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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Engineering Graphene-Ceramic 3D Composite Foams by Freeze Drying

A 3D graphene foam produced by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique is recognized as an effective nanofiller material, as it does not agglomerate in the matrix. Though CVD facilitates pristine graphene foam production, the method poses limitations in developing large-scale 3D graphene composite foams as advanced engineering materials. In this paper, a freeze-drying (FD) process is used to produce a composite 3D foam, which is a mixture of graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) and a low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC). The freeze-dried GNP-LTCC reticulated 3D composite foam has an average pore size ranging from 70 to 100 μm. Pore size is varied by regulating the heat transfer rate during the freezing process using a thermally conductive aluminum (Al) mold and a thermally insulating acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) mold. Computational thermal modeling is used to visualize the heat transfer and its effect on foam pore size. Subsequently, a freeze-dried GNP-LTCC composite foam is embedded into the LTCC matrix to form a hierarchical assembly by a spark plasma technique without compromising the 3D structure of the FD foam. This study established that a simple, eco-friendly, and scalable processing methodology can produce advanced graphene-based 3D composite foams as the future tailorable nanofillers for designing multimatrix materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

A step forward from high-entropy ceramics to compositionally complex ceramics: a new perspective

High-entropy ceramics (HECs) have quickly gained attention since 2015. To date, nearly all work has focused on five-component, equimolar compositions. This perspective article briefly reviews different families of HECs and selected properties. Following a couple of our most recent studies, we propose a step forward to expand HECs to compositionally-complex ceramics (CCCs) to include medium-entropy and/or non-equimolar compositions. Here, using defective fluorite and ordered pyrochlore oxides as two primary examples, we further consider the complexities of aliovalent cations and anion vacancies as well as ordered structures with two cation sublattices. Better thermally-insulating yet stiff CCCs have been found in non-equimolar compositions with optimal amounts of oxygen vacancies and in ordered pyrochlores with large size disorder; it is demonstrated that medium-entropy ceramics (MECs) can prevail over their high-entropy counterparts. The diversifying classes of CCCs provide even more possibilities than HECs to tailor the composition, defects, disorder/order, and consequently various properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Remarkable enhancement in thermal conductivity of stainless-steel leveraging metal composite via laser powder bed fusion: 316L-Cu composite

This work aimed to significantly enhance the thermal conductivity of the SS matrix by fabricating a metal composite SS-Cu system utilizing a laser powder bed fusion process. The impact of process parameters on the microstructure of SS-Cu samples is investigated. Here, the processing and post-processing factors that influence the effective thermal conductivity of the metal composite SS-Cu system are discussed. Then, the effective thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of the SS-Cu composite are measured at room temperature and operating temperature of 300 °C. The optimized laser powder bed fusion parameters led to low Marangoni convection, high cooling rate, greater macro-segregation, and higher thermal conductivity values albeit at the cost of ductility in SS-Cu metal composite likely due to the presence of the unmelted powder particles. As-printed SS-60 vol % Cu and annealed SS-60 vol % Cu had 2.5X and 6.6X thermal conductivity enhancement, respectively. During annealing, phase separation, partial melting of Cu, and formation of a continuous network of Cu surrounding SS play a key role in enhancing the thermal conductivity of the SS-Cu metal composite structure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Hybrid Bio-Based Composites: Enabling Cellulose Nanofiber (CNF) Incorporation into Composites via Macroscale Natural Fiber Carriers

Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) have significant potential in composites as additives to improve mechanical properties, melt rheology, and more. However, agglomeration of CNFs is a key challenge in composite melt processing as obtaining nano-level dispersion of CNFs often requires cost- and energy-intensive processes (e.g., solvent exchange or freeze drying) due to the strong hornification tendencies of CNF. Herein, we avoid these challenges by using a natural fiber carrier method to integrate CNF into thermoplastic composites. Fibers are co-dried to create a hybrid fiber feedstock for compounding in which natural fibers are decorated with dispersed nanofibers. The hybridized fibers result in up to a 24% increase in tensile strength and up to a 35% increase in Young’s modulus compared to composites only containing natural fibers. The lignocellulosic nanofibers are found to outperform their purely cellulosic counterpart, which is theorized to be due to either an increased propensity for fibrillation of the lignocellulosic fibers or the increased hydrophobicity of the fibers due to the presence of lignin. Surface analysis of fiber feedstocks, via streaming potential measurements and dynamic light scattering (DLS), confirmed a significant change in the feedstock hydrophobicity before and after hybridization. While mild additions of CNF (1 wt.% on the macroscale fiber) do not impact the composite melt viscosity, the viscosity is found to increase at higher CNF loadings (5 wt.% on the macroscale fiber), indicating its utility as a rheology modifier. Lastly, use of these materials as novel feedstocks for medium-scale additive manufacturing in high-fidelity part production was demonstrated.

bio-based↗
DOE OSTI2022

DISCOVR strain pipeline screening – Part II: Winter and summer season areal productivities and biomass compositional shifts in climate-simulation photobioreactor cultures

Assessing the seasonal biomass productivity and compositional shift dynamics under simulated outdoor culture conditions of the top 22 algae strains selected during Tier I flask screening is an important step in the further prioritization of strains with regard to outdoor pond cultivation. These top 22 strains were subjected to Tier II testing in the PNNL Laboratory Environmental Algae Pond Simulator (LEAPS) photobioreactors, simulating light and temperature conditions of 20 cm deep outdoor ponds during the Arizona winter and summer season. All strains were grown in two consecutive nutrient-replete batch culture experiments at their particular optimal medium salinity to quantify their respective seasonal linear-phase areal biomass productivities. To determine biomass compositional shifts in response to nutrient-depletion, the LEAPS cultures were allowed to enter a 9-day nutrient depletion phase at the end of the second batch run. The following strains were evaluated in winter-season climate-simulated cultures and are listed in the order from highest (7.9 g m -2 day -1 ) to lowest (2.3 g m -2 day -1 ) areal N-replete biomass productivity: Monoraphidium minutum 26B-AM, Tetraselmis striata LANL1001, Chlorella vulgaris LRB AZ-1201, Micractinium reisseri NREL14-F2, Monoraphidium sp. MONOR1, Chlorella vulgaris NREL4-C12, Scenedesmus obliquus UTEX393, Scenedesmus acutus LRB-AP-0401, Nannochloropsis oceanica CCAP849/10, and Stichococcus minutus CCALA727. The following strains were evaluated in summer-season climate-simulated cultures and are listed in the order from highest (31.8 g m -2 day -1 ) to lowest (14.2 g m -2 day -1 ) areal N-replete biomass productivity: Picochlorum renovo NREL39-A8, Scenedesmus obliquus UTEX393, Porphyridium cruentum CCMP675, Picochlorum celeri TG2-WT-CSM/EMRE, Chlorella sorokiniana DOE1116, Stichococcus minor CCMP819, Picochlorum oklahomensis CCMP2329, Chlorella sorokiniana DOE1412 (UTEXB3016), Scenedesmus rubescens NREL46B-D3, Picochlorum soloecismus DOE101, Tetraselmis striata LANL1001, Scenedesmus obliquus DOE 0152.z, and Agmenellum quadruplicatum UTEX2268. All LEAPS cultures experienced a significant reduction in areal biomass productivity in response to nutrient-depletion, from 7-16% in the winter season simulation and up to 1-60% in the summer season simulation. Finally, for 10 of the strains tested, the carbohydrate content more than doubled upon nutrient depletion, and for 9 strains, the lipid content increased by over 50% of the initial content.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effect of Sulfate Sequestration by Ba-Sn Composite Material on Re Retention in Low-Activity Waste Glass

Difficulty incorporating radioactive Tc-99 into glass during vitrification of low-activity waste (LAW) at the Hanford Site is a technical challenge. Previous studies suggested that the presence of sulfate salts in the melt hinder the incorporation of Re, a non-radioactive surrogate for Tc-99, into nuclear waste glass. In this study, we assessed the capability of a Ba-Sn composite to sequester sulfate during vitrification of AN-102 LAW feed and the resulting effects on Re retention in the glass. We also investigated a feed where the initial soluble sulfate source in the simulated LAW (Na2SO4) was replaced with insoluble BaSO4. The Ba-Sn composite-treated feed and BaSO4-substitute feed were compared to a control, AN-102 baseline. The feeds were prepared and then heated to temperatures from 400-1000 °C at 5 °C/min and air-quenched to room temperature. The heated samples and dried feeds were leached in deionized water. The solutions from the leach test were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) to determine the amount of soluble sulfate as a function of temperature and the resulting solids were analyzed for Re retention. Although the Ba-Sn composite material successfully sequestered sulfate in the as-prepared LAW feed, heating to 400 °C resulted in most of the sulfate partitioning to a soluble salt phase. By 700°C, sulfate partitioning in the composite-treated feed was identical to the baseline feed. Throughout the entire temperature range the BaSO4-substitute feed behaved similarly to the composite-treated feed. The results of the study show that sequestering sulfate into a BaSO4 phase is ineffective for rhenium retention as the sulfate salt behavior was identical in the three feeds at =700 °C. The fraction of rhenium retained in the glass at 1000°C varied from 39.4-46.6% for the three feeds, which is shown to be an insignificant difference.

George, Jaime L.↗
DOE OSTI2012

Preparation of MgH{sub 2} composite with a composition of 40%MgH{sub 2} + 30%LiBH{sub 4} + 30%(2LiBH{sub 4} + MgF{sub 2})

Graphical abstract: Hydrogen content vs. desorption time curves for consecutive 1st desorptions of 40 wt%MgH{sub 2} + 30 wt%LiBH{sub 4} + 30 wt%(2LiBH{sub 4} + MgF{sub 2}) at 533–873 K. Highlights: ► Addition of MgF{sub 2} and LiBH{sub 4} with a higher hydrogen storage capacity to MgH{sub 2}. ► Preparation of 40%MgH{sub 2} + 30%LiBH{sub 4} + 30% (2LiBH{sub 4} + MgF{sub 2}) composite. ► Examination of desorption properties of the composite. ► Total desorbed hydrogen quantity for consecutive 1st desorptions of 7.07 wt%. ► Reactions of LiBH{sub 4} → LiH + B + (3/2)H{sub 2}, and 2LiBH{sub 4} + MgF{sub 2} → 2LiF + MgB{sub 2} + 4H{sub 2}. -- Abstract: A mixture of containing two chemical equivalents of lithium borohyride and one equivalent of magnesium fluoride is known to yield hydrogen in an amount of about 7.6 wt% of the mixture when heated to about 150 °C at atmospheric pressure by the following reaction; 2LiBH{sub 4} + MgF{sub 2} = 2LiF + MgB{sub 2} + 4H{sub 2}. In order to increase hydrogen storage capacity of Mg-based materials, a mixture with a composition of 2LiBH{sub 4} + MgF{sub 2} and LiBH{sub 4}with a higher hydrogen storage capacity of 18.4 wt% were added to MgH{sub 2}. MgH{sub 2} composite with a composition of 40 wt%MgH{sub 2} + 30 wt%LiBH{sub 4} + 30 wt%(2LiBH{sub 4} + MgF{sub 2}) was prepared by reactive mechanical grinding. The hydrogen storage properties of the sample were then examined. Hydrogen content vs. desorption time curves for consecutive 1st desorptions of 40 wt%MgH{sub 2} + 30 wt%LiBH{sub 4} + 30 wt%(2LiBH{sub 4} + MgF{sub 2}) at 533–873 K showed that the total desorbed hydrogen quantity for consecutive 1st desorptions is 7.07 wt%.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Phase Behavior of Diblock Copolymer–Homopolymer Ternary Blends with a Compositionally Asymmetric Diblock Copolymer

The phase behavior of ternary polymer blends comprising poly(cyclohexylethylene) (C) and polyethylene (E) homopolymers and a compositionally asymmetric CE diblock copolymer with f C = 0.67 was investigated, where f C is the volume fraction of C. Morphology was established in the phase prism (volume fractions of C, E, and CE vs. temperature) by optical transmission, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements. The locations of lamellar (LAM), hexagonally packed cylinders (HEX), and gyroid (GYR) ordered phases are shifted significantly towards lower fractions of C homopolymer compared to previous results obtained from ternary polymer blends with a symmetric diblock copolymer (f C = 0.5). Conversely, the Scott line of critical points, which delineates the boundary between single-phase disorder and macroscopic phase separation, remains virtually unchanged, coincident with the fraction of C homopolymer associated with the binary homopolymer blend critical composition. A central finding of this study is that the line of nearly congruent order-disorder transitions, where the LAM phase melts virtually directly into the disordered state, is decoupled in composition from that of the Scott line of critical points. A wide range of phase space between the compositions associated with the congruent transition and Scott line was identified as containing a microemulsion morphology. This study demonstrates that diblock copolymer compositional asymmetry significantly impacts the ordered phase regime but has a marginal effect on the region displaying macroscopic phase separation. It also provides useful guidance for tuning interfacial curvature, a crucial factor in the formation of bicontinuous microemulsions (BµEs).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗