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At least 1,333 records · Page 74

Advanced process control and novel test methods for PVD silicon and elastomeric silicone coatings utilized on ion implant disks, heatsinks and selected platens

Coatings play multiple key roles in the proper functioning of mature and current ion implanters. Batch and serial implanters require strategic control of elemental and particulate contamination which often includes scrutiny of the silicon surface coatings encountering direct beam contact. Elastomeric Silicone Coatings must accommodate wafer loading and unloading as well as direct backside contact during implant plus must maintain rigid elemental and particulate specifications. The semiconductor industry has had a significant and continuous effort to obtain ultra-pure silicon coatings with sustained process performance and long life. Low particles and reduced elemental levels for silicon coatings are a major requirement for process engineers, OEM manufacturers, and second source suppliers. Relevant data will be presented. Some emphasis and detail will be placed on the structure and characteristics of a relatively new PVD Silicon Coating process that is very dense and homogeneous. Wear rate under typical ion beam test conditions will be discussed. The PVD Silicon Coating that will be presented here is used on disk shields, wafer handling fingers/fences, exclusion zones of heat sinks, beam dumps and other beamline components. Older, legacy implanters can now provide extended process capability using this new generation PVD silicon - even on implanter systems that were shipped long before the advent of silicon coating for contamination control. Low particles and reduced elemental levels are critical performance criteria for the silicone elastomers used on disk heatsinks and serial implanter platens. Novel evaluation techniques and custom engineered tools are used to investigate the surface interaction characteristics of multiple Elastomeric Silicone Coatings currently in use by the industry - specifically, friction and perpendicular stiction. These parameters are presented as methods to investigate the critical wafer load and unload function. Unique tools and test methods have been developed that deliver accurate and repeatable data, which will be described.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Numerical Modeling Describing the Effects of Heterogeneous Distributions of Asperities on the Quasi-static Evolution of Frictional Slip

A better understanding of how slip accumulates along faults and its relation to the breakdown of shear stress is beneficial to many engineering disciplines, such as, hydraulic fracture and understanding induced seismicity (among others). Asperities forming along a preexisting fault resist the relative motion of the two sides of the interface and occur due to the interaction of the surface topographies. We employ a finite element model to simulate circular partial slip asperities along a nominally flat frictional interface. Shear behavior of our partial slip asperity model closely matched the theory described by Cattaneo. The asperity model was employed to simulate a small section of an experimental fault formed between two bodies of polymethyl methacrylate, which consisted of multiple asperities whose location and sizes were directly measured using a pressure sensitive film. The quasi-static shear behavior of the interface was modeled for cyclical loading conditions, and the frictional dissipation (hysteresis) was normal stress dependent. We further our understanding by synthetically modeling lognormal size distributions of asperities that were randomly distributed in space. Synthetic distributions conserved the real contact area and aspects of the size distributions from the experimental case, allowing us to compare the constitutive behaviors based solely on spacing effects. Traction-slip behavior of the experimental interface appears to be considerably affected by spatial clustering of asperities that was not present in the randomly spaced, synthetic asperity distributions. Finally, estimates of bulk interfacial shear stiffness were determined from the constitutive traction-slip behavior and were comparable to the theoretical estimates of multi-contact interfaces with non-interacting asperities.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Nonlinear Resonance Response of Porous Beam-Type Implants Corresponding to Various Morphology Shapes for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

Having excellent biocompatibility and apatite mineralization as well as efficient mechanical properties makes bredigite as one of the most attractive bioceramics. A beam-type porous biological implant in a 3D-printed architecture is designed with micron pore size. The surface properties, morphology, and size of the composed powders are evaluated using Scherrer and Williamson-Hall equation. The effect of MNPs deposition into the bredigite bioceramics and correlation with temperature effect on roughness of the prepared bio-nanocomposite are also investigated for hyperthermia application potential. The composed powders are characterized by x-ray diffraction, and then scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis (weight change, TGA), and atomic force microscopy are utilized to evaluate the surface topography. The resonance response is the tendency of a bone scaffold to respond at prominent amplitude while the frequency of its oscillations is equal to the structure’s natural frequency of vibration. Therefore, based on the obtained mechanical properties via the experimental approach for the bio-nanocomposite material, an analytical solution based upon the multiple-timescale method is carried out to analyze the nonlinear primary resonance of a 3D-printed porous beam-type biological implant under uniform-distributed load. According to SEM observations, there are hard agglomerates in the bredigite-magnetite nanoparticles (Br-MNPs) bio-nanocomposite material with low weight fraction of MNPs. However, they are broken down by increasing the amount of MNPs. Also, it is displayed that for lower MNPs weight fraction, the height of jump phenomenon related to the nonlinear resonance response is maximum and minimum for, respectively, irregular and mesoporous shapes of morphology, but their associated forcing amplitudes related to the bifurcation points are minimum and maximum, respectively.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

A crystal-plasticity-informed Gaussian Process Regression model to capture anisotropy in single crystal shape memory alloys

This work presents a machine learning (ML) framework that model the anisotropic actuation responses in a shape memory alloy. A Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) based ML model is trained on a set of different crystal orientations subjected to different actuation conditions. The training employed thermo-mechanical responses from a crystal-plasticity model that captures phase-transformation, stress-induced plasticity, and transformation-induced plasticity. Further, on training the GPR-ML model at fixed stress level for different orientations, it captured the thermo-mechanical responses accounting for the anisotropy, and predicted responses for new orientations with good accuracy. The GPR-ML model is able to capture the transformation temperature variations even when trained using multiple stress levels, and the transformation strain showed significant deviations. The developed GPR-ML model gave reasonable predictions for an unexplored sample set of orientations and loading conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Hydrogen effects on the deformation and slip localization in a single crystal austenitic stainless steel

Hydrogen is known to embrittle austenitic stainless steels, which are widely used in high-pressure hydrogen storage and delivery systems, but the mechanisms that lead to such material degradation are still being elucidated. The current work investigates the deformation behavior of single crystal austenitic stainless steel 316L through combined uniaxial tensile testing, characterization and atomistic simulations. Thermally precharged hydrogen is shown to increase the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) without previously reported deviations from Schmid’s law. Molecular dynamics simulations further expose the statistical nature of the hydrogen and vacancy contributions to the CRSS in the presence of alloying. Slip distribution quantification over large in-plane distances (> 1 mm), achieved via atomic force microscopy (AFM), highlights the role of hydrogen increasing the degree of slip localization in both single and multiple slip configurations. The most active slip bands accumulate significantly more deformation in hydrogen precharged specimens, with potential implications for damage nucleation. For $\langle$110$\rangle$ tensile loading, slip localization further enhances the activity of secondary slip, increases the density of geometrically necessary dislocations and leads to a distinct lattice rotation behavior compared to hydrogen-free specimens, as evidenced by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) maps. Finally, the results of this study provide a more comprehensive picture of the deformation aspect of hydrogen embrittlement in austenitic stainless steels.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The Plasmodium falciparum exported protein PF3D7_0402000 binds to erythrocyte ankyrin and band 4.1

Plasmodium proteins are exported to the erythrocyte cytoplasm to create an environment that supports parasite replication. Although hundreds of proteins are predicted to be exported through PEXEL-dependent and -independent mechanisms, the functions of exported proteins are largely uncharacterized. In this study, we used a biochemical screening approach to identify exported P. falciparum proteins that bound to inside-out vesicles prepared from erythrocytes. Out of 70 exported P. falciparum proteins tested, 18 bound to IOVs in 2 or more independent assays. Using co-affinity purifications followed by mass spectrometry, pairwise co-purification experiments and the split-luciferase assay, we identified 31 putative protein-protein interactions between erythrocyte cytoskeletal proteins and exported P. falciparum proteins. We further showed that PF3D7_1401600 binds to the spectrin-binding domain of erythrocyte ankyrin via its MESA erythrocyte cytoskeleton binding (MEC) motif and to the N-terminal domains of ankyrin and 4.1R through a fragment that required an intact PHIST domain. Introduction of PF3D7_1401600 into erythrocyte ghosts increased retention in the microsphiltration assay, consistent with previous data that reported a reduction of rigidity in red blood cells infected with PF3D7_1401600-deficient parasites. Finally, we found that PfEPF3 proteins bound to erythrocyte GAPDH, providing a potential link between Maurer’s clefts and the erythrocyte cytoskeleton early during infection.

Shakya, Bikash↗

Alkyl-Cyclens as Effective Sulfur- and Phosphorus-Free Friction Modifiers for Boundary Lubrication

Modern automotive engines operate at higher power densities than ever before, driving a need for new lubricant additives capable of reducing friction and wear further than ever before while not poisoning the catalytic converter. Reported in this paper is a new class of molecular friction modifier (FM), represented by 1,4,7,10-tetradodecyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (1a), designed to employ thermally stable, sulfur- and phosphorus-free alkyl-substituted nitrogen heterocycles with multiple nitrogen centers per molecule. The multiple nitrogen centers enable cooperative binding to a surface which provides strong surface adsorption and lubricant film durability in the boundary lubrication (BL) regime. A 1 wt % loading of the cyclen FM 1a in Group III base oil exhibits strong surface adsorption, leading to excellent reductions in friction (70%) and wear (95%) versus the pure Group III oil across a wide temperature range. The lubricant with the new FM additive also outperforms two commercially available noncyclic amine-based FMs and a fully formulated commercial 5W30 motor oil.

Desanker, Michael↗

Controlled softening of Cu{sub 64}Zr{sub 36} metallic glass by ion irradiation

We study the effect of irradiation with 5-20 keV recoils on the topological and chemical short-range order of Cu{sub 64}Zr{sub 36} metallic glass using molecular dynamics simulations. We show that within the cascade region, the structural backbone of stiff Cu-centered icosahedral units is destroyed, leading to locally softened areas. Under mechanical load, the formation of shear transformation zones is thus promoted in the damaged area. Our results suggest that irradiation is a means to introduce nucleation sites for multiple shear bands and thus prevents catastrophic failure due to the presence of a single critical shear band.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Miniaturized Multi-Band Antenna via Element Collocation

Although much research has been performed on a driven element parasitically loaded by another element shorted to ground for dual frequency operation, the novel concept of two or more coplanar-driven elements in close proximity designed for multiple frequency operation has not been represented in the literature. Since each higher frequency antenna is built into the lower frequency elements, the largest element controls the structure’s total size. Furthermore, by using the self-resonant frequency inherent in reactive elements due to device packaging, the aperture of each antenna, due to a low insertion loss path at the frequency of the larger element, will include that of all smaller radiators. This configuration provides a large standing wave ratio at the shorter wavelengths via several series capacitive-inductive connections. Therefore, each antenna element provides the required surface area for the frequency of operation while being isolated from the larger radiators. For this study, a dual 2.45/5.8 GHz microstrip patch encompasses a small surface area of 9 square inches and provides circularly polarized electromagnetic radiation in excess of 6 dBi. This concept can be extrapolated to include additional radiators or may be scaled to other frequencies of interest.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Impact of Rate Design Alternatives on Residential Solar Customer Bills. Increased Fixed Charges, Minimum Bills and Demand-based Rates

With rapid growth in energy efficiency and distributed generation, electric utilities are anticipating stagnant or decreasing electricity sales, particularly in the residential sector. Utilities are increasingly considering alternative rates structures that are designed to recover fixed costs from residential solar photovoltaic (PV) customers with low net electricity consumption. Proposed structures have included fixed charge increases, minimum bills, and increasingly, demand rates - for net metered customers and all customers. This study examines the electricity bill implications of various residential rate alternatives for multiple locations within the United States. For the locations analyzed, the results suggest that residential PV customers offset, on average, between 60% and 99% of their annual load. However, roughly 65% of a typical customer's electricity demand is non-coincidental with PV generation, so the typical PV customer is generally highly reliant on the grid for pooling services.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Fine Gradient Electrode and Micro Porous Layer Structures for Improved Heavy Duty Fuel Cells (Final Report)

The commercial deployment of Heavy Duty Fuel Cells(HDFC) for applications such as large trucks (for example, Class 8 capable of carrying 50,000 lb. loads) depends vitally on achieving high efficiency and durability at reasonable costs. Furthermore, the HDFC must operate under practical conditions such as with fuel and air impurities, multiple stop-start cycles, and under the extremes of climate our planet offers – from hot and cold to dry and wet. These conditions place a premium on the stability and utilization of the materials comprising the membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) powering the fuel cell. and the current catalysts, MicroPorous Layers, and Electrode structures and additives are insufficient for these needs. In Phase I Pajarito and Advent will develop durable electrocatalysts, MicroPorous Layer and electrode additives, and electrode structures for heavy duty fuel cells designed for zero-emission long-haul trucking. The electrocatalyst products are designed to solve the challenging durability and performance needs of fuel cells designed for long life and high efficiency through a combination of uniquely structured designed catalysts as well as new MicroPorous Layers (MPLs) and electrode structure additives. These improved materials will provide Pajarito both an expanded commercial opportunity in electrocatalysts, as well as new markets for MPL and electrode additives. The resulting public benefits include improved economics of fuel cells, a leading zero-emission technology for mobility, as well as reduced reliance on the critical minerals and metals used in the heavy-duty trucks industry. Possible follow-up Phase II and III projects would add full MEA products based on the Phase I efforts catalysts and additives, with full system validation by leading Fuel Cell Truck developers.

08 HYDROGEN↗

A User-Friendly GUI Tool for Automated Microstructural Analysis of Fiber-Reinforced Composites and Porous Structures

Understanding and quantifying microstructural features such as fiber orientation and porosity is critical for predicting the mechanical behavior and performance of fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Traditional manual analysis is time-consuming, subjective, and unsuitable for high-throughput datasets. We present a graphical user interface (GUI) application that automates the analysis of microscopy images to extract key microstructural metrics, including fiber orientation tensors, fiber orientation distribution, porosity and pore size distribution. The app integrates multiple image segmentation techniques including global and local thresholding, clustering, and region-based approaches, offering flexibility for different types of image qualities and features. Users can load microstructural images, select regions of interest and segmentation techniques tailored to their image dataset. It also addresses a critical challenge in fiber orientation analysis: the ambiguities caused by touching, overlapping, or partially cut fibers. It supports autorun examples for standardized workflows, enabling reproducible analysis and facilitating training and benchmarking. This tool significantly reduces manual intervention, enhances consistency, and accelerates data generation for structure–property modeling, process optimization, and digital materials research. The tool is intended for use by materials scientists, engineers, and researchers engaged in composite characterization, quality control, and machine learning-based microstructural studies.

Chawla, Komal [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000190327565)↗

Fatigue failure of hydrogen embrittled high strength steels

Results of an experimental investigation are presented concerning the fracture behavior of cathodically charged, quenched and tempered martensitic steels under cyclic load conditions. Introduction of H2 by cathodic charging reduced fatigue life by as much as 60%. It is proposed that subsurface transverse fatigue cracks nucleate simultaneously at multiple sites, such as at microcracks, voids, or inclusions. Fatigue crack growth then occurs on planes perpendicular to the major applied stress axis in the presence of the critical combination of applied external stress and hydrogen.

Kim, Y. G.↗

Study of controlled diffusion stator blading. 1. Aerodynamic and mechanical design report

Pratt & Whitney Aircraft is conducting a test program for NASA in order to demonstrate that a controlled-diffusion stator provides low losses at high loadings and Mach numbers. The technology has shown great promise in wind tunnel tests. Details of the design of the controlled diffusion stator vanes and the multiple-circular-arc rotor blades are presented. The stage, including stator and rotor, was designed to be suitable for the first-stage of an advanced multistage, high-pressure compressor.

Canal, E.↗

Coupled rotor-flexible fuselage vibration reduction using open loop higher harmonic control

A fundamental study of vibration prediction and vibration reduction in helicopters using active controls was performed. The nonlinear equations of motion for a coupled rotor/flexible fuselage system have been derived using computer algebra on a special purpose symbolic computer facility. The trim state and vibratory response of the helicopter are obtained in a single pass by applying the harmonic balance technique and simultaneously satisfying the trim and the vibratory response of the helicopter for all rotor and fuselage degrees of freedom. The influence of the fuselage flexibility on the vibratory response is studied. It is shown that the conventional single frequency higher harmonic control is capable of reducing either the hub loads or only the fuselage vibrations but not both simultaneously. It is demonstrated that for simultaneous reduction of hub shears and fuselae vibrations a new scheme called multiple higher harmonic control is required.

Papavassiliou, I.↗

A study of coupled rotor-fuselage vibration with higher harmonic control using a symbolic computing facility

A fundamental study of vibration prediction and vibration reduction in helicopters using active controls was performed. The nonlinear equations of motion for a coupled rotor/flexible fuselage system have been derived using computer algebra on a special purpose symbolic computing facility. The details of the derivation using the MACSYMA program are described. The trim state and vibratory response of the helicopter are obtained in a single pass by applying the harmonic balance technique and simultaneously satisfying the trim and the vibratory response of the helicopter for all rotor and fuselage degrees of freedom. The influence of the fuselage flexibility on the vibratory response is studied. It is shown that the conventional single frequency higher harmonic control (HHC) capable of reducing either the hub loads or only the fuselage vibrations but not both simultaneously. It is demonstrated that for simultaneous reduction of hub shears and fuselage vibrations a new scheme called multiple higher harmonic control (MHHC) is required. The fundamental aspects of this scheme and its uniqueness are described in detail, providing new insight on vibration reduction in helicopters using HHC.

Papavassiliou, I.↗

Establishing Hazardous Gas Launch Commit Criteria for the Space Shuttle External Tank Intertank Compartment

Until recently, the simultaneous detection and evaluation of multiple Space Transportation System (STS) element compartments for propellant leakage was not possible during the External Tank (ET) pre-pressurization (pre-press) phase of propellant loading; late in the loading sequence (T-3 min to T-0). There exist launch commit criteria (LCCS) designed to protect against leaks resulting in flammable mixtures in the intertank during the functional life of the ET; start of propellant loading through ET-Orbiter separation. However thus far, leak protection had relied on the premise that if a propellant supply system leak were to exist, it would be a leak of fixed area present at the start of propellant loading (dumb leak mode) and such a leak could be detected earlier in the loading sequence than the pre-press phase. No measures had ever been implemented which would protect against leaks potentially developing late in the loading sequence (smart leak mode), The STS community had baselined this situation as an accepted risk their decision supported by exhaustive hardware acceptance criteria and a history of many successful launches. With the recent development of improvements to the hazardous gas detection system (HGDS), an opportunity arose to monitor the intertank compartment for hazardous gas concentrations beyond the T-3 minute mark. In this timeframe the propellant supply system is pressurized for flight and protection was sought against potential leaks generated by this pressurization process. The challenge at hand was to develop LCCs in this timeframe that were not too conservative to unnecessarily prohibit a launch, yet not too liberal to endanger crew safety and mission success. Since essentially no measurement history existed in this timeframe, the LCCs would have to rely on analysis alone. At NASA's direction, Lockheed Martin Michoud Space Systems (LMMSS) developed requirements that would protect against a smart leak during pre-press. A smart leak protection strategy is noteworthy from an STS main propulsion system (NWS) community perspective. This paper presents the resultant requirements as well as the technical and program issues involved with establishing hazardous gas LCCs for the ET intertank compartment.

Baran, Adam J.↗

Magnetoelastic vibration damping properties of TbDy alloys

Damping of axial and bending mode vibrations in giant magnetoelastic polycrystalline TbDy alloys was studied at cryogenic temperatures. All specimens of TbDy were arc-melted in the proper composition ratio and dropped into a chilled copper mold. Additional treatments consisted of cold plane-rolling to induce crystallographic texture and then heat-treating to relieve internal stress. Mechanical hysteretic losses were measured at various strains, frequencies, and loading configurations down to 77 K. Both as-cast and textured polycrystalline TbDy samples were tested along with an aluminum specimen for comparison. Loss factors at multiple natural vibration frequencies of the samples were measured for axial modes. Larger damping rates were measured for axial mode vibrations than for bending mode vibrations, possibly reflecting the larger specimen volume contributing to magnetoelastic damping. At LN2 temperatures TbDy materials demonstrated q > 0.05 at 0.01 Hz and q > 0.1 at higher frequencies from 0.6-1.5 kHz.

magnetoelastic TbDy↗