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At least 271 records · Page 15

A Phase-Field Model for In-Space Manufacturing of Binary Alloys

The integrity of the final printed components is mostly dictated by the adhesion between the particles and phases that form upon solidification, which is a major problem in printing metallic parts using available In-Space Manufacturing (ISM) technologies based on the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) methodology. Understanding the melting/solidification process helps increase particle adherence and allows to produce components with greater mechanical integrity. We developed a phase-field model of solidification for binary alloys. The phase-field approach is unique in capturing the microstructure with computationally tractable costs. The developed phase-field model of solidification of binary alloys satisfies the stability conditions at all temperatures. The suggested model is tuned for Ni-Cu alloy feedstocks. We derived the Ginzburg-Landau equations governing the phase transformation kinetics and solved them analytically for the dilute solution. We calculated the concentration profile as a function of interface velocity for a one-dimensional steady-state diffuse interface neglecting elasticity and obtained the partition coefficient, k, as a function of interface velocity. Numerical simulations for the diluted solution are used to study the interface velocity as a function of undercooling for the classic sharp interface model, partitionless solidification, and thin interface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Segregation effects during solidification in weightless melts

Two types of melt segregation effects were studied: (1) evaporative segregation, or segregation due to surface evaporation; and (2) freezing segregation, or segregation due to liquid-solid phase transformation. These segregation effects are closely related. In fact, evaporative segregation always precedes freezing segregation to some degree and must often be studied prior to performing meaningful solidification experiments. This is particularly true since evaporation may cause the melt composition, at least at the critical surface regions or layers to be affected manyfold within seconds so that the surface region or layer melting point and other thermophysical properties, nucleation characteristics, base for undercooling, and critical velocity to avoid constitutional supercooling, may be completely unexpected. An important objective was, therefore, to develop the necessary normal evaporation equations for predicting the compositional changes within specified times at temperature and to correlate these equations with actual experimental data collected from the literature.

Li, C.↗

Crystallization behavior and glass formation of selected lunar compositions.

The kinetics of crystal growth have been determined over a wide range of temperature, from 800 to 1219 C, for lunar compositions 14259 and 14310. At all temperatures for both compositions the extent of crystal growth is found to be a linear function of time. For both materials, the growth rate versus temperature relations exhibit the form generally found with glass-forming materials. At all temperatures measured, the crystal growth rate of composition 14259 is smaller than that of composition 14310. The maximum growth rate for both compositions occurs at a temperature of about 1120 C. The growth rate data are combined with viscosity data obtained on the same compositions to construct the reduced growth rate versus undercooling relations.

Scherer, G.↗

Investigation of solidification in zero-gravity environment: M553 sphere forming experiment. Nickel-silver alloy evaluation

The processing of nickel-silver alloy specimens in space is discussed. Four specimens were melted only partially, while a fifth was melted completely and assumed after solidification a perfectly spherical shape. Growth of the solid was epitaxial on the unmelted material or on the retaining sting and occurred without undercooling. Solidification was dendritic in all cases with nonequilibrium silver particles forming monotectically between dendrite arms. Substantial loss of silver by evaporation took place. Evaporation of the silver within internal gas cavities on the melt was followed by surface condensation after completion of solidification and cooling, leading to a silver-rich lining in these cavities. The material gave no microstructural evidence of any reduction in liquid convection.

Kattamis, T. Z.↗

Crystallization behavior of anorthite

The growth rate of anorthite crystals from the melt is studied as a function of temperature with undercooling in the ranges 52-152 and 402-652 degrees C. The triclinic form is invariably observed as the crystallization product, growth is preferentially in the c direction, and the interface morphology is faceted. Significant growth rate anisotropy is indicated. The maximum growth rate of anorthite from the melt is higher than for anorthite-rich lunar compositions. Recent computer studies are combined with experimental data to estimate the heat of fusion of anorthite as 28000-45000 cal/mol; the corresponding range for entropy of fusion is (7.8-12)R (where R is the gas constant). The observations and kinetic data support Jackson's predictions concerning materials with large entropies of fusion and his suggestion that entropy of fusion is an important parameter for characterizing the crystal-liquid interface and the nature of the crystallization process.

Klein, L.↗

The formation of lunar glasses

The work investigates experimentally the conditions required to form glasses out of a number of lunar compositions. Viscous flow and crystallization behavior of several compositions were studied over a wide range of temperature. These data exhibit the form generally found for glass-forming liquids. Combining growth rate with viscosity data, the fraction of preferred growth sites on the crystal-liquid interfaces is found to increase with increasing undercooling for all lunar compositions. The detailed forms of the kinetic data are predicted by recent computer simulations of crystal growth. Calorimetry studies indicate that lunar orange soil was formed under conditions of much slower cooling rate than 1000 deg K per sec.

Uhlmann, D. R.↗

Research on metal solidification in zero-g state

The containerless solidification of several pure metals and metallic alloys was studied in a low gravity environment. The tests were performed in the MSFC 4.2 s drop tower using a rapid wire melting apparatus designed and built for this purpose. Pure iron and nickel, and alloys of iron-nickel, iron-carbon, nickel-aluminum and tungsten-rhenium were all melted and solidified at a gravity level of approximately 100.000/-4 g. Interpretation of the results has led to an appreciation of the factors controlling the successful execution of this drop test experiment and to a delineation of the limits of applicability of the apparatus. Preliminary metallurgical evaluations are presented of the overall shapes, lattice parameters, surface microstructure,, cross-sectional microstructures, solidification and transformation sequences, evaporative segregation, and localized solute redistribution observed in the low-gravity specimens. The effects of low gravity on metallic solidification are discussed with particular emphasis on observations of spontaneous undercooling and evaporative segregation in uncontained melts.

Papazian, J. M.↗

The kinetics of lunar glass formation, revisited

The nucleation frequency of Lunar Composition 70019, a lithified soil breccia from the center of a small crater in the Taurus-Littrow Valley, is determined using a relation that describes nucleation throughout the volume of a liquid together with measurements of the time required at temperatures of 780 to 930 C to obtain sensibly crystalline bodies. Curves indicating the time required at a given temperature to reach a particular fraction crystallized are shown to have the general form predicted by kinetic analysis. Nucleation frequencies are evaluated by applying such analysis to a curve representing the transition between glassy material and material with a sensible degree of crystallinity. The results obtained are found to be in excellent agreement with the values expected from the classical theory of homogeneous nucleation, indicating that such nucleation represents the dominant contribution to crystal formation, at least over the range of undercoolings covered (250 to 400 C).

Klein, L. C.↗

Applications of dynamic crystallization studies - Lunar olivine-normative basalts

Dynamic crystallization studies were performed on two synthetic glasses similar in composition to the mare olivine-normative basalt samples 12009 and 15555. The effects of viscosity (primarily a function of FeO) and the initial temperature of cooling on mineral chemistry, texture, and temperature of appearance of phases were investigated. Olivine compositions seem to indicate that, for the two types of melt cooled at the same rate, there are no significant differences in the degree of undercooling at which olivine nucleates, but it is found that olivine-nucleated densities differ. The cooling rate of 15555 is estimated. Since the temperature at which cooling is initiated affects texture, mineral chemistry, and temperature of appearance of phases so greatly, caution is recommended in the application of experimental data to natural rock systems.

Bianco, A. S.↗

Crystallization kinetics, viscous flow, and thermal history of lunar breccia 67975

The maximum crystal growth rate for the 67975 matrix composition, about 0.00073 cm/min, was found to occur at about 990 C (undercooling 220 C). The Shaw (1972) model and, to a slightly lesser extent, the Bottinga and Weill (1972) model indicate the variation of viscosity with temperature. Time-temperature-transformation and continuous cooling curves were constructed from the measured crystal growth rates and viscosities and used to estimate the cooling rate required to form bodies with the degree of crystallinity observed in the matrix of the breccia. It is estimated on the basis of kinetic analysis that the 67975 breccia cooled at a rate of about 0.06 C/min over the temperature range below the liquidus. Heat flow analyses indicate that the 67975 breccia did not cool in the size of the lunar sample but as part of a much larger body. Viscous singering as well as cooling of a melt-clast mixture are investigated.

Uhlmann, D. R.↗

Matrix glass vs. intruded glass in lunar breccia 15286

The viscous flow and crystallization behavior of the matrix composition of breccia 15286 have been determined in the 1159-1307 C and 644-770 C temperature ranges. The Shaw (1972) model and, to a slightly lesser extent, the semiempirical Bottinga and Weill (1972) model describe the variation of viscosity with temperature. The crystal growth rate has been determined over the temperature range 821-1185 C. Time-temperature-transformation, logarithmic cooling, and continuous cooling curves were constructed; a nucleation barrier of 60 kT at a relative undercooling of 0.2 is assumed. It is estimated that the matrix of 15286 breccia cooled at a rate greater than 80 K/min through the glass transition region. The increase in density that occurs when the matrix glass is annealed suggests that the breccia was formed by cooling from the molten state rather than by direct shock-induced transition from crystal to glass. Viscous sintering under continuous cooling and logarithmic cooling conditions is analyzed.

Handwerker, C. A.↗

The formation kinetics of lunar glasses

The kinetic treatment of crystallization and glass formation, involving the construction of time-temperature-transformation curves (TTT) corresponding to a given degree of crystallinity, is extended to permit the description of crystallization of a body initially cooled to a glassy state. The key assumption is that if at any time and temperature a crystallite is smaller than the critical size corresponding to that temperature, it will melt completely and can be ignored in any further calculations of the crystal distribution. This approach is used to predict the temperature of maximum crystallization rate for the matrix composition of lunar breccia 67975; results are shown to be in excellent agreement with experiment. Theoretical results obtained for anorthite indicate a barrier to nucleation in the range of 75 kT when the ratio of the undercooling to the liquidus temperature is 0.2. Measured nucleation barriers for the 67975 matrix composition are in the range of 42 to 45 kT.

Uhlmann, D. R.↗

A simplified model for glass formation

A simplified model of glass formation based on the formal theory of transformation kinetics is presented, which describes the critical cooling rates implied by the occurrence of glassy or partly crystalline bodies. In addition, an approach based on the nose of the time-temperature-transformation (TTT) curve as an extremum in temperature and time has provided a relatively simple relation between the activation energy for viscous flow in the undercooled region and the temperature of the nose of the TTT curve. Using this relation together with the simplified model, it now seems possible to predict cooling rates using only the liquidus temperature, glass transition temperature, and heat of fusion.

Uhlmann, D. R.↗

SPAR VI Technical Report for Experiment 76-22: Directional Solidification of Magnetic Composites

Samples of eutectic Bi/MnBi were directionally solidified during a low-g interval aboard the SPAR 6 flight and in a l-g environment under identical furnace velocity and thermal conditions. The Bi/MnBi eutectic is characterized by a regular rod eutectic whose morphology may be sensitive to thermo-solutal convection and by its components, MnBi, which is ferromagnetic. Morphological analyses on samples show statistically smaller interrod spacings and rod diameters with respect to samples grown under identical solidification furnace conditions in l-g. An adjustment between the interrod spacing, growth velocity, and total undercooling at the solidification interface is proposed. Morphological analyses on samples grown in l-g indicate little difference between results for different growth orientations with respect to the gravity vector. The magnetic properties are significantly affected, however, by the presence of a nonequilibrium magnetic phase and the nonequilibrium phase transforms to the equilibrium ferromagnetic phase during isothermal heat treatment.

Pirich, R. G.↗

Si-rich Fe-Ni grains in highly unequilibrated chondrites

Consideration is given to the Si contents of Fe-Ni grains in highly unequilibrated chondrites, which have undergone little metamorphosis and thus best preserve the record of processes in the solar nebula. Electron microprobe determinations of silicon content in grains of the Bishunpur chondrite are presented for the six Si-bearing Fe-Ni grains for which data could be obtained, five of which were found to be embedded in olivine chondrules. In addition, all grains are found to be Cr-rich, with Cr increased in concentration towards the grain edge, and to be encased in FeS shells which evidently preserved the Si that entered the FeNi at higher temperatures. A mechanism for the production of Si-bearing metal during the condensation of the cooling solar nebula is proposed which considers the metal to have condensed heterogeneously while the mafic silicates condensed homogeneously with amounts of required undercooling in the low-pressure regions where ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites formed, resulting in Si mole fractions of 0.003 at nebular pressures less than 0.000001 atm.

Rambaldi, E. R.↗

Heat loss and drag of spherical drop tube samples

Analysis techniques for three aspects of the performance of the NASA/MSFC 32 meter drop tube are considered. Heat loss through the support wire in a pendant drop sample, temperature history of a drop falling through the drop tube when the tube is filled with helium gas at various pressures, and drag and resulting g-levels experienced by a drop falling through the tube when the tube is filled with helium gas at various pressures are addressed. The developed methods apply to systems with sufficiently small Knudsen numbers for which continuum theory may be applied. Sample results are presented, using niobium drops, to indicate the magnitudes of the effects. Helium gas at one atmosphere pressure can approximately double the amount of possible undercooling but it results in an apparent gravity levels of up to 0.1 g.

Wallace, D. B.↗

Rapid solidification processing

Rapid solidification in materials was studied. Crystalline and noncrystalline metals, polymers, ceramics, solidification mechanism and resulting structure, innovative processing techniques, properties and applications are investigated. The following programs are outlined: alloys which offer high strength at elevated temperatures, and processing methods necessary to achieve these goals; structure and structure property relations in ferrous alloys; Corrosion related aspects and high temperature oxidation resistance of fine grained alloys; relation of solidification theory to structures produced, on innovative processes for rapid solidification, and on solidification at high undercoolings. Studies on rapid solidification of polymeric materials are demonstrated.

Source record↗

Crystal nucleation in glass-forming alloy and pure metal melts under containerless and vibrationless conditions

The undercooling behavior of large spheroids of Pd40Ni40P40 was investigated. By surface etching, supporting the specimens on a fused silica substrate, and successive heating and cooling, crystallization can be eliminated, presumable due to the removal of surface heterogeneities. By this method samples up to 3.2g with a 0.53 mm minor diameter, were made entirely glassy, except for some superficial crystals comprising less than 0.5% of the volume. These experiments show that a cooling rate of approximately 1 K/sec is adequate to avoid copious homogeneous nucleation in the alloy, and that by eliminating or reducing the effectiveness of heterogeneous nucleation sites, it is possible to form bulk samples of this metallic glass with virtually unlimited dimensions.

Spaepen, F.↗