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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Complete Optimization of LPBF Ni-Based Alloys Down-Selected from FY23 Candidate Materials Including, Thermodynamic Modeling, Sample Fabrication and Microstructure Characterization

The goal of the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMT) program is to accelerate the incorporation of new materials and manufacturing technologies into advanced nuclear-related systems. Although 316H stainless steel fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) has already been identified as an alloy that could have a significant effect on various reactor technologies, many other materials and manufacturing techniques are being evaluated. Nickel-based alloys typically offer higher-temperature capabilities compared with advanced stainless steels, and previous reports looked at three Ni-based alloy categories: low-Co alloys with a potential use close to the reactor core; high-temperature, high-strength alloys; and molten salt–compatible alloys. In the first category, alloy 718 was studied in 2023, and creep testing at 600°C and 650°C revealed that the alloy exhibited great creep strength after the appropriate annealing but had low ductility. Advanced characterization was recently conducted to highlight the presence of strengthening γ' and γ" precipitates after creep testing and to show that brittle phases at grain boundaries might explain the low ductility of LPBF 718 compared with wrought 718. For the high-temperature, high-strength alloys, previously purchased powders of alloys 617, 230, and 625 were used to assess the printability of these three solution-strengthened alloys. Hot cracking could not be suppressed for alloy 617 and 230, and it was shown that these cracks, which were elongated along the build direction (BD), had a drastic effect on the ductility of alloy 230 at room temperature when specimens were machined perpendicular to the BD. On the contrary, LPBF printing of crack-free alloy 625 was achieved using similar printing parameters, and the alloy looked like a promising candidate for various reactor technologies. The fabrication of alloy 282 by LPBF, a γ'-strengthened alloy with great creep strength up to 800°C, was performed in 2023, and x-ray computed tomography (XCT) scans of the alloy before and after creep testing at 750°C were carried out to assess the effect of flaws on the alloy’s creep behavior. Correlation between the flaws’ volume fraction, creep ductility, and creep lifetime could be established, and future work on LPBF 625 will take full advantage of in situ printing data and ex situ XCT scans to accelerate the alloy qualification. Finally, single track experiments were performed on the two alloys previously identified as good molten salt–resistant, Ni-based candidates: Hastelloy N and 244. Various laser parameters were considered, and cracking was not observed for either of the two alloys. Wrought 244 offers better creep strength and molten salt compatibility than alloy 625, and future work will aim to establish the alloy LPBF processing window.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Non-Rare Earth Magnesium Bumper Beams

Magna will team with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE™) of rectangular and multi-zoned extrusion profiles using non-RE Mg. It is envisioned that the ShAPE™ process, developed during this project for non-circular profiles, will serve as the foundation for fabrication of full-scale bumper beams of the future where near net-shapes are extruded directly from castings in a single step, without the need for costly rare earth additives. In this project, the ShAPE™ process will be developed for a rectangular profile measuring 1” x 2” with a 0.06” wall thickness. Successful extrusion of rectangular cross sections is a critical step along the path toward profiles with multiple zones. With the process established for a rectangular profile, the project will then make advancements toward multi-zoned cross sections. A magnesium alloy bumper beam offers a 35% weight savings compared to aluminum alloys and 60% compared to high strength steels. The bumper beam was chosen as the first component to target because the geometry can have a fairly simple 0.6-0.12 inch wall/web thickness, generally compatible with PNNL’s knowledge base and equipment capability surrounding ShAPE™. The bumper component offers commercial value by providing mass reduction in the front of the vehicle along with ride and handling benefit. PNNL has demonstrated the ability to ShAPE™ process non-RE Mg tubing with high strength, ductility and energy absorption. It has been shown that ShAPE™ extruded ZK60 and Mg2Si tubing with 0.30 inch diameter and 0.03 inch wall thickness have similar energy absorption to AA6061-T6. This is due to significant grain refinement, breakdown and dispersion of second phases, and the ability to eliminate anisotropy in compressive/tensile strength by aligning texture 45 degrees to the extrusion axis. Scalability of the ShAPE™ process has been demonstrated in ZK60 by fabricating 2.0 inch diameter tubing with 0.06 and 0.12 inch wall thicknesses having concentricity as tight as 1.3%. These tubes exhibit an ultimate tensile strength of 260-300 MPa and room temperature ductility of >20% parallel, perpendicular and 45 degrees to the extrusion axis. Aluminum bumpers represent approximately 54% of the NA light vehicle market. If the research effort is successful, providing a 30% mass reduction at equal cost relative to aluminum bumpers, it is anticipated that 25% market penetration would be realized over the next 5 year and 50% market share by 2030. 100% of the aluminum automotive bumpers are sourced from the tier network, providing resourcing opportunity based on equal performance, reduced mass and cost equivalent lower than aluminum bumpers. Due to the relatively low vehicle content, magnesium components are currently shredded and 100% recycled with aluminum content in the US, presenting a positive life cycle impact.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Corrosion Protection and Dissimilar Material Joining for Next Generation Lightweight Vehicles

The Arconic Technology Center working with Honda R&D Americas, LLC and the Ohio State University evaluated the corrosion performance of several multi-material conditions and demonstrated the production worthiness of the Resistance Spot Riveting (RSR™) process. RSR is a new technology being developed by Howmet Fastening Systems (formerly Arconic, Inc.) that employs a fastener that is installed using conventional resistance spot welding equipment to produce multi-material joints. The goal of the 3-year project was to demonstrate the use of RSR to join aluminum to steel and aluminum to carbon fiber composites on a prototype scale. Deployment of this technology would help the automotive industry achieve an additional 10 to 20% weight reduction over high strength steels. These weight-savings to the body in white generally translates to 2.5-5.0% of overall vehicle curb weight. The resulting total weight-savings could provide a 1.5% to 3.0% total improvement in fuel efficiency for vehicles that incorporate RSR for multi-material joining. The RSR technology addresses several production barriers to achieving DOE’s fuel efficiency targets including eliminating the need of additional capital for new joining technologies and the flexibility to process conventional steel and multi-material structures with the same equipment. Additionally, the trend towards ultra-high strength steels limits the availability of conventional joining technologies that can effectively process these multi-material combinations. In order to accomplish these goals, the following program milestones were completed by the team: 1) Developed RSR process parameters, producing multi-material joints for mechanical testing and corrosion assessments. 2) Conducted corrosion evaluation of RSR and baseline joints assembled between automotive type aluminum alloys, steels, and carbon fiber using several corrosion mitigation strategies. 3) Developed a production ready feed system and integrate into a robotic resistance spot welding station to simulate automotive production conditions. 4) Produced demonstration assemblies for testing and evaluation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantitative insights into the dislocation source behavior of twin boundaries suggest a new dislocation source mechanism

Pop-in statistics from nanoindentation with spherical indenters are used to determine the stress required to activate dislocation sources in twin boundaries (TBs) in copper and its alloys. The TB source activation stress is smaller than that needed for bulk single crystals, irrespective of the indenter size, dislocation density and stacking fault energy. Because an array of pre-existing Frank partial dislocations is present at a TB, we propose that dislocation emission from the TB occurs by the Frank partials splitting into Shockley partials moving along the TB plane and perfect lattice dislocations, both of which are mobile. The proposed mechanism is supported by recent high resolution transmission electron microscopy images in deformed nanotwinned (NT) metals and may help to explain some of the superior properties of nanotwinned metals (e.g. high strength and good ductility), as well as the process of detwinning by the collective formation and motion of Shockley partial dislocations along TBs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Age hardening response of Cu-30Ni alloys: The role of Si microalloying additions

Cu-30Ni alloys offer high strength and excellent corrosion resistance for maritime applications. While primarily a solid solution system, industrial alloys typically include microalloying additions of Fe, Mn, Nb and/or Si to enable age hardening. However, an understanding of the microstructural evolution during age hardening remains incomplete. Here, we conduct systematic ageing treatments and report the resulting hardness and microstructures. The Cu-30Ni alloy with Si aged at 650 °C for 6 h demonstrates significantly enhanced Vickers hardness, reaching ∼201 HV 1 compared to 103 HV 1 for the as-homogenised sample. Si-rich clusters and γ′ precipitates are identified, with their composition, size, and volume fraction quantified to determine their strengthening contributions. First-principles atomistic simulations elucidate the underlying formation mechanisms of these clusters and precipitates, highlighting the critical role of Si in driving their nucleation and growth. This study advances the design of high-strength, Cu alloys with the potential for corrosion resistance in demanding maritime environments.

Age hardening↗
DOE OSTI2020

Control of Weld Residual Stress in a Thin Steel Plate through Low Transformation Temperature Welding Consumables

Low transformation temperature welding (LTTW) consumables are characterized by a low martensite start temperature and a large fraction of martensite forming in the weld. It can efficiently reduce the tensile residual stress because the volume expansion associated with the martensitic transformation compensates for the thermal contraction during cooling. In this work, a LTTW wire, designated as EH200B, was created for the arc welding of advanced high-strength steel thin plates. In comparison to conventional ER70S-3 wires, this LTTW wire generated an opposite distortion pattern. Neutron diffraction measurements along the center thickness of the welded plates showed the maximum residual stress along the longitudinal direction (LD) in the weld region, and the heat-affected zone (HAZ) immediately adjacent to the weld region was reduced from ~330 MPa to below 240 MPa by using the LTTW wire. A finite element (FE) model was developed to predict the residual stress distributions of the plates welded under these two wires. The simulation results showed reasonable agreement with the volume-average neutron diffraction data. Compressive residual stress in the weld region using the LTTW wire was predicted by the FE method. Electron backscattered diffraction and x-ray diffraction measurements confirmed ~90% martensite was present in the LTTW weld. The fatigue life of DP980 steel lap joint panels using EH200B wire nearly doubled that of ER70S-3 wire. This improvement was attributed to the high strength and low LD residual stress in the weld and HAZ immediately adjacent to the weld.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Solvent-Mediated Control of Nanocellulose Dispersion: An Integrated Computational and Experimental Investigation

Fibrillated cellulose derived from forestry feedstocks represents a renewable and high-strength materials platform for circular bioeconomies. However, its practical implementation is hindered by the irreversible aggregation of nanocellulose architectures, including cellulose nanofibers (CNFs). Solvent-based dispersion offers a simple and practical route to prevent CNF aggregation. Here, in this work, we integrate classical and enhanced sampling molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with experimental suspension rheology and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to elucidate how solvent environments tune CNF–CNF interactions and dispersion stability. CNF–CNF contact free energies computed from MD simulations reveal reduced aggregation in acetone/water, γ-valerolactone (GVL)/water, and tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water and pure acetone compared with pure water, reflecting stronger CNF-solvent relative to inter-CNF interactions. Correspondingly, CNF-solvent suspensions in these solvent systems exhibit stronger inter-fibril network structures and enhanced recovery compared to water, indicating improved CNF-solvent affinity. Liquid cell AFM imaging in acetone–water mixtures and in pure acetone further confirm the presence of well-dispersed CNFs. By combining multiscale computation with targeted experiments, this study establishes a rational framework for solvent design to achieve stable nanocellulose dispersions for high-strength biobased materials and efficient bioenergy conversion.

cellulose↗
DOE OSTI2024

Unsupervised learning-enabled pulsed infrared thermographic microscopy of subsurface defects in stainless steel

Metallic structures produced with laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing method (AM) frequently contain microscopic porosity defects, with typical approximate size distribution from one to 100 microns. Presence of such defects could lead to premature failure of the structure. In principle, structural integrity assessment of LPBF metals can be accomplished with nondestructive evaluation (NDE). Pulsed infrared thermography (PIT) is a non-contact, one-sided NDE method that allows for imaging of internal defects in arbitrary size and shape metallic structures using heat transfer. PIT imaging is performed using compact instrumentation consisting of a flash lamp for deposition of a heat pulse, and a fast frame infrared (IR) camera for measuring surface temperature transients. However, limitations of imaging resolution with PIT include blurring due to heat diffusion, sensitivity limit of the IR camera. We demonstrate enhancement of PIT imaging capability with unsupervised learning (UL), which enables PIT microscopy of subsurface defects in high strength corrosion resistant stainless steel 316 alloy. PIT images were processed with UL spatial–temporal separation-based clustering segmentation (STSCS) algorithm, refined by morphology image processing methods to enhance visibility of defects. The STSCS algorithm starts with wavelet decomposition to spatially de-noise thermograms, followed by UL principal component analysis (PCA), fine-tuning optimization, and neural learning-based independent component analysis (ICA) algorithms to temporally compress de-noised thermograms. The compressed thermograms were further processed with UL-based graph thresholding K-means clustering algorithm for defects segmentation. The STSCS algorithm also includes online learning feature for efficient re-training of the model with new data. For this study, metallic specimens with calibrated microscopic flat bottom hole defects, with diameters in the range from 203 to 76 µm, were produced using electro discharge machining (EDM) drilling. While the raw thermograms do not show any material defects, using STSCS algorithm to process PIT images reveals defects as small as 101 µm in diameter. To the best of our knowledge, this is the smallest reported size of a sub-surface defect in a metal imaged with PIT, which demonstrates the PIT capability of detecting defects in the size range relevant to quality control requirements of LPBF-printed high-strength metals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Dual heterogeneous structures lead to ultrahigh strength and uniform ductility in a Co-Cr-Ni medium-entropy alloy

Alloys with ultra-high strength and sufficient ductility are highly desired for modern engineering applications but difficult to develop. Here we report that, by a careful controlling alloy composition, thermomechanical process, and microstructural feature, a Co-Cr-Ni-based medium-entropy alloy (MEA) with a dual heterogeneous structure of both matrix and precipitates can be designed to provide an ultra-high tensile strength of 2.2 GPa and uniform elongation of 13% at ambient temperature, properties that are much improved over their counterparts without the heterogeneous structure. Electron microscopy characterizations reveal that the dual heterogeneous structures are composed of a heterogeneous matrix with both coarse grains (10~30 μm) and ultra-fine grains (0.5~2 μm), together with heterogeneous L1 2 -structured nanoprecipitates ranging from several to hundreds of nanometers. The heterogeneous L1 2 nanoprecipitates are fully coherent with the matrix, minimizing the elastic misfit strain of interfaces, relieving the stress concentration during deformation, and playing an active role in enhanced ductility.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Niobium addition improves the corrosion resistance of TiHfZrNb x high-entropy alloys in Hanks’ solution

High-strength TiHfZrNb x high-entropy alloys could become the ideal materials for small-diameter endovascular stents once their corrosion resistance in the physiological milieu is confirmed. Here, this work aims at evaluating the corrosion resistance of a TiHfZrNb x high-entropy-alloys family in Hanks’ solution at 37 °C and revealing the influence of niobium on the mechanisms of dissolution and passivation. The alloys were subjected to a series of static and dynamic electrochemical tests and surface characterization, employing the static/dynamic/cyclic polarizations, impedance spectroscopy, XPS, AFM, and SEM. Results confirm a higher corrosion resistance of the alloys compared to that of CP-Ti and Ti6Al4V. The addition of niobium considerably improves the microstructural homogeneity that ensures a low dissolution rate and a greater resistance of the film due to the lower concentration of point defects. The passive film behaves as an n-type semiconductor and is composed of a mixture of TiO 2 , Nb 2 O 5 , ZrO 2 , and HfO 2 oxides, with the presence of metallic hydroxides on the outermost layer. A detailed description of the niobium influence on the mechanisms of the dissolution and passivation is presented in this work.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Strong tough hydrogels via the synergy of freeze-casting and salting out

Natural load-bearing materials like tendons possess high water content of ~70% but14 are still strong and tough even when used for over 1 million cycles per year, which is owed to the hierarchical assembly of anisotropic structures across multi-length-scales . In imitation of natural systems, various hydrogels have been created via methods like electro-spinning, extrusion, compositing, freeze casting, self-assembly, and mechanical stretching for improved mechanical performance. However, in contrast to tendons, many hydrogels with the same high water content do not show high strength, large toughness or high fatigue resistance. In this work, we present a strategy to produce strong, tough and fatigue resistant hydrogels with multi-length-scale hierarchical architecture using a freezing-assisted salting-out treatment. The produced exemplary poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels are highly anisotropic, comprising micrometer-scale honeycomb-like pore walls, which in turn comprise interconnected nanofibrils meshes, entirely physically assembled from polymer chains. These hydrogels are made of 70-95% water but can exhibit ultra-high ultimate stress (23.5 ± 2.7 MPa) and strain (2900 ± 450%), giant 32226 toughness (210 ± 13 MJ/m , 175 ± 8 kJ/m) and remarkable fatigue threshold (10.5 ± 1.3 kJ/m), which are 10 times tougher than natural tendon. The presented strategy could expand the applicability of weak polymeric material, like hydrogels, in practical applications that requires long-term services with high-loads and abrupt-impacts and extend the development of structural hydrogels.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Uranyl oxalate species in high ionic strength environments: stability constants for aqueous and solid uranyl oxalate complexes

Uranyl ion, UO 2 2+ , and its aqueous complexes with organic and inorganic ligands can be the dominant species for uranium transport on the Earth surface or in a nuclear waste disposal system if an oxidizing condition is present. As an important biodegradation product, oxalate, C 2 O 4 2– , is ubiquitous in natural environments and is known for its ability to complex with the uranyl ion. Oxalate can also form solid phases with uranyl ion in certain environments thus limiting uranium migration. Therefore, the determination of stability constants for aqueous and solid uranyl oxalate complexes is important not only to the understanding of uranium mobility in natural environments, but also to the performance assessment of nuclear waste disposal. In this work, we developed a thermodynamic model for the UO 2 2+ –Na + –H + –Cl – –ClO 4 – –C 2 O 4 2– –NO 3 – –H 2 O system to ionic strength up to ~11 mol•kg –1 . We constrained the stability constants for UO 2 C 2 O 4 (aq) and UO 2 (C 2 O 4 ) 2 2– at infinite dilution based on our evaluation of the literature data over a wide range of ionic strengths up to ~11 mol•kg –1 . We also obtained the solubility constants at infinite dilution for solid uranyl oxalates, UO 2 C 2 O 4 •3H 2 O, based on the solubility data over a wide range of ionic strengths. The developed model will enable for the accurate stability assessment of oxalate complexes affecting uranium mobility under a wide range of conditions including those in deep geological repositories.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗