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At least 19 records

In situ oxidation studies on /001/ copper-nickel alloy thin films

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies are reported of (001)-oriented single crystalline thin films of Cu-3%Ni, Cu-4.6%Ni, and Cu-50%Ni alloy which were prepared by vapor deposition onto (001) NaCl substrates and subsequently annealed at around 1100 K and oxidized at 725 K at low oxygen partial pressure. At all alloy concentrations, Cu2O and NiO nucleated and grew independently without the formation of mixed oxides. The shape and growth rates of Cu2O nuclei were similar to rates found earlier. For low-nickel alloy concentrations, the NiO nuclei were larger and the number density of NiO was less than that of Cu-50%Ni films for which the shape and growth rates of NiO were identical to those for pure nickel films. Phenomena involving a reduced induction period, surface precipitation, and through-thickness growth are also described. The results are consistent with previously established oxidation mechanisms for pure copper and pure nickel films.

Heinemann, K.↗

Seeded crystal growth of pseudobinary systems with large liquidus-solidus separation

The design and execution of seeded melt growth involving concentrated alloys is strongly dependent on the crystal-melt interface temperature and its change during seeding and growth. Thermodynamic instabilities during the seeding process can be controlled by the choice of the seed and melt composition and by the axial temperature gradient of the growth apparatus. These basic factors controlling seeded melt growth of concentrated alloys are of major importance for planning space experiments.

Bourret, E. D.↗

Modeling of Substitutional Site Preference in Ordered Intermetallic Alloys

We investigate the site substitution scheme of specific alloying elements in ordered compounds and the dependence of site occupancy on compound stoichiometry, alloy concentration. This basic knowledge, and the interactions with other alloying additions are necessary in order to predict and understand the effect of various alloying schemes on the physical properties of a material, its response to various temperature treatments, and the resulting mechanical properties. Many theoretical methods can provide useful but limited insight in this area, since most techniques suffer from constraints in the type of elements and the crystallographic structures that can be modeled. With this in mind, the Bozzolo-Ferrante-Smith (BFS) method for alloys was designed to overcome these limitations, with the intent of providing an useful tool for the theoretical prediction of fundamental properties and structure of complex systems. After a brief description of the BFS method, its use for the determination of site substitution schemes for individual as well as collective alloying additions to intermetallic systems is described, including results for the concentration dependence of the lattice parameter. Focusing on B2 NiAl, FeAl and CoAl alloys, the energetics of Si, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ru, Hf, Ta and W alloying additions are surveyed. The effect of single additions as well as the result of two simultaneous additions, discussing the interaction between additions and their influence on site preference schemes is considered. Finally, the BFS analysis is extended to ternary L1(sub 2) (Heusler phase) alloys. A comparison between experimental and theoretical results for the limited number of cases for which experimental data is available is also included.

Bozzolo, Guillermo↗

Cobalt: A vital element in the aircraft engine industry

Recent trends in the United States consumption of cobalt indicate that superalloys for aircraft engine manufacture require increasing amounts of this strategic element. Superalloys consume a lion's share of total U.S. cobalt usage which was about 16 million pounds in 1980. In excess of 90 percent of the cobalt used in this country was imported, principally from the African countries of Zaire and Zambia. Early studies on the roles of cobalt as an alloying element in high temperature alloys concentrated on the simple Ni-Cr and Nimonic alloy series. The role of cobalt in current complex nickel base superalloys is not well defined and indeed, the need for the high concentration of cobalt in widely used nickel base superalloys is not firmly established. The current cobalt situation is reviewed as it applies to superalloys and the opportunities for research to reduce the consumption of cobalt in the aircraft engine industry are described.

Stephens, J. R.↗

Dendritic growth in a supercooled alloy melt

A simple model which describes the growth of an 'array' of dendrites into a supercooled, binary, alloy melt is presented. Solute diffusion is calculated by superposing the solutions given by Flemings and Zener, and also, by superposing the solutions given by Ivantsov and Flemings. A general expression for the transport solution is suggested from which all other dendrite growth models presented earlier may be obtained as special cases. It is shown that both 'free' and 'constrained' growth may be described by a single transport solution, which indicates that (1) both thermal and solutal effects will be important during 'free' growth in dilute alloys, (2) only solutal effects are predominant during 'free' growth in concentrated alloys and during 'constrained' growth. An examination of the relevant dimensionless parameters also suggests that all dendrite growth models, regardless of the assumptions used to determine the tip radius (marginal stability, minimum undercooling, maximum velocity, minimum entropy production) should predict the experimentally observed extrema in tip radius and growth velocity in dilute alloys, during 'free' dendritic growth. Experimental data in binary H2O-NaCl and succinonitrile-acetone solutions are shown to be in good agreement with the model.

Laxmanan, V.↗

Solutal Convection and Its Effects on Crystal Growth and Segregation in Binary and Pseudo-Binary System with Large Liquidus-Solidus Separation

This research program is composed of theoretical and experimental studies of solutal convection and its effects on crystal growth and segregation in binary and pseudo-binary systems with large liquidus-solidus separation. The theoretical program has resulted in the development of a transient simulation of the growth of concentrated alloys in microgravity and has been used to study the dynamics of GeSi, PbSnTe, HgCdTe growth. Finite element analysis has also been developed for studying the interactions of buoyancy-driven convection in the melt caused by temperature and concentration variations with melt-solid interface morphology and alloy segregation in the grown crystal. These calculations are being compared directly to experimental measurements of segregation and interface shape for GeSi growth and GaGe growth. The results for SiGe indicate that careful design of the thermal system can result in almost diffusion-controlled growth on Earth because of the stablizing influence of the concentration gradient ahead of the solidification front.

Brown, R. A.↗

Analysis of Residual Acceleration Effects on Transport and Segregation During Directional Solidification of Tin-Bismuth in the MEPHISTO Furnace Facility

The objective of this work is to approach the problem of determining the transport conditions (and effects of residual acceleration) during the plane-front directional solidification of a tin-bismuth alloy under low gravity conditions. The work involves using a combination of 2- and 3-D numerical models, scaling analyses, ID models and the results of ground-based and low-gravity experiments. The latter are to be conducted during the MEPHISTO experiment scheduled for USMP-3 in early 1996. The models will be used to predict the response of the transport conditions and consequent solute segregation in directionally solidifying tin-bismuth melt. Real-time Seebeck voltage variations across a Sn-Bi melt during directional solidification in MEPHISTO on USMP-1 show a distinct variation which can be correlated with thruster firings. The Seebeck voltage measurement is related to the response of the instantaneous average melt composition at the melt-solid interface. This allows a direct comparison of numerical simulations with the Seebeck signals obtained on USMP-1. The effects of such accelerations on composition for a directionally solidifying Sn-Bi alloy have been simulated numerically. USMP-1 acceleration data was used to assist in our choice of acceleration magnitude and orientation. The results show good agreement with experimental observations. The USMP-3 experiments took place earlier this year (February 22 through March 6). There were several differences between the USMP-3 experiments as compared to USMP-1. Firstly a more concentrated alloy was solidified and, secondly, Primary Reaction Control System thruster burns were requested at particular times during four separate growth runs. This allowed us to monitor the response Seebeck response under well-characterized growth conditions. In addition, we carried out simulations during the experiment in order to interpret the Seebeck signal. Preliminary results are described here.

Alexander J. Iwan D.↗

The Effect of Solidification Rate on Morphological Stability

At low solidification rates, the criterion for the onset of morphological instability parallels closely the criterion of constitutional supercooling. At somewhat larger rates of solidification, however, the results of the perturbation theory of morphological instability differ significantly from the predictions of constitutional supercooling. This arises because the critical wave length for instability decreases as solidification rate increases and thus the effects of capillarity (solid-liquid surface tension) play a strong stabilizing role. This gives rise to the concept of absolute stability, according to which the system will always be stable for a sufficiently large rate of solidification. This enhanced stabilization by capillarity is present only so long as local equilibrium is maintained at the solid-liquid interface. If the interfacial temperature drops below its equilibrium value by an amount dependent on growth rate, oscillatory morphological instabilities can occur. The differences among these various stability criteria are illustrated by means of some simple two-dimensional diagrams that should supplant the conventional plots of (temperature gradient)/(growth rate) vs. alloy concentration.

Sekerka, R. F.↗

Implementation and Assessment of Advanced Analog Vector-Matrix Processor

This paper discusses the design and implementation of an analog optical vecto-rmatrix coprocessor with a throughput of 128 Mops for a personal computer. Vector matrix calculations are inherently parallel, providing a promising domain for the use of optical calculators. However, to date, digital optical systems have proven too cumbersome to replace electronics, and analog processors have not demonstrated sufficient accuracy in large scale systems. The goal of the work described in this paper is to demonstrate a viable optical coprocessor for linear operations. The analog optical processor presented has been integrated with a personal computer to provide full functionality and is the first demonstration of an optical linear algebra processor with a throughput greater than 100 Mops. The optical vector matrix processor consists of a laser diode source, an acoustooptical modulator array to input the vector information, a liquid crystal spatial light modulator to input the matrix information, an avalanche photodiode array to read out the result vector of the vector matrix multiplication, as well as transport optics and the electronics necessary to drive the optical modulators and interface to the computer. The intent of this research is to provide a low cost, highly energy efficient coprocessor for linear operations. Measurements of the analog accuracy of the processor performing 128 Mops are presented along with an assessment of the implications for future systems. A range of noise sources, including cross-talk, source amplitude fluctuations, shot noise at the detector, and non-linearities of the optoelectronic components are measured and compared to determine the most significant source of error. The possibilities for reducing these sources of error are discussed. Also, the total error is compared with that expected from a statistical analysis of the individual components and their relation to the vector-matrix operation. The sufficiency of the measured accuracy of the processor is compared with that required for a range of typical problems. Calculations resolving alloy concentrations from spectral plume data of rocket engines are implemented on the optical processor, demonstrating its sufficiency for this problem. We also show how this technology can be easily extended to a 100 x 100 10 MHz (200 Cops) processor.

Gary, Charles K.↗

Alloy hardening and softening in binary molybdenum alloys as related to electron concentration.

Determination of the effects of alloy additions of Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, and Pt on the hardness of Mo. Special emphasis was placed on alloy softening in these binary Mo alloys. A modified microhardness test unit permitted hardness determinations at homologous temperatures ranging from 0.02 to 0.15, where alloy softening normally occurs in bcc alloys. Results showed that alloy softening was produced by those elements having an excess of s + d electrons compared to Mo while those elements having an equal number or fewer s + d electrons than Mo failed to produce alloy softening. The magnitude of the softening and the amount of solute element at the hardness minimum diminished rapidly with increasing test temperature. At solute concentrations where alloy softening was observed, the temperature sensitivity of hardness was lowered. For solute elements having an excess of s + d electrons or fewer s + d electrons than Mo, alloy softening and alloy hardening can be correlated with the difference in number of s + d electrons of the solute element and Mo.

Stephens, J. R.↗

Friction and wear of iron-base binary alloys in sliding contact with silicon carbide in vacuum

Multipass sliding friction experiments were conducted with various iron base binary alloys in contact with a single crystal silicon carbide surface in vacuum. Results indicate that the atomic size and concentration of alloy elements play important roles in controlling the transfer and friction properties of iron base binary alloys. Alloys having high solute concentration produce more transfer than do alloys having low solute concentration. The coefficient of friction during multipass sliding generally increases with an increase in the concentration of alloying element. The change of friction with succeeding passes after the initial pass also increases as the solute to iron, atomic radius ratio increases or decreases from unity.

Miyoshi, K.↗

Mossbauer effect in the ion-implanted iron-carbon alloys

The concentration dependence of Mossbauer effect in four carbon ion-implanted iron absorbers, which contain carbon as the solute atoms, has been investigated over the range of concentration 0.05 through 1 atomic percent. The specimens were prepared by implanting carbon atoms on each reference iron foil with four different bombarding energies of 250 keV, 160 keV, 140 keV and 80 keV, respectively. Thus, the specimen contains a uniform dosage of carbon atoms which penetrated up to 3,000 A depth of the reference iron. In the measurement of Mossbauer spectra, the backscattering conversion electron counting geometry was used. Typical results of Mossbauer parameters of iron-carbon alloys show that the isomer shift, quadrupole shift, the effective hyperfine splitting of Fe-57, and the intensity ratio exhibit a large variation with the increase of carbon concentration in the environment of iron atoms.

Han, K. S.↗

Atomistic Modeling of Quaternary Alloys: Ti and Cu in NiAl

The change in site preference in NiAl(Ti,Cu) alloys with concentration is examined experimentally via ALCHEMI and theoretically using the Bozzolo-Ferrante-Smith (BFS) method for alloys. Results for the site occupancy of Ti and Cu additions as a function of concentration are determined experimentally for five alloys. These results are reproduced with large-scale BFS-based Monte Carlo atomistic simulations. The original set of five alloys is extended to 25 concentrations, which are modeled by means of the BFS method for alloys, showing in more detail the compositional range over which major changes in behavior occur. A simple but powerful approach based on the definition of atomic local environments also is introduced to describe energetically the interactions between the various elements and therefore to explain the observed behavior.

Bozzolo, Guillermo↗

Alloy hardening and softening in binary molybdenum alloys as related to electron concentration

An investigation was conducted to determine the effects of alloy additions of hafnium, tantalum, tungsten, rhenium, osmium, iridium, and platinum on hardness of molybdenum. Special emphasis was placed on alloy softening in these binary molybdenum alloys. Results showed that alloy softening was produced by those elements having an excess of s+d electrons compared to molybdenum, while those elements having an equal number or fewer s+d electrons that molybdenum failed to produce alloy softening. Alloy softening and alloy hardening can be correlated with the difference in number of s+d electrons of the solute element and molybdenum.

Stephens, J. R.↗

Analysis of thermoelectric properties of high-temperature complex alloys of nickel-base, iron-base and cobalt-base groups

The thermoelectric properties alloys of the nickel-base, iron-base, and cobalt-base groups containing from 1% to 25% 106 chromium were compared and correlated with the following material characteristics: atomic percent of the principle alloy constituent; ratio of concentration of two constituents; alloy physical property (electrical resistivity); alloy phase structure (percent precipitate or percent hardener content); alloy electronic structure (electron concentration). For solid-solution-type alloys the most consistent correlation was obtained with electron concentration, for precipitation-hardenable alloys of the nickel-base superalloy group, the thermoelectric potential correlated with hardener content in the alloy structure. For solid-solution-type alloys, no problems were found with thermoelectric stability to 1000; for precipitation-hardenable alloys, thermoelectric stability was dependent on phase stability. The effects of the compositional range of alloy constituents on temperature measurement uncertainty are discussed.

Holanda, R.↗