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At least 235 records · Page 13

Optical Pressure-Temperature Sensor for a Combustion Chamber

A compact sensor for measuring temperature and pressure in a combusti on chamber has been proposed. The proposed sensor would include two optically birefringent, transmissive crystalline wedges: one of sapph ire (Al2O3) and one of magnesium oxide (MgO), the optical properties of both of which vary with temperature and pressure. The wedges wou ld be separated by a vapor-deposited thin-film transducer, which wou ld be primarily temperaturesensitive (in contradistinction to pressur e- sensitive) when attached to a crystalline substrate. The sensor w ould be housed in a rugged probe to survive the extreme temperatures and pressures in a combustion chamber.

Wiley, John↗

Mechanical and Structural Behavior of Granular Material Packed Beds for Space Life Support System Applications

Long-term human mission to space, such as living in International Space Station (ISS), Lunar, and Martian bases, and travel to Mars, must m ake use of Advanced Life Support Systems (ALSS) to generate and recycle critical life supporting elements like oxygen and water. Oxygen Gen eration Assembly (OGA) and Water Processor Assembly (WPA), critical c omponents of ALSS, make use of series of granular material packed beds for generation and recycling of oxygen and water. Several granular m aterials can be used for generation, recycling, processing and recovery of oxygen and water. For example, they may include soft bed media, e.g. ion exchange resins for oxygen generation assembly and hard bed media such as, activated alumina, magchem (Magnesium oxide) and activa ted carbon to remove organic species like ethanol, methanol, and urea from wastewater in Water recovery/processing assembly. These beds are generally packed using a plate-spring mechanism to provide sufficien t compaction to the bed media throughout the course of operation. This paper presents results from an experimental study of a full-scale, 3 8.1 cm (15 inches) long and 3.7 cm (1.44 inches) diameter. activated alumina bed enclosed in a cylinder determining its force-displacement behavior, friction mobilizing force, and axial normal stress distribu tion under various axially applied loads and at different levels of packing. It is observed that force-displacement behavior is non-linear for low compaction level and becomes linear with increase in compaction of the bed media. Axial normal stress distribution along the length of the bed media decreased non-linearly with increase in depth from the loading end of the granular media. This paper also presents experimental results on the amount of particulates generated corresponding to various compaction levels. Particulates generated from each of the tests were measured using standard US sieves. It was found that the p articulates and the overall displacement of the bed media increased with decrease in initial compaction of the bed media. This effect could be attributed to the greater tendency for inter-particle sliding/rub bing due to smaller internal friction angles, as seen from the shear tests, at lesser initial compacted levels. Upon unloading, it was obse rved that there was no change in displacement (especially rebounding) in the bed media. This effect could be attributed to the fact that th e porous activated alumina particles fracture/break upon increase in applied load (during loading phase) and occupy void spaces in between the material grains; thereby leading to settling of the media. The lo ad-displacement curve becomes more linear with increase in initial compaction of the bed media. It is concluded that compaction considerabl y affects the load-displacement behavior of the bed media. A series of tests were also conducted on the packed bed media to determine the f orce required to mobilize the friction between the bed media and the housing cylinder. The results from these tests showed the existence of significant friction between the bed media and the encasing stainles s steel cylinder. Further, it was found that friction effects were more pronounced for media with higher initial compaction. Internal frict ion of the granular media was measured using direct shear apparatus. It was observed that the internal friction increased with increase in initial compaction of the bed media. In this study, a computational m odel (CM) is also developed using finite element software ANSYS to verify experimental results obtained for the distribution of the axial n ormal stress and axial displacement along the length of the full-scal e activated alumina bed media. In the computational model, the granular material is considered to have appropriate failure and frictional c ontact exists between the wall and the granular media. It is observed that the model predicts results closely with the experimental method. The compational results show that the axial normal stress distribution along the length of the activated alumina media decreases non-linea rly from the loading end and is negligible beyond a certain depth. Th is can be attributed to the existence of friction between the walls and the media and that the friction takes up most of the applied load.

Malla, Ramesh B.↗

WFL: Microwave Applications of Thin Ferroelectric Films

We have developed a family of tunable microwave circuits, operating from X- through Ka-band, based on laser ablated BaxSr1-xTiO films on lanthanum aluminate and magnesium oxide substrates. Circuits include voltage controlled oscillators, filters, phase shifters and antennas. A review of the basic theory of operation of these devices will be presented along with measured performance. Emphasis has been on low-loss phase shifters to enable a new phased array architecture. The critical role of phase shifter loss and transient response in reflectarray antennas will be discussed. The Ferroelectric Reflectarray Critical Components Space Experiment was launched on the penultimate Space Shuttle, STS-134, in May of 2011. It included a bank of ferroelectric phase shifters with two different stoichiometries as well as ancillary electronics. The experiment package and status will be reported. In addition, unusual results of a Van der Pauw measurement involving a ferroelectric film grown on buffered high resisitivity silicon will be discussed.

Romanofsky, Robert↗

Flow Visualizations in a Packed Bed of Twisted Tapes

A videotape presentation of the flow field in a packed bed of 48 twisted tapes which can be simulated by very thin virtual cylinders has been assembled. The indices of refraction of the oil and the Lucite twisted tapes were closely matched, and the flow was seeded with magnesium oxide particles. Planar laser light projected the flow field in two dimensions both along and transverse to the flow axis. The flow field was three dimensional and complex to describe, yet the most prominent finding was flow threads. It appeared that axial flow spiraled along either within the confines of a virtual cylindrical boundary or within the exterior region, between the tangency points, of the virtual cylinders. Random packing and bed voids created vortices and disrupted the laminar flow but minimized the entrance effects. The flow-pressure drops in the packed bed fell below the Ergun model for porous-media flows. Single-twisted-tape results of Smithberg and Landis (1964) were used to guide the analysis. In appendix A the results of several investigators are scaled to the Ergun model. Further investigations including different geometric configurations, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) gridding, and analysis are required.

Hendricks, R. C.↗

High-temperature thermochemical energy storage materials using doped magnesium-transition metal spinel oxides

High-temperature thermochemical energy storage materials using doped magnesium-transition metal spinel oxides are provided. —transition metal spinel oxides, such as magnesium manganese oxide (MgMn) 3 O 4 , are promising candidates for high-temperature thermochemical energy storage applications. However, the use of these materials has been constrained by the limited extent of their endothermic reaction. Embodiments described herein provide for doping magnesium-transition metal spinel oxides to produce a material of low material costs and with high energy densities, creating an avenue for plausibly sized modules with high energy storing capacities.

Muhich, Christopher↗

The Quest for Functional Oxide Cathodes for Magnesium Batteries: A Critical Perspective

The Mg battery is an energy storage technology which has garnered significant interest in recent years. Mg batteries incorporating a metal oxide cathode (MOC) are potential candidates to supersede the state-of-the-art Li-ion battery in energy density, cost, and sustainability. However, there are significant discrepancies in reported performances and reactivities of Mg battery MOCs, with detailed analyses revealing that parasitic electrolyte reactions can contribute almost entirely to the measured capacity. This Perspective describes a holistic approach. encompassing elemental, redox, and structural probes-which is vital to robustly confirm and quantify Mg intercalation in MOCs. It critically surveys recent literature for applications of this approach to reveal true state-of-the-art MOCs for Mg batteries. We also suggest testing and analysis protocols to ensure fair comparison of future reports with these state-of-the-art materials.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Ferroelectrics everywhere: Ferroelectricity in magnesium substituted zinc oxide thin films

We demonstrate ferroelectricity in Mg-substituted ZnO thin films with the wurtzite structure. Zn 1–x Mg x O films are grown by dual-cathode reactive magnetron sputtering on (111)-Pt // (0001)-Al 2 O 3 substrates at temperatures ranging from 26 to 200 °C for compositions spanning from x = 0 to x = 0.37. X-ray diffraction indicates a decrease in the c-lattice parameter and an increase in the a-lattice parameter with increasing Mg content, resulting in a nearly constant c/a axial ratio of 1.595 over this composition range. Transmission electron microscopy studies show abrupt interfaces between Zn 1–x Mg x O films and the Pt electrode. When prepared at pO 2 = 0.025, film surfaces are populated by abnormally oriented grains as measured by atomic force microscopy for Mg concentrations >29%. Raising pO 2 to 0.25 eliminates the misoriented grains. Optical measurements show increasing bandgap values with increasing Mg content. When prepared on a 200 °C substrate, films display ferroelectric switching with remanent polarizations exceeding 100 μC cm –2 and coercive fields below 3 MVcm –1 when the Mg content is between ~30% and ~7%. Substrate temperature can be lowered to ambient conditions, and when doing so, capacitor stacks show only minor sacrifices to crystal orientation and nearly identical remanent polarization values; however, coercive fields drop below 2 MV/cm. Using ambient temperature deposition, we demonstrate ferroelectric capacitor stacks integrated directly with polymer substrate surfaces.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Magnesium-Aluminum-Zirconium Oxide Amorphous Ternary Composite: A Dense and Stable Optical Coating

In the present work, the process parameter dependent optical and structural properties of MgO-Al(2)O(3)-ZrO(2) ternary mixed-composite material have been investigated. Optical properties were derived from spectrophotometric measurements. The surface morphology, grain size distributions, crystallographic phases and process dependent material composition of films have been investigated through the use of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction analysis and Energy Dispersive X- ray (EDX) analysis. EDX analysis made evident the correlation between the optical constants and the process dependent compositions in the films. It is possible to achieve environmentally stable amorphous films with high packing density under certain optimized process conditions.

Sahoo, N. K.↗

MgAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} Inclusion Agglomeration on the Surface of Liquid Steel

The aggregation, separation, and agglomeration behaviors of MgAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} inclusions were observed by CLSM. From these observations, it was found that the cavity bridge force between two inclusion particles plays a dominant role in the process of agglomeration, and that the action distance of the cavity bridge force is proportional to the radius of the MgAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} inclusion. Once a stable cavity bridge between two MgAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} particles forms, the aggregated MgAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} inclusion cannot be separated again.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Characteristics of Nozzle Clogging and Evolution of Oxide Inclusion for Al-Killed Ti-Stabilized 18Cr Stainless Steel

Characteristics of nozzle clogging and evolution of oxide inclusion were studied by sampling the deposits of submerged entry nozzle (SEN) and the molten steel in tundish during Al-killed Ti-stabilized 18Cr stainless steelmaking process. The deposits found in the clogging of SEN were mainly composed of frozen steel and inclusions. The inclusions in the deposits and tundish were both mainly (MgO-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}){sub rich}-CaO-TiO{sub x}. The compositions of most inclusions were Liquid+Spinel or Liquid+TiSp phase. The (MgO-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}){sub rich}-CaO inclusions that were not effectively modified by calcium treatment could be a source of clogging. By combining both the experimental results and thermodynamic calculation, (MgO-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}){sub rich}-TiO{sub x} inclusions (TiSp inclusions) would be formed with the decreasing temperature in steel during continuous casting, which could be transported and accumulated on the inner wall of the SEN. Increasing the calcium content in the molten steel could decrease the formation of TiSp inclusions. During continuous casting, these inclusions accumulated on the inner wall of the SEN and gradually formed porous network of clog. Molten steel would gradually solidify in the porous space of the clog due to the increased residence time of the molten steel when flowing through it. The clogging gradually increased and caused the shutdown of continuous casting.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Transparent conducting thin films for spacecraft applications

Transparent conductive thin films are required for a variety of optoelectronic applications: automotive and aircraft windows, and solar cells for space applications. Transparent conductive coatings of indium-tin-oxide (ITO)-magnesium fluoride (MgF2) and aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) at several dopant levels are investigated for electrical resistivity (sheet resistance), carrier concentration, optical properties, and atomic oxygen durability. The sheet resistance values of ITO-MgF2 range from 10(exp 2) to 10(exp 11) ohms/square, with transmittance of 75 to 86 percent. The AZO films sheet resistances range from 10(exp 7) to 10(exp 11) ohms/square with transmittances from 84 to 91 percent. It was found that in general, with respect to the optical properties, the zinc oxide (ZnO), AZO, and the high MgF2 content ITO-MgF2 samples, were all durable to atomic oxygen plasma, while the low MgF2 content of ITO-MgF2 samples were not durable to atomic oxygen plasma exposure.

Perez-Davis, Marla E.↗

Zero carbon solid-state rechargeable redox fuel for long duration and seasonal storage

Here, this work presents a unique thermochemical process for charging magnesium-manganese-oxide-based solid-state rechargeable redox fuel. High-temperature heating of the processing furnace can be driven by either renewable electricity or concentrated solar power. The simple recyclable fuel charging concept is based on a tubular falling bed reactor with countercurrent oxygen-depleted gas flow for complete heat recuperation. The main focus of this work is achieving solid flowability at high temperatures (1,450°C) and extracting chemically charged solid at ambient temperature with minimal energy loss. The operation strategies described in this work have enabled consistent magnesium-manganese-oxide particle flow up to 1,450°C. The measured extent of the thermal reduction reaction after cooling the particles is more than 90% of the fully reduced state at equilibrium. The thermal-to-chemical efficiency and overall system efficiency are 96% and 35% respectively, which are the highest reported for thermochemical fuels to date.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Magnesium Battery Electrolytes with Improved Oxidative Stability Enabled by Selective Solvation in Fluorinated Solvents

Practical Mg batteries require electrolytes that are stable both toward reduction by Mg metal and oxidation by high voltage cathodes. State-of-the-art Mg electrolytes based on weakly-coordinating Mg salts utilize standard ether-type solvents (usually glymes) due to their reductive stability. However, the oxidative stabilities of these solvents are less than ideal, leading to difficulties in realizing the high oxidative stabilities of novel salts. On the other hand, alternative solvents with greater oxidative stability are typically unable to support Mg cycling. Here, in this work, we report a selective solvation approach involving the combination of glyme and hydrofluoroether solvents. Selective solvation of Mg 2+ by the glyme solvent component increases the oxidative stability of the glyme while maintaining sufficient reductive stability of the noncoordinating hydrofluoroether. We show that this approach enables the design of electrolytes with greater oxidative stability than glyme-only electrolytes while retaining enough reductive stability to cycle Mg metal. We also relate the influence of various coordination interactions among the solvents and anions with Mg 2+ to their electrochemical stabilities to better inform the design of future electrolytes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗