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NASA NTRS1992

Fractal dimension of alumina aggregates grown in two dimensions

The concepts of fractal geometry are applied to the analysis of 0.4-micron alumina constrained to agglomerate in two dimensions. Particles were trapped at the bottom surface of a drop of a dilute suspension, and the agglomeration process was directly observed, using an inverted optical microscope. Photographs were digitized and analyzed, using three distinct approaches. The results indicate that the agglomerates are fractal, having a dimension of approximately 1.5, which agrees well with the predictions of the diffusion-limited cluster-cluster aggregation model.

Larosa, Judith L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Measuring residual accelerations in the Spacelab environment

A triglycine sulfate (TGS) crystal growth experiment carried out in Spacelab 3 flown onboard the Shuttle orbiter in 1985 is described. The TGS experiment was aimed at examining diffusion limited crystal growth by minimizing convection in the microgravity environment of the Spacelab. During the experiment tiny crystals were found floating free in the growth solution. Since the free crystals were in a viscous fluid, the 'noise' accelerations of the Shuttle were damped out. This made it possible to measure the constant gravitational acceleration by tracking the positions of these crystals. The velocities and accelerations obtained by these measurements are presented.

Witherow, William K.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Numerical modeling of crystal growth on a centrifuge for unstable natural convection configurations

The fluid mechanics associated with crystal growth processes on centrifuges is modeled using 2D and 3D models. Two-dimensional calculations show that flow bifurcations exist in such crystal growth configurations where the ampoule is oriented in the same direction as the resultant gravity vector and a temperature gradient is imposed on the melt. A scaling analysis is formulated to predict the flow transition point from the natural convection dominated regime to the Coriolis force dominated regime. Results of 3D calculations are presented for two thermal configurations of the crystal growth cell: top heated and bottom heated with respect to the centrifugal acceleration. In the top heated configuration, a substantial reduction in the convection intensity within the melt can be attained by centrifuge operations, and close to steady diffusion-limited thermal conditions can be achieved over a narrow range of the imposed microgravity level. In the bottom heated configuration the Coriolis force has a stabilizing effect on fluid motion by delaying the onset of unsteady convection.

Ramachandran, N.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Burn rates of TiH2/KClO4/Viton and output testing of NASA SKD26100098-301 pressure cartridges

The burn rates of the pyrotechnic TiH2/KClO4/Viton with a mass ratio of 30/65/5 have been measured as a function of pressure in nitrogen up to 312 MPa(45 Kpsi). The burn rates were fit to R = a pn, with a = 2.055 cm/sec/MPan and n = 0.472 between 0.15 MPa (22 psi) and 21.6 MPa (3.13 Kpsi) and a = 4.38 cm/sec/MPan and n = 0.266 between 70 MPa (10.15 Kpsi) and 312 MPa (45.25 Kpsi). The decrease in slope at the higher pressures is attributed to a diffusion limited reaction. No acoustically driven flame instabilities or large conductive-to-convective burn transitions were observed. Solid reaction products were analyzed by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction detected only TiO2 and KC1. SEM showed that the particle size of the reaction products increased as the nitrogen pressure increased. There were no anomalous characteristics of the burn of this pyrotechnic that could be interpreted as a cause of the o-ring blow-by problem in the forward shear bolt assembly. Three NASA SKD26100098-301 pressure cartridges were fired into a fixed volume vessel that was sealed with an O-ring. A maximum pressure of 181.7 MPa(26,350 psi) was reached in around 100 ,mu sec for two shots fired into a volume of 16.3 cm3(0.996 in3). A maximum pressure of 33,460 psi was reached for one shot fired into a volume of 9.55 cm3(0.583 in3). The O-ring burned through on one shot in the larger volume and leaked on the other two thereby simulating the effects of an O-ring leak. The results imply that the piston in the shear bolt assembly would receive a large impulse even if there was a leak in an O-ring seal.

Holy, John A.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Effects of vibration (G-jitters) on convection in micro-gravity

To obtain high quality crystals, it is desirable to maintain a diffusion-limited transport process in a planar solidification surface between the solid and the melt during the crystal growth process. Due to the presence of buoyancy-driven convection, however, this situation is difficult to maintain on Earth. The microgravity environment of an orbiting space laboratory presents an alternative worth pursuing. With reduced gravity, convections very much suppressed in a space laboratory, making the environment more conducive for growing crystals with better quality. However, a space laboratory is not immune from any undesirable disturbances. Nonuniform and transient accelerations such as vibrations, g-jitters, and impulsive accelerations exist as a result of crew activities, space maneuvering, and the operations of on-board equipment. Measurements conducted on-board a U.S. Spacelab mission showed the existence of vibrations in the frequency range of 1 to 100 Hz. It was reported that a dominant mode of 17 Hz and harmonics of 54 Hz were observed and these were attributed to antenna operations. The vibration is not limited to any single plane but exists in all directions. Some data from the Russian MIR space station indicates the existence of vibration also at this frequency range.

Wang, Francis C.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Accretion disk coronae in high-luminosity systems

We present the results of self-consistent models of Compton-heated accretion disk coronae. The models are calculated using a new method for computing monochromatic radiative transfer n two dimensions. The method splits the radiation into direct and scattered components. The direct radiation is computed by calculating the optical depth along rays, while transfer of the scattered radiation is approximated by flux-limited diffusion. The resulting code agrees with more accurate treatments to within 50%, and is highly efficient, making it practical for use in large hydrodynamic simulations. The coronal models are used to confirm the results of earlier work, and to extend it to higher luminosities. In contrast to earlier work, which found the outer disks to be shadowed by the inner corona at high luminosities, we find our results to form an almost continuous extension of the models at lower luminosities. This is due to the presence of multiply scattered radiation, which acts to partially offset the loss of direct radiation from the central source. Although the analytic methods derived at lower luminosities cannot be used to derive the coronal structure for L/L(sub Edd) approx. greater than 0.1, the results of the models are amenable to semiempirical fits. We also discuss possible observational consequences of the results for coronal veiling and line fluorescence from the disk.

Murray, Stephen D.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Cluster growth modeling of plateau erosion

The pattern of erosion of a plateau along an escarpment may be modeled usng cluster growth techniques, recently popularized in models of drainage network evolution. If erosion on the scarp takes place in discrete events at rates subject to local substrate strength, the whole range of behavior is described by a combination of three cluster growth mechanisms: invasion percolation, Eden growth and diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA). These model the relative importance of preexisting substrate strength, background weathering, and seepage weathering and erosion respectively. The rate of seepage processes is determined by the efflux of groundwater at the plateau margin, which in turn is determined by the pressure field in the plateau aquifer. If this process acted alone, it would produce erosion patterns in the form of Laplacian fractals, with groundwater recharge from a distant source, or Poissionian fractals, with groundwater recharge uniform over the plateau. DLA is used to mimic the Laplacian or Poissonian potential field and the corresponding seepage growth process. The scaling structure of clusters grown by pure DLA, invasion percolation, or Eden growth is well known; this study presents a model which combines all three growth mechanisms for the first time. Mixed growth processes create clusters with different scaling properties and morphologies over distinct length scale ranges, and this is demonstrable in natural examples of plateau erosion.

Stark, Colin P.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Effect of melt-solid interface shape on lateral compositional distribution of unidirectionally solidified 2-6 semiconducting alloys

A computer code developed previously has been used to simulate lateral compositional distributions for several 2-6 semiconducting systems. The code is based on analytical results obtained previously. The system under study is an azimuthal symmetric cylindrical system with a curved melt-solid interface shape during an unidirectional solidification process. It is assumed that the system is under a steady state diffusion limited growth condition.

Wang, Jai-Ching↗

NASA NTRS1995

Oxygenic Photosynthesis and the Oxidation State of Mars

The oxidation state of the Earth's surface is one of the most obvious indications of the effect of life on this planet. The surface of Mars is highly oxidized, as evidenced by its red color, but the connection to life is less apparent. Two possibilities can be considered. First, the oxidant may be photochemically produced in the atmosphere. In this case the fundamental source of O2 is the loss of H2 to space and the oxidant produced is H2O2. This oxidant would accumulate on the surface and thereby destroy any organic material and other reductants to some depth. Recent models suggest that diffusion limits this depth to a few meters. An alternative source of oxygen is biological oxygen production followed by sequestration of organic material in sediments - as on the Earth. In this case, the net oxidation of the surface was determined billions of years ago when Mars was a more habitable planet and oxidative conditions could persist to great depths, over 100 m. Below this must be a compensating layer of biogenic organic material. Insight into the nature of past sources of oxidation on Mars will require searching for organics in the martian subsurface and sediments.

Hartman, Hyman↗

NASA NTRS1995

Mass Flux of ZnSe by Physical Vapor Transport

Mass fluxes of ZnSe by physical vapor transport (PVT) were measured in the temperature range of 1050 to 1160 C using an in-situ dynamic technique. The starting materials were either baked out or distilled under vacuum to obtain near-congruently subliming compositions. Using an optical absorption technique Zn and Se, were found to be the dominant vapor species. Partial pressures of Zn and Se, over the starting materials at temperatures between 960 and 1140 C were obtained by measuring the optical densities of the vapor phase at the wavelengths of 2138, 3405, 3508, 3613, and 3792 A. The amount and composition of the residual gas inside the experimental ampoules were measured after the run using a total pressure gauge. For the first time, the experimentally determined partial pressures of Zn and Se, and the amount and composition of the residual gas were used in a one-dimensional diffusion limited analysis of the mass transport rates for a PVT system. Reasonable agreement between the experimental and theoretical results was observed.

Sha, Yi-Gao↗

NASA NTRS1998

Dendritic Growth of Hard-Sphere Crystals

Recent observations of the disorder-order transition for colloidal hard spheres under microgravity revealed dendritic crystallites roughly 1-2 mm in size for samples in the coexistence region of the phase diagram. Order-of-magnitude estimates rationalize the absence of large or dendritic crystals under normal gravity and their stability to annealing in microgravity. A linear stability analysis of the Ackerson and Schaetzel model for crystallization of hard spheres establishes the domain of instability for diffusion-limited growth at small supersaturations. The relationship between hard-sphere and molecular crystal growth is established and exploited to relate the predicted linear instability to the well-developed dendrites observed.

Russel, W. B.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Microgravity Processing and Photonic Applications of Organic and Polymeric Materials

In recent years, a great deal of interest has been directed toward the use of organic materials in the development of high-efficiency optoelectronic and photonic devices. There is a myriad of possibilities among organics which allow flexibility in the design of unique structures with a variety of functional groups. The use of nonlinear optical (NLO) organic materials such as thin-film waveguides allows full exploitation of their desirable qualities by permitting long interaction lengths and large susceptibilities allowing modest power input. There are several methods in use to prepare thin films, such as Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) and self-assembly techniques, vapor deposition, growth from sheared solution or melt, and melt growth between glass plates. Organics have many features that make them desirable for use in optical devices such as high second- and third-order nonlinearities, flexibility of molecular design, and damage resistance to optical radiation. However, their use in devices has been hindered by processing difficulties for crystals and thin films. In this chapter, we discuss photonic and optoelectronic applications of a few organic materials and the potential role of microgravity on processing these materials. It is of interest to note how materials with second- and third-order nonlinear optical behavior may be improved in a diffusion-limited environment and ways in which convection may be detrimental to these materials.

Frazier, Donald O.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Evolution of Local Microstructures (ELMS): Spatial Instabilities of Coarsening

Glicksman, Martin E.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Modeling of Macroscopic/Microscopic Transport and Growth Phenomena in Zeolite Crystal Solutions Under Microgravity Conditions

Crystals grown from liquid solutions have important industrial applications. Zeolites, for instance, a class of crystalline aluminosilicate materials, form the backbone of the chemical process industry worldwide, as they are used as adsorbents and catalysts. Many of the phenomena associated with crystal growth processes are not well understood due to complex microscopic and macroscopic interactions. Microgravity could help elucidate these phenomena and allow the control of defect locations, concentration, as well as size of crystals. Microgravity in an orbiting spacecraft could help isolate the possible effects of natural convection (which affects defect formation) and minimize sedimentation. In addition, crystals will stay essentially suspended in the nutrient pool under a diffusion-limited growth condition. This is expected to promote larger crystals by allowing a longer residence time in a high-concentration nutrient field. Among other factors, the crystal size distribution depends on the nucleation rate and crystallization. These two are also related to the "gel" polymerization/depolymerization rate. Macroscopic bulk mass and flow transport and especially gravity, force the crystals down to the bottom of the reactor, thus forming a sedimentation layer. In this layer, the growth rate of the crystals slows down as crystals compete for a limited amount of nutrients. The macroscopic transport phenomena under certain conditions can, however, enhance the nutrient supply and therefore, accelerate crystal growth. Several zeolite experiments have been performed in space with mixed results. The results from our laboratory have indicated an enhancement in size of 30 to 70 percent compared to the best ground based controls, and a reduction of lattice defects in many of the space grown crystals. Such experiments are difficult to interpret, and cannot be easily used to derive empirical or other laws since many physical parameters are simultaneously involved in the process. At the same time, however, there is increased urgency to develop such an understanding in order to more accurately quantify the process. In order to better understand the results obtained from our prior space experiments, and design future experiments, a detailed fluid dynamic model simulating the crystal growth mechanism is required. This will not only add to the fundamental knowledge on the crystallization of zeolites, but also be useful in predicting the limits of size and growth of these important industrial materials. Our objective is to develop macro/microscopic theoretical and computational models to study the effect of transport phenomena in the growth of crystals grown in solutions. Our effort has concentrated so far in the development of separate macroscopic and microscopic models. The major highlights of our accomplishments are described.

Gatsonis, Nikos A.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Evolution of Local Microstructures: Spatial Instabilities of Coarsening Clusters

This work examines the diffusional growth of discrete phase particles dispersed within a matrix. Engineering materials are microstructurally heterogeneous, and the details of the microstructure determine how well that material performs in a given application. Critical to the development of designing multiphase microstructures with long-term stability is the process of Ostwald ripening. Ripening, or phase coarsening, is a diffusion-limited process which arises in polydisperse multiphase materials. Growth and dissolution occur because fluxes of solute, driven by chemical potential gradients at the interfaces of the dispersed phase material, depend on particle size. The kinetics of these processes are "competitive," dictating that larger particles grow at the expense of smaller ones, overall leading to an increase of the average particle size. The classical treatment of phase coarsening was done by Todes, Lifshitz, and Slyozov, (TLS) in the limit of zero volume fraction, V(sub v), of the dispersed phase. Since the publication of TLS theory there have been numerous investigations, many of which sought to describe the kinetic scaling behavior over a 0 range of volume fractions. Some studies in the literature report that the relative increase in coarsening rate at low (but not zero) volume fractions compared to that predicted by TLS is proportional to v(sub v)(exp 1/2), whereas others suggcest V(sub v)(exp 1/3). This issue has been resolved recently by simulation studies at low volume fractions in three dimensions by members of the Rensselaer/MSFC team. Our studies of ripening behavior using large-scale numerical simulations suggest that although there are different circumstances which can lead to either scaling law, the most important length scale at low volume fractions is the diffusional analog of the Debye screening length. The numerical simulations we employed exploit the use of a recently developed "snapshot" technique, and identifies the nature of the coarsening dynamics at various volume fractions. Preliminary results of numerical and experimental investigations, focused on the growth of finite particle clusters, provide important insight into the nature of the transition between the two scaling regimes. The companion microgravity experiment centers on the growth within finite particle clusters, and follows the temporal dynamics driving microstructural evolution, using holography.

Frazier, Donald O.↗

NASA NTRS1998

The Effects of Ground and Space Processing on the Properties of Organic, Polymeric, and Colloidal Materials

In recent years, a great deal of interest has been directed toward the use of organic materials in the development of high-efficiency optoelectronic and phototonic devices. There is a myriad of possibilities among organic materials which allow flexibility in the design of unique structures with a variety of functional groups. The use of nonlinear optical (NLO) organic materials as thin film wave-guides allows full exploitation of their desirable qualifies by permitting long interaction lengths and large susceptibilities allowing modest power input. There are several methods in use to prepare thin films such as Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) and self-assembly techniques, vapor deposition, growth from sheared solution or melt, and melt growth between glass plates. Organic-based materials have many features that make them desirable for use in optical devices, such as high second-and third-order nonlinearity, flexibility of molecular design, and damage resistance to optical radiation. However, their use in devices has been hindered by processing difficulties for crystals and thin films. We discuss the potential role of microgravity processing of a few organic and polymeric materials. It is of interest to note how materials with second-and third-order NLO behavior may be improved in a diffusion-limited environment and ways in which convection may be detrimental to these materials. We focus our discussion on third-order materials for all-optical switching, and second-order materials for frequency conversion and electrooptics. The goal of minimizing optical loss obviously depends on processing methods. For solution-based processes, such as solution crystal growth and solution photopolymerization, it is well known that thermal and solutal density gradients can initiate buoyancy-driven convection. Resultant fluid flows can affect transport of material to and from growth interfaces and become manifest in the morphology and homogeneity of the growing film or crystal. Likewise, buoyancy-driven convection can hinder production of defect-free, high-quality crystals or films during crystal and film growth by vapor deposition.

Frazier, Donald O.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Vapor Growth and Characterization of ZnSeTe Solid Solutions

Six ZnSe(1-x)Te(x) crystals were grown by the physical vapor transport technique. For each of the source material compositions, x = 0.10, 0.20 and 0.30, two crystals were grown - one under the horizontal and the other under the vertical stabilized configurations. The axial and radial compositional uniformity were measured by precision density measurements, wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDS) and optical transmission mappings. The measured radial ZnTe content was quite uniform for all the grown crystals except the horizontally grown crystal for x = 0.30. The WDS results on this crystal indicated a core with uniform ZnTe content, about 0.38, surrounded by a thin region of high ZnTe content with x = 0.8. This feature was confirmed by the SEM back scattering electron images. For the three source compositions the axial compositional variations for the vertically grown crystals were more uniform than that for the horizontally grown crystals. The measured compositions in the crystals grown from source composition of x = 0.10 suggest that the transport mechanism in the system can not be interpreted by a simple one-dimensional diffusion limited model.

Su, Ching-Hua↗

NASA NTRS1999

The Influence of Static and Rotating Magnetic Fields on Heat and Mass Transfer in Silicon Floating Zones

Hear and mass transfer in float-zone processing are strongly influenced by convective flows in the zone. They are caused by buoyancy convection, thermocapillary (Marangoni) convection, or artificial sources such as rotation and radio frequency heating. Flows in conducting melts can be controlled by the use of magnetic fields, either by damping fluid motion with static fields or by generating a def@ned flow with rotating fields. The possibilities of using static and rotating magnetic fields in silicon floating-zone growth have been investigated by experiments in axial static fields up to ST and in transverse rotating magnetic fields up to 7.S mT. Static fields of a few 100 MT already suppress most striations but are detrimental to the radial segregation by introducing a coring effect. A complete suppression of dopant striations caused by time-dependent thermocapillary convection and a reduction of the coring to insignificant values, combined with a shift of the axial segregation profile towards a more diffusion-limited case, is possible with static fields ? 1T. However, under certain conditions the use of high axial magnetic fields can lead to the appearance of a new type of pronounced dopant striations, caused by thermoelec:romagnetic convection. The use of a transverse rotating magnetic field influences the microscopic segregation at quite low inductions, of the order of a few mT. The field shifts time-dependent flows and the resulting striation patterns from a broad range of low frequencies at high amplitudes to a few high frequencies at low amplitudes

Croell, Arne↗