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Rogers, J. R.

Publications and source records attributed to Rogers, J. R..

At least 37 records · Page 2

A Liquid-Liquid Transition in an Undercooled Ti-Zr-Ni Liquid

If crystallization can be avoided, liquids enter a metastable (undercooled) state below their equilibrium liquidus temperatures, TI, finally freezing into a glass below a characteristic temperature called the glass transition temperature, T,. In rare cases, the undercooled liquid may undergo a liquid-liquid phase transition (liquid polymorphism) before entering the glassy state. This has been suggested from experimental studies of HzO and Si4. Such phase transitions have been predicted in some stable liquids, i.e. above TI at atmospheric pressure, for Si02 and BeF;, but these have not been verified experimentally. They have been observed in liquids of P7, Sis and C9, but only under high pressure. All of these transitions are driven by an anomalous density change, i.e. change in local structure, with temperature or pressure. In this letter we present the first experimental evidence for a phase transition in a low viscosity liquid that is not driven by an anomalous density change, but by an approach to a constant configuration state. A maximum in the specific heat at constant pressure, similar to what is normally observed near T,, is reported here for undercooled low viscosity liquids of quasicrystal- forming Ti-Zr-Ni alloys. that includes cooperativity, by incorporating a temperature dependent excitation energy fits the data well, signaling a phase transition.

Lee, G. W.↗

Surface Tension and Viscosity of Quasicrystal-Forming Ti-Zr-Ni Alloys

The surface tension and viscosity of quasicrystal-forming Ti-Zr-Ni alloys were measured over a range of temperature, including both stable and undercooled liquids by an Electrostatic Levitation (ESL) technique. ESL is a containerless technique which allows processing of samples without contact, greatly reducing contamination and increasing access to the metastable undercooled liquid. The measured viscosity is typical of glass-forming alloys of similar composition to the quasicrystal-forming alloys studied here, while the surface tension shows an anomaly at deep undercoolings.

Hyers, R. W.↗

Thermophysical Property Measurements in the MSFC ESL

Electrostatic Levitation (ESL) is an advanced technique for containerless processing of metals, ceramics, and semiconductors. Because no container is required, there is no contamination from reaction with a crucible, allowing processing of high temperature, highly reactive melts. The high vacuum processing environment further reduces possible contamination of the samples. Finally, there is no container to provide heterogeneous nucleation sites, so the undercooled range is also accessible for many materials. For these reasons, ESL provides a unique environment for measuring thermophysical properties of liquid materials. The properties that can be measured in ESL include density, surface tension, viscosity, electrical and thermal conductivity, specific heat, phase diagram, TTT- and CCT- curves, and other thermodynamic properties. In this paper, we present data on surface tension and viscosity, measured by the oscillating drop technique, and density, measured by an automated photographic technique, measured in the ESL at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

Hyers, R. W.↗

Small Particle Response to Fluid Motion using Tethered Particles to Simulate Microgravity

This paper reports on ground based work conducted to support the Spaceflight Definition project SHIVA (Spaceflight Holography Investigation in a Virtual Apparatus). SHIVA will advance our understanding of the movement of a particle in a fluid. Gravity usually dominates the equations of motion, but in microgravity as well as on earth other terms can become important. Before two members of our team found an analytical solution of the equations, numerical methods and/or neglecting terms were required. The general solution predicts that the usually neglected history term becomes important when the characteristic viscous time is in the same order as the vibration period and peaks when the two times are equal. In this case three force terms, the Stokes drag, the added mass, and the history drag must all be included in predicting particle movement. We also developed diagnostic recording methods using holography to save all of the particle field data, allowing the experiment to essentially be transferred from space back to earth in what we call the "virtual apparatus". Using state-of-the-art methods in holography we will quantify the three-dimensional motion of sets of particles, allowing us to test and apply the new analytical solutions. The motion of particles up to 4 mm in diameter in a fluid that oscillates at frequencies up to 100 Hz with amplitudes up to 200 microns is being examined. Ground studies to support the flight development program have employed various schemes to simulate microgravity. One of the most reliable and meaningful methods uses spheres tethered to a fine hair suspended in the fluid. We have also investigated particles with nearly neutral buoyancy. Recordings are made at the peak amplitudes of vibration of the cell providing a measure of the ratio of fluid to particle amplitude. The experiment requires precise location of the particle at the time of recording. The hologram of the particle provides microscopic images of the particle that are used for finding the position with an accuracy of a few microns. To make the experiment more versatile, the spaceflight system will record holograms both on film and electronically. The electronic holograms can be downlinked providing real time data. Results of the ground experiments, the flight experiment design, and data analysis procedures are reported.

Trolinger, J. D.↗

MSFC ESL Facility and Beamline Studies

The poster presentation provides an overview of the MSFC ESL facility. The technical capabilities and accomplishments of the facility are summarized. Future plans including the development of a pressurized processing chamber and additional high-energy X-ray beamline studies are outlined.

Rogers, J. R.↗

Triggered Nucleation in Ni60Nb40 Using an Electrostatic Levitator

External triggering of nucleation in an undercooled liquid metal has been performed for the first time in an electrostatically levitated sample of undercooled eutectic Ni60Nb40. With the Electrostatic Levitator (ESL) facility at NASA/MSFC, NiNb alloys were externally nucleated at various undercooling increments. Observation of the resulting microstructure indicates that only one nucleation site is initiated with a trigger if the undercooling is sufficiently high. Well-defined transition zones exist in all the samples. An "anomalous" fine structured eutectic is initially grown from the nucleation point into the undercooled liquid followed by an unexpected variable width transition zone leading to a coarse structured region of dendrites. Our study tends to corroborate the findings of other studies on highly undercooled eutectics regarding a coupled growth zone within which the lamellar structure is formed and outside of which the anomalous is found.

Rathz, T.↗

Studies of Nucleation and Growth, Specific Heat and Viscosity of Undercooled Melts of Quasicrystals and Polytetrahedral-Phase-Forming Alloys

The local atomic structures of undercooled liquid metals are presumed to be icosahedral; this order is incompatible with translational periodicity, constituting a barrier to the nucleation of the crystal phase. The extended atomic structure of the icosahedral quasicrystal (i-phase) is similar to that presumed in the undercooled liquid. Therefore, a comparison of the maximum undercooling in alloys that form the i-phase with those that form crystal phases provides a probe of the liquid structure.

Kelton, K. F.↗

Small Particle Response to Fluid Motion using Tethered Particles to Simulate Microgravity

This paper reports on ground based work conducted to support the Spaceflight Definition project SHIVA (Spaceflight Holography Investigation in a Virtual Apparatus). SHIVA will advance our understanding of the movement of a particle in a fluid. Gravity usually dominates the equations of motion, but in microgravity as well as on earth other terms can become important. Before two members of our team found an analytical solution of the equations, numerical methods and/or neglecting terms were required. The general solution predicts that the usually neglected history term becomes important when the characteristic viscous time is in the same order as the vibration period and peaks when the two times are equal. In this case three force terms, the Stokes drag, the added mass, and the history drag must all be included in predicting particle movement. We also developed diagnostic recording methods using holography to save all of the particle field data, allowing the experiment to essentially be transferred from space back to earth in what we call the "virtual apparatus". Using state-of-the-art methods in holography we will quantify the three-dimensional motion of sets of particles, allowing us to test and apply the new analytical solutions. The motion of particles up to 4 mm in diameter in a fluid that oscillates at frequencies up to 100 Hz with amplitudes up to 200 microns is being examined. Ground studies to support the flight development program have employed various schemes to simulate microgravity. One of the most reliable and meaningful methods uses spheres tethered to a fine hair suspended in the fluid. We have also investigated particles with nearly neutral buoyancy. Recordings are made at the peak amplitudes of vibration of the cell providing a measure of the ratio of fluid to particle amplitude. The experiment requires precise location of the particle at the time of recording. The hologram of the particle provides microscopic images of the particle that are used for finding the position with an accuracy of a few microns. To make the experiment more versatile, the spaceflight system will record holograms both on film and electronically. The electronic holograms can be downlinked providing real time data. Results of the ground experiments, the flight experiment design, and data analysis procedures are reported.

Trolinger, J. D.↗

The Connection Between Local Icosahedral Order in Metallic Liquids and the Nucleation of Ordered Phases

Over fifty years ago, David Turnbull showed that the temperature of many metallic liquids could be decreased far below their equilibrium melting temperature before crystallization occurred. To explain those surprising results, Charles Frank hypothesized that the local structures of undercooled metallic liquids are different from those of crystal phases, containing a significant degree of icosahedral order that is incompatible with extended periodicity. Such structural differences must create a barrier to the formation crystal phases, explaining the observed undercooling behavior. If true, the nucleation from the liquid of phases with extended icosahedral order should be easier. Icosahedral order is often favored in small clusters, as observed recently in liquid-like clusters of pure Pb on the (111) surface of Si(3), for example. However, it has never been shown that an increasing preference for icosahedral phase formation can be directly linked with the development of icosahedral order in the undercooled liquid. Owing to the combination of very recent advances in levitation techniques and the availability of synchrotron X-ray and high flux neutron facilities.

Kelton, K. F.↗

X-Ray and Electrostatic Levitation Undercooling Studies in Ti-Zr-Ni Quasicrystals Forming Alloys

The first undercooling nucleation measurements of electrostatic-levitated droplets of TiZrNi alloys that form the icosahedral quasicrystal phase (i-phase) are presented. The reduced undercooling for crystallization decreases with an increasing polytetrahedral order of the primary solidifying phase, supporting the existence of a developing icosahedral short-range order in the undercooled liquid. X-ray diffraction measurements made at the Advance Photon Source on levitated liquid droplets of these alloys at their liquidus temperatures, however, show no evidence for increased icosahedral order. This suggests that significant ordering only occurs below the melting temperature.

Rogers, J. R.↗

The Role of Convection and Growth Competition in Phase Selection in Microgravity: Controlled Convection in the Containerless Processing of Steel Alloys

Containerless processing using electromagnetic levitation (EML) is a powerful technique in the investigation of reactive molten metal systems. On ground, the power required to overcome the weight of the sample is sufficient to cause significant heating and induce substantial melt convection. In microgravity, the heating and positioning fields may be decoupled and the field strength may be varied to achieve the desired level of convection within the limits set by the geometry of the levitation coil and the sample size. From high-speed digital images of the double recalescence behavior of Fe-Cr-Ni alloys in ground-based testing and in reduced-gravity aboard the NASA KC-135 parabolic aircraft, we have shown that phase selection can be predicted based on a growth competition model. An important parameter in this model is the delay time between primary nucleation and subsequent nucleation of the stable solid within the liquid/metastable solid array. This delay time is a strong function of composition and a weak function of the undercooling of the melt below the metastable liquidus. From the results obtained during the first Microgravity Sciences Laboratory (MSL-1) mission, we also know that convection may significantly influence the delay time, especially at low undercoolings. Currently, it is unclear what mechanism controls the formation of a heterogeneous site that allows nucleation of the austenitic phase on the pre-existing ferrite skeleton. By examining the behavior of the delay time under different convective conditions, we hypothesize that we can differentiate between several of these mechanisms to gain an understanding of how to control microstructural. evolution. We will anchor these predictions by examining samples quenched at different times following primary recalescence in microgravity. A second important parameter in the growth competition model is the identification of the growth rate of the stable phase into the semi-solid array that formed during primary recalescence. Current dendritic growth theory is inadequate in predicting solidification behavior under these conditions as metallographic analyses show that stable phase growth proceeds along the interface between the metastable solid and residual liquid. Since growth velocity is independent of the initial undercooling relative to the metastable liquidus, we hypothesize that purely thermal effects can be separated from other important growth model parameters by careful selection of the liquid composition in a ternary system.

Matson, D. M.↗

The Vitrification and Determination of the Crystallization Time Scales of a Zr58.5Nb2.8Cu15.6Ni12.8Al10.3 Bulk Metallic Glass Forming Liquid

Zr58.5Nb2.8Cul5.6Nil2.8All0.3 is the first bulk glass forming liquid that does not contain beryllium to be vitrified by purely radiative cooling in the containerless electrostatic levitation process. The measured critical cooling rate is 1.75 K/s. The sluggish crystallization kinetics enable the determination of the time-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagram between the liquidus and the glass transition temperatures. At the nose of the TTT diagram, the shortest time to reach crystallization in an isothermal experiment is 32 seconds. In contrast to other bulk metallic glasses the scatter in the crystallization onset times are small at both high and low temperatures.

Hays, C. C.↗

Thermophysical Property Measurement and Materials Research in the NASA/MSFC Electrostatic Levitator

Containerless processing is an important tool for thermophysical property measurements and materials research. The freedom from a crucible allows processing of liquid materials in a metastable undercooled state, as well as allowing processing of high temperature and highly reactive melts. Electrostatic levitation (ESL) is a containerless method which provides a number of unique advantages, including the decoupling of positioning force from sample heating, the ability to operate in ultra-high vacuum or at moderate gas pressure (approximately 3 atm), and the ability to process non-conducting materials. ESL also has the potential to reduce internal flow velocities below those possible with electromagnetic, acoustic, or aero-acoustic techniques. The ESL facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is in use for thermophysical property measurements and materials research by a number of different internal and external investigators. The methods for obtaining access to the facility, as well as a summary of current capabilities and some future directions will be discussed.

Rogers, J. R.↗

Thermophysical Property Measurement and Materials Research in the NASA/MSFC Electrostatic Levitator

Containerless processing is an important tool for materials research. The freedom from a crucible allows processing of liquid materials in a metastable undercooled state, as well as allowing processing of high temperature and highly reactive melts. Electrostatic levitation (ESL) is a containerless method which provides a number of unique advantages, including the decoupling of positioning force from sample heating, the ability to operate in ultra-high vacuum or at moderate gas pressure (approx. 3 atm), and the ability to process non-conducting materials. ESL also has the potential to reduce internal flow velocities below those possible with electromagnetic, acoustic, or aero-acoustic techniques. In electrostatic levitation, the acceleration of gravity (or residual acceleration in reduced gravity) is opposed by the action of an applied electric field on a charged sample. Microgravity allows electrostatic levitation to work even more effectively. In microgravity, ESL can position larger samples than is possible on the ground, or it can position samples which maintain their charge poorly. Microgravity also reduces the effects of buoyant convection and sedimentation. The ESL facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is in use for thermophysical property measurements and materials research by a number of different internal and external investigators. The methods for obtaining access to the facility, as well as a summary of current capabilities and some future directions will be discussed.

Rogers, J. R.↗

High Undercooling of Ni59Nb41 Alloy in a Containerless Electrostatic Levitation Facility

Utilizing the containerless electrostatic levitation facility at NASA/MSFC, we were able to undercool the Ni-59Nb-41 (atomic) alloy by 210 K which was 160 deg. farther than the results of previous flight experiments. Undercoolings were clustered around 200 K during the repeated melting-freezing cycles on a single sample. Prior to this work, a metastable liquid separation had been presumed to limit the undercooling of this alloy. However, microstructural observations have revealed that undercooling was limited by crystal nucleation.

Robinson, M. B.↗