.4 – 1.6 n m and a density of 1.2 − <#comment/> 1.6 g / c m 3 . Both the traditional hot slumped and the flat substrates undergoing post-coating shaping have a similar characteristic surface morphology and are equally well-suited for use with X-ray optics. Finally, we demonstrate by simulation the improved effective area achieved by using a low-Z overlayer, and illustrate the performance of a hybrid optic coated with optimized bilayers for a Primakoff axion spectrum emitted by the sun.

Henriksen, Peter L. (ORCID:0000000259031878)↗

8. Open-Loop Toolpath Generation

Open-loop paths, as opposed to closed-loop paths, have start and end points that are at different locations. Open-loop paths, commonly called “skeletons,” can be generated through multiple approaches. Most approaches utilize a shape's medial axis transform and build appropriate pathing around this representation. In this chapter, a specific implementation consisting of three major steps will be discussed. These steps are Voronoi diagram generation, skeleton pruning, and path consolidation. With the major components of the implementation covered, two additional optimizations will also be described. These two optimizations, chamfering and smoothing, will be highlighted as ways to improve overall pathing quality.

Borish, Michael↗

Ink Casting and 3D‐Extrusion Printing of Yb 14 MnSb 11 for High‐Temperature Thermoelectric Material

Abstract Complex shapes are created from Yb 14 MnSb 11 , a high‐temperature thermoelectric Zintl phase, via a two‐step process: i) layer‐by‐layer 3D‐extrusion of ink containing partially‐reacted powders which are ball‐milled from a blend of Yb, MnSb, and Sb powders; ii) heat treatment to synthesize the ternary compound Yb 14 MnSb 11 and densify the extruded powders. A high phase purity for Yb 14 MnSb 11 (83–94%) is achieved in both cast and 3D‐extruded ink specimens via a solid‐state reaction between Yb, MnSb, and Yb 4 Sb 3 during reactive sintering. Pressure‐free sintering at temperatures of 1200–1400 °C densifies the powders to 82% relative density but can also induce the decomposition of the Yb 14 MnSb 11 phase due to Yb sublimation. A process window with optimized sintering temperature and time is identified, achieving both low porosity and high phase purity and reaching a maximum zT = 0.61 at 1000 °C, about half of the maximum zT value for bulk Yb 14 MnSb 11 made via conventional processes (pressure sintering of precursor powders). The present approach – direct ink writing of ball‐milled powders, combined with reactive sintering – is a scalable and affordable method to fabricate thermoelectric legs with intricate 3D shapes, for enhanced performances in high‐temperature thermoelectric applications.

Chen, Ming [Department of Materials Science &amp, ↗

Nonlinear discrete wavefront shaping for spatiotemporal pulse compression with multicore fibers

Here in this work, we apply an effective discrete phase front focusing method to control the coherent combining and temporal compression of laser pulses by means of nonlinear multicore fibers. We numerically demonstrate the possibility of combining almost entirely the input optical pulses injected in all cores, into the central core of a hexagonal lattice multicore fiber. We investigate the optimal operational conditions for the most effective pulse combining and analyze the influence of a positive input pulse temporal chirp and spatial phase modulation. We demonstrate that a pulse, which has been focused into an arbitrary core of the fiber, also undergoes temporal compression.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Unraveling the Atomic Mechanism of the Crystalline Phase‐Dependent Structural Features and Special Spectral Design of α‐, β‐, and Ɛ‐Ga₂O₃

Atomic‐scale phase transformations profoundly influence the functional properties of Ga₂O₃ polymorphs. By combining irradiation experiments with microstructure characterization and theoretical approaches, phase‐specific energy‐dissipation pathways in α‐, β‐, and ε‐Ga₂O₃ are uncovered and strategies for targeted property design are outlined. Competing antiphase boundaries (APBs) and twin domain boundaries (TDBs) promote irreversible α→ε interconversion through domain fragmentation. In β‐Ga₂O₃, defect‐induced stress gradients drive two distinct local transformations: surface Ga‐aggregated β→δ that stabilizes transient states, and latent‐track‐confined β→κ phase transition with recoverable distortions via cation reordering. Under electronic excitation, β‐Ga₂O₃ forms nanohillocks via robust GaO₆ octahedra (high density/strong Ga─O bonds), while α/ε‐Ga₂O₃ generates nanopores from tetrahedral Ga looseness (low bonding energy), highlighting phase‐dependent surface dynamics shaped by atomic packing and bonding anisotropy. Defect‐regulated recombination suppresses visible photoluminescence in α/β‐Ga₂O₃, whereas in ε‐Ga₂O₃ bandgap narrowing of ΔE: 0.30 eV is observed, enhancing emission. Linking phase‐dependent defect‐carrier interactions and metastable‐phase engineering in Ga₂O₃ enables property optimization for power‐electronics and optoelectronics devices.

electronic state configuration↗

Optimized Gating System for Steel Castings

Computer modeling using a commercially available software package was used to explore the optimization of filling systems based on the relatively new concepts of avoiding entrainment of air bubbles and oxides by avoiding surface turbulence. The test casting was based on a pattern for a traditional top poured test bar, whose cross section was a tri-lobed clover-like shape. The study illustrates clearly that the detailed design of the filling system has a major influence on the conditions for defect generation during filling. Traditional steel casting systems using the widely popular assembly of preformed refractory tubes were found to behave poorly. Systems were demonstrated which were capable of delivering highly controlled filling behavior. The latest systems to be developed employed (1) a naturally pressurized filling system and (2) the use of filters placed flush on the top of the runner to act as bubble diverters, together with (3) terminal spin traps. These novel filling systems demonstrated excellent performance in simulation, in agreement with practical experience of the capability (of the trident gate in particular) to produce, for the first time in the history of casting, defect-free castings on a routine basis.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Bio-inspired alula-based winglet design for enhanced heat transfer in high temperature fin-and-tube heat exchangers

Fin-and-tube heat exchangers (FTHEs) are widely used for high-temperature flue-gas heat recovery, but their performance is often limited by wake regions and non-uniform fin-surface temperatures. This study proposes and numerically evaluates four bio-inspired longitudinal vortex generator (VG) configurations in a high-temperature FTHE with flue-gas inlet temperature ∼1230 K: double-delta, curved double-delta, alula, and a new curved-alula geometry. The reference fin is not hydraulically plain; it already incorporates leading-edge separation columns and convex protrusions, so the alula-type winglets are assessed as downstream add-ons acting on a strongly disturbed flow. In a second step, perforations (one, two and three circular holes) are introduced into the curved-alula VGs to further tailor the flow field. Three-dimensional simulations with the Shear Stress Transpor (SST) $k - ω$ model, temperature-dependent flue-gas properties and conjugate conduction are carried out for gas-side Reynolds numbers $Re_g ≈ 8.0$ x $10^2 - 3.6$ x $10^3$ (mass flow rates 0.5 – 2.5 g/s), and the designs are compared in terms of surface heat flux, Nusselt number, friction factor and hydrothermal performance factor (HTPF). For this already-promoted fin, the additional downstream winglets provide moderate, incremental hydrothermal gains. At the highest Reynolds number, the best non-perforated design (curved-alula) increases surface heat flux from 1630.9 to 1794.7 kW/m² (∼ 10 % gain) and the Nusselt number from 227.6 to 242.6 (∼ 7 % gain), while the friction factor rises from 0.26 to about 0.30, yielding HTPF values close to unity (∼ 0.9 – 1.0). Introducing circular perforations into the curved-alula winglets acts mainly as a wake-bleeding refinement: the three-hole configuration provides a heat flux of 1824.7 kW/m² and a pressure drop of 127.9 Pa, with HTPF in the range ∼ 1.03 – 1.14 and a small (∼ 1 – 3 %) improvement over the solid curved-alula design. Flow-field analysis shows that the perforated curved-alula VGs shrink tube-wake regions, thin the thermal boundary layer and homogenize the fin-surface temperature (outlet-gas temperature ∼ 510 – 520 K and fin-surface temperature ∼ 420 – 421 K for the three-hole case). An optimal flue-gas mass flow rate of ∼ 1 g/s ($Re_g ≈ 1.5$ x $10^3$) is identified, beyond which additional heat-transfer gains are offset by rapidly increasing pressure losses. Overall, the results highlight that initial fin geometry and VG placement are as important as VG shape: alula-based winglets are expected to yield larger relative gains on simpler flat-fin layouts or when positioned closer to the fin leading edge and tube

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Super-resolution Imaging of Plasmonic Near-Fields: Overcoming Emitter Mislocalizations

Plasmonic nano-objects have shown great potential in enhancing applications like biological/chemical sensing, light harvesting and energy transfer, and optical/quantum computing. Therefore, an extensive effort has been vested in optimizing plasmonic systems and exploiting their field enhancement properties. Super-resolution imaging with quantum dots (QDs) is a promising method to probe plasmonic near-fields but is hindered by the distortion of the QD radiation pattern. Here, we investigate the interaction between QDs and “L-shaped” gold nanoantennas and demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that this strong interaction can induce polarization-dependent modifications to the apparent QD emission intensity, polarization, and localization. Based on FDTD simulations and polarization-modulated single-molecule microscopy, we show that the displacement of the emitter’s localization is due to the position-dependent interference between the emitter and the induced dipole, and can be up to 100 nm. Our results help pave a pathway for higher precision plasmonic near-field mapping and its underlying applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Role of electron correlation on the adenine dimer interaction for non-equilibrium geometries: a benchmark Quantum Monte Carlo study

The accurate description of non-covalent interactions is critical for understanding the structure, dynamics, and eventual function of biomolecules. The adenine dimer serves as a benchmark system for computational methods due to its role in nucleic acid structures and its rich conformational landscape. In this study, we employ benchmark diffusion quantum Monte Carlo (DMC) methods to investigate the relative energies and role of electron correlation on a set of adenine dimer conformations generated via a search of the potential energy landscape using the global optimizer algorithm. Relative DMC energies are compared against a wide range of density functional theory (DFT) approximation results. We find that although most of the DFT functionals perform well for low-energy structures, their accuracy varies significantly for higher-energy conformations, including stacked and T-shaped structures. A large fraction of the variation is due to the treatment of the van der Waals interaction. BLYP, B3LYP, and PBE0 significantly improve with added D4 dispersion, while the recent r2SCAN-D4 and ωB97M-V functionals show the least scatter and closest agreement with the DMC. These findings highlight the delicate nature of these interactions in biomolecular systems and provide guidance for simulations of their structure and dynamics and for the development of machine learned interatomic potentials.

Washburn, Laurel [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000324179335)↗