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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

High-Temperature Air Stability of Electrodeposited Copper Cobalt Oxide and Copper Manganese Oxide Absorber Coatings for Concentrating Solar Power

The solar absorptance of a thermal receiver surface significantly affects the photothermal conversion efficiency of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. The stability of solar receivers and coatings applied to improve solar absorptance at high temperatures is critical for efficient and long-term operation. This study analyzes the high-temperature air stability of multiscale fractal textured electrodeposited copper manganese oxide and copper cobalt oxide solar receiver coatings over a range of temperatures. The study also investigates the effect of high temperature on phase stability, chemical and morphological evolution, and the optical properties of the two solar absorber materials. A computational model is developed to determine the absorptance of the textured absorbers and is shown to match the experimental measurements closely over a range of heat treatment temperatures from 450 °C to 850 °C and durations up to 100 h. Degradation curves and coating stability maps are developed from the study. Copper manganese oxide and copper cobalt oxide coatings exhibit good thermal stability up to ~815 °C and 630 °C, respectively, with minimal changes in their optical and structural properties with thermal efficiency greater than 90%. Furthermore, the study offers valuable insights into the high-temperature annealing effects on the optical and structural properties of multiscale copper alloyed coatings fabricated by electrodeposition and presents a means of designing the optimal temperature range for maximizing absorber efficiency in practical applications.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Overview of a Versatile Loading System for Anisotropic Material Property Characterization

Additive manufacturing, cold rolling, and other thermomechanical treatments on metals, especially HCP, can cause texture and oriented grain structures resulting in anisotropic mechanical properties. This can lead to macroscopic response that significantly deviates from isotropic assumptions which motivates studying mechanical properties in multiple directions. In addition, multiaxial loading and complex stress states overlapping the above mentioned material anisotropy can lead to unexpected outcomes. Idaho National Laboratory developed an advanced mechanical testing system to study a range of uniaxial to multiaxial stress states while measuring the anisotropic response bringing insight into the overlap between material properties and stress states. High-temperature capability and stress- or strain-controlled loading is available to enable a variety of experiment types and conditions to measure elastic, plastic, and viscoplastic properties. This poster presents the design and capabilities of this system with preliminary results highlighting the benefits of multiaxial loading and anisotropic analysis in an integrated system.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing of Refractory Metals

The processing of refractory metals via additive manufacturing (AM) presents an opportunity to fabricatecomponents not possible through traditional powder metallurgy techniques. However, processing via AM isextremely challenging and there exist a host of technological limitations still unaddressed. Molybdenumand tungsten are two materials of particular interest for nuclear energy generation applications. Themajority of existing work on the processing of these materials is focused on laser powder bed fusion whereasa smaller body of work exists for electron beam melting AM. In general, material with acceptable densitycan be obtained via both routes however cracking is much more difficult to mitigate against. Strongcrystallographic fiber textures have been observed across a range of refractory systems. In this work wepresent our recent findings on electron beam melting AM of pure tungsten and molybdenum. Wedemonstrate that defect-free material can be obtained in both systems with appropriate processing. Strongbuild direction crystallographic texture fibers are observed in both systems. In molybdenum the fibertexture has direct impact on the resulting tensile behavior. These results demonstrate that electron beamAM is a suitable technology for processing these difficult to fabricate materials.

Fernandez-Zelaia, Patxi↗
DOE OSTI2021

Chiral Spin Textures in Amorphous Iron–Germanium Thick Films

Topological solitary fields, such as magnetic and polar skyrmions, are envisioned to revolutionize microelectronics. These configurations have been stabilized in solid-state materials with a global inversion symmetry breaking, which translates in magnetic materials into a vector spin exchange known as the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), as well as spin chirality selection and isotropic solitons. This work reports experimental evidence of 3D chiral spin textures, such as helical spins and skyrmions with different chirality and topological charge, stabilized in amorphous Fe-Ge thick films. Overall, these results demonstrate that structurally and chemically disordered materials with a random DMI can resemble inversion symmetry broken systems with similar magnetic properties, moments, and states. Disordered systems are distinguished from systems with global inversion symmetry breaking by their degenerate spin chirality that allows for forming isotropic and anisotropic topological spin textures at remanence, while offering greater flexibility in materials synthesis, voltage, and strain manipulation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Machine learning assisted rediscovery of methane storage and separation in porous carbon from material literature

Porous carbon (PC) has been widely regarded as one of the most promising absorbents for methane storage. Studies show that its uptake capacity and selectivity highly depend on textural structures. Although much effort has been made, unveiling their detailed structure-performance relationship remains a challenge. Here, we propose an innovative study where, with the assistance of machine learning, the hidden relationship of the textural structures of PC with the methane uptake and separation can be derived from existing data in material literature. Machine learning models were trained by the data, including specific surface area, micropore volume, mesopore volume, temperature, and pressure as the input variables and methane uptake as the output variable for prediction. Among the tested models, the multilayer perceptron (MLP) shows the highest accuracy in predicting the methane uptake. In addition, the model enables to automatically construct a uptake performance map in terms of micropore volume and mesopore volume. The obtained MLP model was also extended to explore the CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity by retraining it with the data collected from literature of PC for the CO 2 uptake. Finally, the constructed 2D selectivity map shows that the high selectivity can be achieved in the low CH 4 uptake region.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Strain‐Control of Cycloidal Spin Order in a Metallic Van der Waals Magnet

Abstract The manipulation of magnetism through strain control is a captivating area of research with potential applications for low‐power devices that do not require dissipative currents. Recent investigations of insulating multiferroics have unveiled tunable relationships among polar lattice distortions, Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interactions (DMI), and cycloidal spin orders that break inversion symmetry. These findings have raised the possibility of utilizing strain or strain gradient to manipulate intricate magnetic states by changing polarization. However, the effectiveness of manipulating cycloidal spin orders in “metallic” materials with screened magnetism‐relevant electric polarization remains uncertain. In this study, the reversible strain control of cycloidal spin textures in a metallic van der Waals magnet, Cr 1/3 TaS 2 , through the modulation of polarization and DMI induced by strain is demonstrated. With thermally‐induced biaxial strains and isothermally‐applied uniaxial strains, systematic manipulation of the sign and wavelength of the cycloidal spin textures is realized, respectively. Additionally, unprecedented reflectivity reduction under strain and domain modification at a record‐low current density are also discovered. These findings establish a connection between polarization and cycloidal spins in metallic materials and present a new avenue for utilizing the remarkable tunability of cycloidal magnetic textures and optical functionality in van der Waals metals with strain.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Energy-resolved neutron imaging and diffraction including grain orientation mapping using event camera technology

Time-of-flight neutron diffraction and energy-resolved imaging each provide unique perspectives into material properties. Neutron diffraction is useful for assessing microstructural parameters such as phase composition, texture, and dislocation densities, though it typically provides averaged data over the sampled volume. Energy-resolved imaging, on the other hand, offers both spatial and spectral information by detecting Bragg edges and neutron absorption resonances, which enables detailed mapping of microstructure and isotopic composition. When combined, these techniques have the potential to enrich our understanding of material behavior across different scales, enhancing our understanding of complex materials. Traditionally, these modalities are conducted on separate instruments, which is time-consuming and poses challenges for data integration. Here, we report the integration of the LumaCam, an event-mode energy-resolved neutron imaging camera with the HIPPO time-of-flight diffractometer at LANSCE. This integration enables simultaneous diffraction and imaging across the full spectrum, with analysis optimized for diffraction and Bragg-edge imaging in the thermal range (0.45–10 Å) and resonance imaging in the epithermal range (0.5–3000 eV), facilitating comprehensive multi-modal analysis. We demonstrate its capabilities through case studies, including spatial mapping of grain orientations in a steel sample and accurate thickness estimations for irregular samples including a depleted uranium cylinder and a natural silver-containing mineral specimen. The combined setup enhances real-time sample alignment and provides comprehensive data for crystal structure, texture, and isotopic composition analysis. This approach opens new possibilities for advanced applications in nuclear engineering, archaeology, and materials science.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Texture evolution as a function of scan strategy and build height in electron beam melted Ti-6Al-4V

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) enables customizable, on-demand parts, allowing for new designs and improved engineering performance. Yet, the ability to control AM metal alloy microstructures (i.e., grain morphology, crystallographic texture, and phase content) is lacking. Furthermore, this work performs corroborative neutron diffraction and large-scale electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) measurements to assess crystallographic texture in electron beam melted (EBM) Ti-6Al-4V as a function of scan strategy and build height. Texture components for one raster and two spot melt scan strategies were evaluated using a triclinic specimen symmetry to capture all possible texture components, which were found to be considerably different than previously reported values from studies employing orthotropic specimen symmetry. This finding highlights the importance of a standard method and best practice for assessing textures produced by AM.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Solidification texture, variant selection, and phase fraction in a spot-melt electron-beam powder bed fusion processed Ti-6Al-4V

The effect of a spot melt strategy on the solidification texture, variant selection, phase fraction, and their variations along the build height was investigated in comparison to a conventional linear melt strategy. Ti-6Al-4V alloy samples were manufactured by an electron-beam powder bed fusion process using two different melt strategies and characterized using high-energy synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The linear and spot melt cases resulted in β<100> cube and fiber textures, respectively, with the cube/fiber axis nearly parallel to the build direction. The α phase exhibited Burgers orientation relationship (BOR) with the parent β phase for both melt strategies. Although all of the key texture components and the BOR between the α and β phases were consistently observed in both cases along the build height, there were several measurable differences between the two. At the top of the build height, the β<100> build texture intensity was stronger in the linear case. However, the texture intensity in the linear case decreased gradually from the top to near the substrate, whereas the spot melt case did not show this trend. Moreover, the BOR was examined along the build height and the results showed that there is a distinct variant selection in the spot melt case, unlike the linear case. Specifically, the planar variants sharing ($\bar101$) β || (0002) α with [$\bar2\bar2\bar2$]β and [$2\bar22$]β were the most prominent in the spot melt, but no preference was identified in the directional variants. The β phase fraction was slightly lower in the spot melt case compared to the linear case. In both the cases, the β phase fraction decreased moving towards the substrate but remained significantly higher than that of the powder feedstock. Overall, the novel spot melt strategy produced a more homogeneous microstructure in terms of both the phase fraction and texture across the build height.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Characterization of Aluminum Metal Powders for Plutonium-238 Program

As part of radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) production for power sources in deep space exploration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) produces plutonium-238 ( 238 Pu). To produce 238 Pu, neptunium-237 ( 237 Np) targets are fabricated at ORNL and subsequently irradiated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at ORNL and the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Specifically, current flowsheets utilize neptunium dioxide ( 237 NpO 2 ) targets. Aluminum (Al) powder is blended with 237 NpO 2 target material to improve thermal conductivity during irradiation. The current composition of 237 NpO 2 /Al pellets (i.e., cermets, or ceramic–metallics) is 20% 237 NpO 2 , 70% Al, and 10% void space. Al powders utilized by the 238 Pu program are high-fired under vacuum before blending into targets. The primary objective of this work is to measure the physical, chemical, and thermal properties of Al before and after the high-firing process. Properties of interest include the morphology, surface texture, particle size, crystal phase(s), and thermal conductivity of the material. These properties are measured with existing materials characterization equipment at ORNL, including powder x-ray diffraction (pXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), laser flash analysis (LFA), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). A secondary objective of this work is to compare the Al powders before and after the high-firing procedure to determine the effects of high-firing on chemical, physical, and thermal properties and to determine the efficacy of the high-firing process.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Considering interplay between multiple physical phenomena to elucidate single crystal-like texture, phase transformations, and mechanical behavior of directed energy deposited SS316L

A widespread implementation of large scale additive manufacturing (AM) processes, such as wire arc-directed energy deposition (WA-DED) AM can transform the current manufacturing supply chain networks. Naturally, such implementation requires control of the microstructural attributes, such as texture and phase evolution in the processed alloys. Currently, the texture evolution in fusion-based AM (F-BAM) processes is majorly rationalized by the phenomena occurring only during solidification. However, such rationalization is insufficient for understanding the evolution of primary and secondary crystallographic orientations, and consequently, fails to offer a comprehensive understanding and control of overall texture in F-BAM processed alloys. To this end, we report a single crystal (SX)-like texture in WA-DED processed SS316L for the first time. Furthermore, we assess the physical phenomena that may lead to such unique microstructural evolution during WA-DED AM. Subsequently, using microstructural characterization spanning the build height and thermomechanical simulations we investigate the effect of competitive growth and epitaxial growth occurring during solidification and thermally induced plastic deformation occurring post solidification on the overall texture of WA-DED processed SS316L. A spatial variation in solidification pathway is also established and correlated with variation in undercoolings across the build. Tensile tests revealed a strong orientation dependence of deformation mechanisms with over 110% elongation to failure of specimens deformed along <011>. Such anisotropy is rationalized using Schmid's analysis of dislocation slip and deformation twinning. Importantly, overall, the mechanisms outlined in this work will facilitate an enhanced understanding and subsequent control of texture evolution, solidification behavior and mechanical behavior of WA-DED processed steels.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Anomalies in the electromagnetic response and peculiarities of the domain structure in the magnetic Weyl semimetal Co 3⁢ Sn 2 ⁢S 2

In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of magnetic properties of Co 3 ⁢Sn 2 ⁢S 2 (CoSnS) crystals using macroscopic characterization and observations of the domain structure (DS) in a wide range of easy- and hard-axis fields (𝐻) and temperatures (𝑇). From macroscopic measurements, we derive temperature dependences of the basic magnetic parameters of the material [saturation magnetization 𝑀 𝑠 ⁡(𝑇), uniaxial anisotropy constant 𝐾⁡(𝑇), and exchange stiffness 𝐴⁡(𝑇)] and, based on them, calculate the thermodynamic magnetization 𝑀⁡(𝐻,𝑇) curves and DS parameters for pinning-free samples. We find important qualitative and quantitative differences between the theory and experiment defined by the efficient pinning of domain walls (DWs) in our samples. It turns out that, already at temperatures close to the ferromagnetic transition 𝑇 𝑐 , the DW dynamics falls into the heavy creep regime, resulting in a strong deferral of the DS adjustment into the equilibrium state. Here, we suggest that specific magnetic defects, responsible for pinning and causing field-tuned reproducible domain nucleation patterns observed in our high-quality samples, are pointlike. Recently found magnetic polarons formed around vacancies and impurities, which carry strong diamagnetic moments of spin-orbit nature and are intrinsic for CoSnS and expected in other Weyl semimetals, are a possible source of pinning yielding peculiar 𝑀⁡(𝐻,𝑇) response of CoSnS.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Accidental persistent spin textures in the proustite mineral family

Persistent spin textures (PSTs) in momentum space have the potential to enable spintronic devices which are currently limited by spin lifetimes in nonmagnetic spin-orbit coupled materials. We perform a first-principles study on the proustite mineral family, Ag 3 ⁢B⁢Q 3 (B = As, Sb; Q = S, Se), and show these chalcogenides exhibit nonsymmetry-protected PSTs, which we refer to as symmetry-assisted PSTs. Chemical substitution can be used to tune the PST quality and properties, e.g., spin lifetime, and we find that a Rashba anisotropy criterion correlates with the PST area and spin lifetime for two of the three proustites examined. Last, we show that a first-order effective SOC Hamiltonian, often used in two-dimensional systems, is insufficient to describe the PST state in all proustites, suggesting that higher order models are necessary to fully describe PSTs in bulk three-dimensional materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Designed Spin‐Texture‐Lattice to Control Anisotropic Magnon Transport in Antiferromagnets

Abstract Spin waves in magnetic materials are promising information carriers for future computing technologies due to their ultra‐low energy dissipation and long coherence length. Antiferromagnets are strong candidate materials due, in part, to their stability to external fields and larger group velocities. Multiferroic antiferromagnets, such as BiFeO 3 (BFO), have an additional degree of freedom stemming from magnetoelectric coupling, allowing for control of the magnetic structure, and thus spin waves, with the electric field. Unfortunately, spin‐wave propagation in BFO is not well understood due to the complexity of the magnetic structure. In this work, long‐range spin transport is explored within an epitaxially engineered, electrically tunable, 1D magnonic crystal. A striking anisotropy is discovered in the spin transport parallel and perpendicular to the 1D crystal axis. Multiscale theory and simulation suggest that this preferential magnon conduction emerges from a combination of a population imbalance in its dispersion, as well as anisotropic structural scattering. This work provides a pathway to electrically reconfigurable magnonic crystals in antiferromagnets.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Spin Texture Control and Magnetic Gap Engineering in a Ferromagnetic Insulator–Topological Insulator Sandwiched Heterostructure

Quantum materials that combine magnetism with topological order are emerging as key platforms for next-generation spintronics and low-energy electronics. They enable the realization of emergent quantum phenomena, such as the quantum anomalous Hall effect and axion insulator states. The ferromagnetic insulator (FMI)/topological insulator (TI)/FMI sandwich structure of a single-septuple layer (1SL) MnBi 2 Te 4 /four-quintuple layer (4QL) Bi 2 Te 3 /1SL MnBi 2 Te 4 holds great potential to achieve such desirable quantum phenomena at an elevated temperature, owing to its large Dirac point band gap and high Curie temperature. Here, for this work, spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (spin-ARPES) is employed to directly verify that the band gap arises from broken time-reversal symmetry via proximity-driven magnetization. This study demonstrates direct control of the spin state via external magnetic fields and unambiguously confirms the exchange interaction as the gap-opening mechanism. The robust magnetic gap and controllable spin texture make this heterostructure a suitable candidate for spintronic applications and magnetic topological quantum phases.

exchange gap↗
DOE OSTI2020

Size-dependent stochastic tensile properties in additively manufactured 316L stainless steel

Recent work in metal additive manufacturing (AM) suggests that mechanical properties may vary with feature size; however, these studies do not provide a statistically robust description of this phenomenon, nor do they provide a clear causal mechanism. Because of the huge design freedom afforded by 3D printing, AM parts typically contain a range of feature sizes, with particular interest in smaller features, so the size effect must be well understood in order to make informed design decisions. This work investigates the effect of feature size on the stochastic mechanical performance of laser powder bed fusion tensile specimens. A high-throughput tensile testing method was used to characterize the effect of specimen size on strength, elastic modulus and elongation in a statistically meaningful way. The effective yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and modulus decreased strongly with decreasing specimen size: all three properties were reduced by nearly a factor of two as feature dimensions were scaled down from 6.25 mm to 0.4 mm. Hardness and microstructural observations indicate that this size dependence was not due to an intrinsic change in material properties, but instead the effects of surface roughness on the geometry of the specimens. Finite element analysis using explicit representations of surface topography shows the critical role surface features play in creating stress concentrations that trigger deformation and subsequent fracture. The experimental and finite element results provide the tools needed to make corrections in the design process to more accurately predict the performance of AM components.

316L stainless steel↗
DOE OSTI2024

Temperature-dependent mechanical properties and crystal plasticity parameters for additively manufactured Haynes-214 alloy: Experiments and numerical modeling

Our experimental mechanical testing data demonstrated that the additively manufactured (AM) laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) Haynes-214 alloy exhibits non-linear mechanical properties as the temperature rises from ambient to 870 °C. Crystal plasticity (CP) simulations provide an effective approach to gaining deeper insights into microstructure-property linkages under thermomechanical loading. This method can reduce the need for costly high-temperature mechanical testing while accounting for the effects of crystallographic texture and grain morphology on the mechanical behavior of AM materials. However, calibrating a CP model is time-consuming because individual simulations are computationally expensive and hundreds (or more) of iterations over parameter sets may be required. To address this issue, we have designed a machine learning-differential evolution (ML-DE) CP framework that can accurately interpolate the tensile properties of AM L-PBF Haynes-214 alloy across a wide temperature range from ambient to 870 °C, with minimal reliance on experimental data. The framework uses electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) measurements to generate statistically equivalent microstructural volume elements to serve as inputs to the CP modeling framework. Stress–strain curves were generated from 1000 CP simulations, which serve as the training data set for the three ML regression algorithms explored: linear, extra-trees, and multi-layer perceptron. These three regression models were independently evaluated to compare their efficiency and identify the most suitable algorithm for the given problem. Results revealed that the extra-trees ML regressor outperforms the other models in both qualitative and quantitative aspects with an R 2 of 0.98. Subsequently, the differential evolution optimization approach is employed to calibrate the ML-based CP material parameters with experimental results obtained at various temperatures. Finally, temperature-dependent CP material parameters are formulated. The effectiveness and efficiency of the designed framework are validated through comparison with experimental results, demonstrating a high degree of agreement. These calibrated parametric constitutive equations enable further use of the CP model to study the deformation behavior of this alloy under a wide range of thermo-mechanical loading conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗