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At least 1,387 records · Page 77

Gravitational macrosegregation in binary Pb-Sn alloy ingots

A space shuttle experiment employing the General Purpose (Rocket) Furnace (GPF) in its isothermal mode of operation is manifested on MSL-3, circa 1989. The central aim of this experiment is to investigate the effect of reduced gravity levels on the segregation behavior in a slowly, and isothermally, cooled sample of a binary Pb-15 wt% Sn alloy. This experiment should be able to simulate, in a small laboratory sample, some aspects of the segragation phenomena occurring in large industrial ingots. Ground-based experiments conducted in the single-cavity simulator of the GPF, in support of the microgravity experiment are described in detail. The results of the MSFC experiments are compared with other related experiments conducted at Case Western Reserve University (CWRS), wherein the isothermal constraints were relaxed. The isothermally processed samples indicate a small and gradual increase in fraction eutectic, and a corresponding increase in tin content, from the bottom to the top of the ingot. The radial variations are minimal near the ingot bottom, but there are large radial variations in the top half. In the CWRU experiments, more severe segregations, including segregation defects known as freckles. Follow up experiments employing the GPF without the isothermal constraints, or other suitably modified space shuttle hardware are suggested.

Laxmanan, V.↗

Carbide-fluoride-silver self-lubricating composite

A self-lubricating, friction and wear reducing composite material is described for use over a wide temperature spectrum from cryogenic temperature to about 900 C in a chemically reactive environment comprising silver, barium fluoride/calcium fluoride eutectic, and metal bonded chromium carbide.

Sliney, Harold E.↗

Experimental evaluation of chromium-carbide-based solid lubricant coatings for use to 760 C

A research program is described which further developed and investigated chromium carbide based self-lubricating coatings for use to 760 C. A bonded chromium carbide was used as the base stock because of the known excellent wear resistance and the chemical stability of chromium carbide. Additives were silver and barium fluoride/calcium fluoride eutectic. The three coating components were blended in powder form, applied to stainless steel substrates by plasma spraying and then diamond ground to the desired coating thickness. A variety of coating compositions was tested to determine the coating composition which gave optimum tribological results. Coatings were tested in air, helium, and hydrogen at temperatures from 25 to 760 C. Several counterface materials were evaluated with the objective of discovering a satisfactory metal/coating sliding combination for potential applications, such as piston ring/cylinder liner couples for Stirling engines. In general, silver and fluoride additions to chromium carbide reduced the friction coefficient and increased the wear resistance relative to the unmodified coating. The lubricant additives acted synergistically in reducing friction and wear.

Dellacorte, Christopher↗

Microstructures of niobium-germanium alloys processed in inert gas in the 100 meter drop tube

The 100 meter drop tube at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has been used for a series of experiments with niobium-germanium alloys. These experiments were conducted with electromagnetic levitation melting in a 200 torr helium environment. Liquid alloys experienced large degrees of undercooling prior to solidification in the drop tube. Several interesting metastable structures were observed. However, the recalescence event prevented extended solid solubility of germanium in the A-15 beta phase. Liquids of eutectic composition were found to undercool in the presence of solid alpha and solid Nb5Ge3.

Bayuzick, R. J.↗

A new chromium carbide-based tribological coating for use to 900 C with particular reference to the Stirling engine

A new chromium carbide-based coating (PS 200) is described. This coating is shown to have good friction and wear properties over a wide temperature range. A nickel alloy-bonded chromium carbide coating was used as a baseline material for comparison with experimentally formulated coatings. Coatings were plasma sprayed onto metal disks, then diamond ground to a thickness of 0.025 cm. Friction and wear were determined using a pin on disk tribometer at temperatures from 25 to 900 C in hydrogen, helium, and air. Pin materials included several metallic alloys and silicon carbide. It was found that appropriate additions of metallic silver and of barium fluoride/calcium fluoride eutectic to the baseline carbide composition significantly reduced friction coefficients while preserving, and in some cases, even enhancing wear resistance. The results of this study demonstrate that PS 200 is a promising coating composition to consider for high temperature aerospace and advanced heat engine applications. The excellent results in hydrogen make this coating of particular interest for use in the Stirling engine.

Sliney, Harold E.↗

Dendritic growth of undercooled nickel-tin. I, II

A comparison is made between high speed cinematography and optical temperature measurements of the solidification of an undercooled Ni-25 wt pct Sn alloy. The first part of this study notes that solidification during the recalescence period at all undercoolings studied occurred in the form of a dendritelike front moving across the sample surface, and that the growth velocities observed agree with calculation results for the dendrite growth model of Lipton et al. (1986); it is concluded that the coarse structure observed comprises an array of much finer, solute-controlled dendrites. In the second part, attention is given to the solidification of levitated metal samples within a transparent glass medium for the cases of two undercooled Ni-Sn alloys, one of which is eutectic and another hypoeutectic. The data obtained suggest a solidification model involving dendrites of very fine structure growing into the melt at temperatures near the bulk undercooling temperature.

Wu, Y.↗

The alloy undercooling experiment on the Columbia STS 61-C Space Shuttle mission

An Alloy Undercooling experiment was performed in an electromagnetic levitator during the Columbia STS 61-C mission in January 1986. One eutectic nickel-tin alloy specimen was partially processed before an equipment failure terminated the experiment. Examination of the specimen showed evidence of undercooling and some unusual microstructural features.

Harf, Fredric H.↗

Heterogeneous-nucleation and glass-formation studies of 56Ga2O3-44CaO

Glass formation and heterogeneous crystallization are described for the reluctant-glass-forming 56Ga2O3-44CaO eutectic composition. The times and temperatures for nucleation at various cooling rates and experimental conditions were measured and empirical continuous-cooling-crystallization boundaries were constructed for various heterogeneous nucleation processes. A definition for an empirical critical cooling rate to form a glass from reluctant borderline glass formers is proposed, i.e., the cooling rate that results in glass formation in 95 percent of the quenching experiments.

Ethridge, Edwin C.↗

Glass formation and properties in the gallia-calcia system

The critical cooling rate for glass formation was measured for five compositions in the Ga2O3-CaO system and varied from a low of (315 + or - 85) C/s for a eutectic melt containing 37.5 mol pct Ga2O3 to a high of (840 + or - 60) C/s for a melt containing 52 mol pct Ga2O3. The density and refractive index both increased with increasing Ga2O3 content, but the crystallization temperature and microhardness varied only slightly. The IR spectra of these glasses suggest that both GaO4 tetrahedra and GaO6 octahedra are present.

Whichard, G.↗

Sputtered silver films to improve chromium carbide based solid lubricant coatings for use to 900 C

Thin silver films, 250 to 3500 A thick, were sputtered onto PS200, a plasma sprayed, chromium carbide based solid lubricant coating, to reduce run-in wear and improve tribological properties. The coating contains bonded chromium carbide as the wear resistant base stock with silver and barium fluoride/calcium fluoride eutectic added as low and high temperature lubricants respectively. Potential applications for the PS200 coating are cylinder wall/piston ring lubrication for Stirling engines and foil bearing journal lubrication. In this preliminary program, the silver film overlay thickness was optimized based on tests using a pin-on-disk tribometer. The friction and wear studies were performed in a helium atmosphere at temperatures from 25 to 760 C with a sliding velocity of 2.7 m/s under a 4.9 N load. Films between 1000 and 1500 A provide the best lubrication of the counterface material. The films enrich the sliding surface with lubricant and reduce the initial abrasiveness of the as ground, plasma-sprayed coating surface, thus reducing wear.

Dellacorte, Christopher↗

Self-lubricating coatings for high-temperature applications

Some present-day aeropropulsion systems impose severe demands on the thermal and oxidative stability of lubricant, bearing, and seal materials. These demands will be much more severe for operational systems around the turn of the century. Solid lubricants with maximum temperature capabilities of about 1100 C are known. Unfortunately, none of the solid lubricants with the highest temperature capabilities are effective below approximately 400 C. However, research shows that silver and stable fluorides, such as calcium and barium fluoride act synergistically to provide lubrication from below room temperature to approximately 900 C. Plasma-sprayed, self-lubricating composite coatings that were developed at Lewis are described. Background information is given on coatings, designed as PS100 and PS101, that contain the solid lubricants in a Nichrome matrix. These coatings have low friction coefficients over a wide temperature range, but they have inadequate wear resistance for some long-duration applications. Wear resistance was dramatically improved in a recently developed coating PS200, by replacing the Nichrome matrix material with metal-bonded chromium carbide containing dispersed silver and calcium fluoride/barium fluoride eutectic (CaF2/BaF2). The lubricants control friction and the carbide matrix provides excellent wear resistance. Successful tests of these coatings are discussed.

Sliney, Harold E.↗

Undercooled and rapidly quenched Ni-Mo alloys

Hypoeutectic, eutectic, and hypereutectic nickel-molybdenum alloys were rapidly solidified by both bulk undercooling and melt spinning techniques. Alloys were undercooled in both electromagnetic levitation and differential thermal analysis equipment. The rate of recalescence depended upon the degree of initial undercooling and the nature (faceted or nonfaceted) of the primary nucleating phase. Alloy melts were observed to undercool more in the presence of primary Beta (NiMo intermetallic) phase than in gamma (fcc solid solution) phase. Melt spinning resulted in an extension of molybdenum solid solubility in gamma nickel, from 28 to 37.5 at. pct Mo. Although the microstructures observed by undercooling and melt spinning were similar, the microsegregation pattern across the gamma dendries was different. The range of microstructures evolved was analyzed in terms of the nature of the primary phase to nucleate, its subsequent dendritic growth, coarsening and fragmentation, and final solidification of interfenderitic liquid.

Tewari, S. N.↗

Directional solidification of flake and spheroidal graphite cast iron in low and normal gravity environment

A NASA KC-135 research aircraft, flying repeated low-g trajectories that yield 20-30 sec of 0.1-0.001 g microgravity, has been used to study microgravity solidification's elimination of sedimentation and convection (with formation of unique and advantageous microstructures) for the case of eutectic-composition cast irons. The solidification interface of hypereutectic flake and spheroidal graphite cast irons has been slowly advanced through a 4 mm-diameter rod sample. Sample solidification rates have been correlated with accelerometer data, while independently controlling thermal gradients and solidification rates.

Hendrix, J. C.↗

The effects of atmosphere on the tribological properties of a chromium carbide based coating for use to 760 C

The effect of atmosphere on the tribological properties of a plasma-sprayed chromium carbide based self-lubricating coating is reported. The coating contains bonded chromium carbide as the wear resistant base stock to which the lubricants silver and barium fluoride/calcium fluoride eutectic are added. It has been denoted as NASA PS200. Potential applications for the PS200 coating are cylinder wall/piston ring couples Stirling engines and foil bearing journal lubrication. Friction and wear studies were performed in helium, hydrogen, and moist air at temperatures from 25 to 760 C. In general, the atmosphere had a significant effect on both the friction and the wear of the coating and counterface material. Specimens tested in hydrogen, a reducing environment, exhibited the best tribological properties. Friction and wear increased in helium and air but are still within acceptable limits for intended applications. A variety of X-ray analyses was performed on the test specimens in an effort to explain the results. The following conclusions are made: (1) As the test atmosphere becomes less reducing, the coating experiences a higher concentration level of chromic oxide at the sliding interface which increases both the friction and wear. (2) Beneficial silver transfer from the parent coating to the counter-face material is less effective in air than in helium or hydrogen. (3) There may be a direct relationship between chromic oxide level present at the sliding interface and the friction coefficient.

Dellacorte, Christopher↗

Mast material test program (MAMATEP)

The MAMATEP program, which is aimed at verifying the need for and evaluating the performance of various protection techniques for the solar array assembly mast of the Space Station photovoltaic power module, is discussed. Coated and uncoated mast material samples have been environmentally tested and evaluated, before and after testing, in terms of mass and bending modulus. The protective coatings include CV-1144 silicone, a Ni/Al/InSn eutectic, and an open-weave Al braid. Long-term plasma asher results from unprotected samples indicate that, even though fiberglass-epoxy samples degrade, a protection technique may not be necessary to ensure structural integrity. A protection technique, however, may be desirable to limit or contain the amount of debris generated by the degradation of the fiberglass-epoxy.

Ciancone, Michael L.↗

Gravitational macrosegregation in binary Pb-Sn alloy ingots

A space shuttle experiment employing the General Purpose (Rocket) Furnace (GPF) in its isothermal mode of operation is manifested on MSL-3, circa 1989. The central aim of this experiment is to investigate the effect of reduced gravity levels on the segregation behavior in a slowly, and isothermally, cooled sample of a binary Pb-15 wt pct Sn alloy. This experiment should be able to simulate, in a small laboratory sample, some aspects of the segregation phenomena occurring in large industrial ingots. Ground-based experiments conducted in the single-cavity simulator of the GPF, in support of the microgravity experiment are described in detail. The results of the MSFC experiments are compared with other related experiments conducted at Case Western Reserve University (CWRS), wherein the isothermal constraints were relaxed. The isothermally processed samples indicate a small and gradual increase in fraction eutectic, and a corresponding increase in tin content, from the bottom to the top of the ingot. The radial variations are minimal near the ingot bottom, but there are large radial variations in the top half. In the CWRU experiments, more severe segregations, including segregation defects known as freckles. Follow up experiments employing the GPF without the isothermal constraints, or other suitably modified space shuttle hardware are suggested.

Laxmanan, V.↗

Sputtered silver films to improve chromium carbide based solid lubricant coatings for use to 900 C

Thin silver films, 250 to 3500 A thick, were sputtered onto PS200, a plasma sprayed, chromium carbide based solid lubricant coating, to reduce run-in wear and improve tribological properties. The coating contains bonded chromium carbide as the wear resistant base stock with silver and barium fluoride/calcium fluoride eutectic added as low and high temperature lubricants, respectively. Potential applications for the PS200 coating are cylinder wall/piston ring lubrication for Stirling engines and foil bearing journal lubrication. In this preliminary program, the silver film overlay thickness was optimized based on tests using a pin-on-disk tribometer. The friction and wear studies were performed in a helium atmosphere at temperatures from 25 to 760 C with a sliding velocity of 2.7 m/s under a 4.9 N load. Films between 1000 and 1500 A provide the best lubrication of the counterface material. The films enrich the sliding surface with lubricant and reduce the initial abrasiveness of the as ground, plasma-sprayed coating surface, thus reducing wear.

Dellacorte, Christopher↗

Ceramic oxide reactions with V2O5 and SO3

Ceramic oxides are not inert in combustion environments, but can react with, inter alia, SO3, and Na2SO4 to yield low melting mixed sulfate eutectics, and with vanadium compounds to produce vanadates. Assuming ceramic degradation to become severe only when molten phases are generated in the surface salt (as found for metallic hot corrosion), the reactivity of ceramic oxides can be quantified by determining the SO3 partial pressure necessary for molten mixed sulfate formation with Na2SO3. Vanadium pentoxide is an acidic oxide that reacts with Na2O, SO3, and the different ceramic oxides in a series of Lux-Flood type of acid-base displacement reactions. To elucidate the various possible vanadium compound-ceramic oxide interactions, a study was made of the reactions of a matrix involving, on the one axis, ceramix oxides of increasing acidity, and on the other axis, vanadium compounds of increasing acidity. Resistance to vanadium compound reaction increased as the oxide acidity increased. Oxides more acidic than ZrO2 displaced V2O5. Examination of Y2O3- and CeO2-stabilized ZrO2 sintered ceramics which were degraded in 700 C NaVO3 has shown good agreement with the reactions predicted above, except that the CeO2-ZrO2 ceramic appears to be inexplicably degraded by NaVO3.

Jones, R. L.↗