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Results for “accelerated aging”

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 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Adhesion and debonding kinetics of photovoltaic encapsulation in moist environments: Adhesion and debonding kinetics of photovoltaic encapsulation

Debonding of photovoltaic (PV) encapsulation in moist environments is frequently reported but presently not well understood or quantified. Temperature cycling, moisture, and mechanical loads often cause loss of encapsulation adhesion and interfacial debonding, initially facilitating back-reflectance and reduced electrical current, but ultimately leading to internal corrosion and loss of module functionality. To investigate the effects of temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) on the kinetics of encapsulation debonding, we developed a mechanics-based technique to measure encapsulation debond energy and debond growth rates in a chamber of controlled environment. The debond energy decreased from 2.15 to 1.75 kJ m-2 in poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) and from 0.67 to 0.52 kJ m-2 in polyvinyl butyral when T increased from 25 to 50 degrees C and 20 to 40 degrees C, respectively. The debond growth rates of EVA increased up to 1000-fold with small increases of T (10 degrees C) and RH (15%). To elucidate the mechanisms of environmental debonding, we developed a fracture-kinetics model, where the viscoelastic relaxation processes at the debonding-tip are used to predict debond growth. The model and techniques constitute the fundamental basis for developing accelerated aging tests and long-term reliability predictions for PV encapsulation.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mechanical and Ionic Characterization for Organic Semiconductor–Incorporated Perovskites for Stable 2D/3D Heterostructure Perovskite Solar Cells

Hybrid metal halide perovskite (MHP) materials, while being promising for photovoltaic technology, also encounter challenges related to material stability. Combining 2D MHPs with 3D MHPs offers a viable solution, yet there is a gap in the understanding of the stability among various 2D materials. The mechanical, ionic, and environmental stability of various 2D MHP ligands are reported, and an improvement with the use of a quater-thiophene-based organic cation (4TmI) that forms an organic-semiconductor incorporated MHP structure is demonstrated. It is shown that the best balance of mechanical robustness, environmental stability, ion activation energy, and reduced mobile ion concentration under accelerated aging is achieved with the usage of 4TmI. It is believed that by addressing mechanical and ion-based degradation modes using this built-in barrier concept with a material system that also shows improvements in charge extraction and device performance, MHP solar devices can be designed for both reliability and efficiency.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Using Explainable Artificial Intelligence to Predict Perovskite Solar Cell Electrical Metastability from Operando Photoluminescence Images in Accelerated Stress Testing

Metal halide perovskite (MHP) solar cells exhibit a metastable response to bias governed by coupled ionic–electronic processes, complicating the conventional reciprocity relation between luminescence intensity and device open-circuit voltage (V oc ). This limits the use of luminescence as a diagnostic for device screening or accelerated stress testing, motivating new approaches that can interpret photoluminescence (PL) signals under nonequilibrium conditions. From the artificial intelligence perspective, we develop an explainable deep learning framework that integrates convolutional neural networks (CNN), long short-term memory (LSTM) layers, and an attention mechanism to learn spatiotemporal features from operando photoluminescence PL image sequences. The model achieves a mean absolute error of ±0.027 V in predicting open-circuit voltage transients and reduces extreme-tail errors by up to 78% compared to physics-based reciprocity calculations. Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) provides interpretability by highlighting physically meaningful regions such as electrode edges and emergent defect features. From the engineering application perspective, this framework enables accurate, contactless prediction of device V oc and identification of degradation-relevant features during accelerated aging of perovskite solar cells. This approach demonstrates how explainable AI can enhance operando diagnostics and reliability analysis in photovoltaic devices under nonequilibrium conditions.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

An exploration of benchtop X–ray emission spectroscopy for precise characterization of the sulfur redox state in cementitious materials

The evolution of sulfur chemistry in cements is best known in the bailiwick of failure mechanisms via sulfate attack but is equally important for its contributions to the reduction capacity of cementitious materials often used for immobilizing nuclear waste streams destined for long-term storage, e.g., cementitious waste forms (CWF). The total reduction capacity of CWFs, encompassing contributions from both S and Fe reductants, and its implications toward radionuclide immobilization is most often studied by destructive wet chemistry methods requiring acid digestion in the presence of Ce(IV) and subsequent titration and colorimetric interpretation. Here, we investigate a similarly analytical but nondestructive alternative, benchtop high resolution wavelength-dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, most commonly known as x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), for probing the bulk sulfur oxidation state distribution. We present here an initial investigation of S XES, including an improved experimental protocol for lab XES of inhomogeneous samples, both as a complement to the Ce(IV) test and for new scientific opportunities that it enables for observing changes in sulfur chemistry. We discuss future improvements and opportunities, including: (1) the practical challenges associated with coordinating XES and Ce(IV) liquid extraction for a more comprehensive perspective on reduction capacity and for a high-precision evaluation of uncertainties in the Ce(IV) test; and (2) new opportunities, due to the nondestructive nature of XES, for controlled evolution studies aimed at elucidating specific chemical responses of CWF’s exposed to invasive gas or liquid species or to accelerated aging by radiative dose or thermal treatment.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Second-order statistical bootstrap for the uncertainty quantification of time-temperature-superposition analysis

Time-temperature superposition (TTS), which for decades has been a powerful method for long-term prediction from accelerated aging data, involves rigid-shifting isotherms in logarithmic time to produce a single master prediction curve. For simple thermo-rheological properties that accurately follow the TTS principle, the shifts can be easily determined, even manually by the eye. However, for many properties of interest, where the principle is obeyed only approximately, or the data is noisy, it is imperative to develop objective shifting techniques along with reliable uncertainty bounds. This work analyzes in detail the method of arclength-minimization as an unsupervised algorithm to determining optimum shifts and demonstrates that the method is nearly unbiased for all practical datasets with a variety of noise distributions. Moreover, if averaged over with-replacement (bootstrap) resamples, the predicted shifts follow a normal distribution, a fact that can be used to construct confidence interval for the master curve through a second-order bootstrap procedure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Time-temperature-superposition analysis of diverse datasets by the minimum-arclength method: long-term prediction with uncertainty margins

In a recent publication, we carried out an extensive analysis of an unsupervised method of determining optimum shift factors in time-temperature-superposition of accelerated-aging data that involves minimizing the vertical arclength to obtain the master curve. For synthetic Arrhenius data with a variety of noise distributions, the work showed that, in conjunction with bootstrap-resampling, the method can produce reliable estimates of the mean activation energy along with uncertainty quantification. Here, we apply the above method to six different datasets taken from the published literature and demonstrate accurate prediction of mean activation energy from the data as-is without the need for any pre-processing or fitting. We also compare uncertainty margins computed by second-order bootstrap with that by linear regression theory and show that the former appears to provide consistent margins in the presence of common noise types in real data, including intra-isotherm measurement-errors, sample-to-sample variations, and intrinsic deviation from perfect Arrhenius behavior.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Study of PBAT Photostabilization with Ultraviolet Absorber in Combination with Hindered Amine Light Stabilizer and Vitamin E, Aiming Mulching Film Application

This work evaluated two combinations of additives, i.e. “carbon black and hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS)” and “carbon black and vitamin E” to prevent photodegradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) aiming its application as mulch films. A 2{sup 2} factorial rotatable central composite design (α = 1.414) with three central points was conducted. Five different concentrations for each additive were used (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% in mass). The formulations were exposed in an environmental simulator to radiation and condensation cycles. The both combination did not avoid the gel formation but its action reduced PBAT chain scission process during photodegradation. Nevertheless, comparing the two different combinations with carbon black, HALS additive was more efficient than vitamin E to minimize the reduction on tensile strength and elongation. The chain scission and crosslinking processes were evaluated by chain scission distribution function. The chain scission was the predominant process during photodegradation of pure PBAT and it was possibly favored by hydrolysis during condensation cycles in the accelerated aging test. It was verified that higher concentrations of carbon black in the formulations led to a reduction on light transmission in both experimental designs. Considering the responses of studied factors on mechanical properties and light transmission it was possible to identify the most promising formulations for application in mulch films, which correspond to 1.5% (weight) for each additive.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Amino-Modified Halloysite Nanotubes to Reduce Polymer Degradation and Improve the Performance of Mechanically Recycled Poly(lactic acid)

From an environmental point of view, mechanical recycling is, in general, a good end-of-life option for poly(lactic acid) (PLA), one of the most important biobased polymers. However, the degradation of PLA during the service life and, especially, during the mechanical recycling process, leads to a decrease in the properties of PLA, thus reducing the applications of the recycled plastic. The main aim of this work was to study the addition of small amounts of halloysite nanotubes, during the recycling step, as the basis of a cost-effective method for improving the properties of the recycled PLA. Raw halloysite was modified with an aminosilane, and 2% by weight of both raw and modified halloysite were melt compounded with PLA previously subjected to accelerated ageing. The addition of the nanotubes led to recycled materials with improved properties because halloysite reduces the degradation of PLA by blocking the carboxyl groups, generated during the ageing and washing steps, which catalyze the degradation during the recycling process. This effect was more intense in the silanized nanotubes, because the carboxyl groups were effectively blocked by acid–base interactions with the amino groups of the chemical modification. The properties of the recycled plastic with only 2 wt% of silanized halloysite were very close to those of the virgin plastic.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Pro-Degradant Effect of Talc Nanoparticles on Polypropylene Films

Pro-degradant effect of talc nanoparticles on degradation process of polypropylene (PP) films was studied. For this purpose, two talc minerals having different intrinsic characteristics and iron content were used. Films with 0, 1 and 5% w/w of talc were exposed to three different weathering scenarios: indoor, outdoor and accelerated aging. The extent of degradation in films was evaluated by analyzing chemical and surface structure as well as optical, thermal and mechanical properties. The presence of talc induced a greater degradation in nanocomposite films and this phenomenon was increased with nanoparticle concentration. Samples having talc with higher iron content were more affected by weathering conditions since iron impurities acted as promoters of the degradation process. Clearly, iron impure talc is a good environmentally friendly alternative as a pro-degradant additive for PP degradation as its low cost (less than PP) and sustainability since does not contain heavy metals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Performance of Composite Insulators Used for Electric Transmission under Extreme Climatic Conditions

Composite or polymeric insulators are being used in various parts of the world for high-voltage transmission and distribution lines. In some parts of India, places in the states like Rajasthan and Gujarat experience an increase in the daytime temperature up to 50 °C, while the nighttime temperature reduces as low as 3-5 °C. Because of these extreme temperature variations along with electric stress and humidity conditions, composite insulators have to perform well over their lifetime to ensure the reliability of the transmission network. In the present work, experimental conditions are simulated with temperature variation from 50 to 3-5 °C along with electrical stress, humidity variation, pollution, and ultraviolet radiations. Accelerated aging studies with these stresses are conducted to understand the degradation on the insulator similar to the field conditions. Surface resistivity measurements, leakage current analysis, and surface degradation studies using thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) are conducted. Some interesting results obtained from the study are presented. Experimentation under extreme conditions with polluted insulators showed considerable degradation which was inferred from the material testing analysis. The insulator slabs on which electrical stress was not applied showed a considerable peak at 1500 cm{sup −1} in the FTIR spectra, indicating the generation of low molecular weight PDMS chains from the bulk due to UV aging and thermal stress, while the degradation pattern of non-polluted sample was severe compared to the slab treated but was considerably less severe in comparison with the polluted insulator sample exhibiting pollution can considerably increase degradation rate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Tensile performance of sustainable Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites with hybrid PVA and recycled PET fibers

Highlights: • SHCCs with hybrid PVA/PET fibers are theoretically and experimentally studied. • A semi-empirical way to predict strain capacity of hybrid-fiber SHCCs is proposed. • The impacts of PET fiber surface treatment and curing time are explored. • SHCCs achieve satisfactory performance even 50% PVA fibers are replaced by PET fibers. • Using PET fibers in SHCCs effectively reduces material cost and environmental impact. - Abstract: Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composite (SHCC) is a type of advanced construction material that can enhance the resiliency and durability of structures. However, the high cost of the constituents limits the wide application of SHCCs. To reduce the material cost and improve the sustainability, this study explores the potential of replacing commonly-used polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers by recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers. The potential of fiber hybridization was first evaluated using micromechanical modeling, and the ultimate tensile strain of hybrid-fiber SHCCs was estimated using a semi-empirical method. Then the tensile performance of SHCCs after standard curing and accelerated aging was experimentally evaluated, and the crack pattern development with increasing tensile strain was recorded. Satisfactory mechanical performance can be achieved even when 50% of PVA fibers are replaced by recycled PET fibers with surface treatment. In addition, using recycled PET fibers in SHCCs can significantly reduce the material cost and environmental impact.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Inhibitive effect of Pt on Pd-hydride formation of Pd@Pt core-shell electrocatalysts: An in situ EXAFS and XRD study

In situ EXAFS and XRD have been used to study the electrochemical formation of hydride phases, H abs , in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 for a Pd/C catalyst and a series of Pd@Pt core-shell catalysts with varying Pt shell thickness, from 0.5 to 4 monolayers. Based on the XRD data a 3% lattice expansion is observed for the Pd/C core catalyst upon hydride formation at 0.0 V. In contrast, the expansion was ≤0.6% for all of the core-shell catalysts. The limited extent of the lattice expansion observed suggests that hydride formation, which may occur during periodic active surface area measurements conducting during accelerated aging tests or driven by H 2 crossover in PEM fuel cells, is unlikely to contribute significantly to the degradation of Pd@Pt core-shell electrocatalysts in contrast to the effects of oxide formation.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Studies of LAPPD and HRPPD photodetectors for Cherenkov imaging applications

HRPPDs are the baseline single-photon sensors for a classic proximity-focusing RICH (pfRICH) counter, one of the Cherenkov radiation-based PID subsystems of the ePIC detector at the EIC. We report SPE time resolution of 87 ps rms for an LAPPD unit detecting Cherenkov photons in a quartz lens at a CERN PS test beam (2022). We also present the degradation and partial recovery of gain and relative efficiency of an LAPPD unit as a function of the B-field strength (up to 1.5 T) and angular orientation, measured with vertical dipole magnets at CERN (2023–2024). Finally, we report preliminary results of an accelerated ageing study performed on an HRPPD unit in Trieste laboratory (2025).

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Thermo-mechanical deterioration and molecular degradation of 3D-printed methacrylate-based polymer in various chemical environments

The advancement of additive manufacturing (AM) has accelerated the development of stereolithographic (SLA) photo-curable resins, particularly methacrylate-based polymers, due to the ability to their high-resolution, robust mechanical properties, and suitability. However, their long-term performance in chemical environments remains poorly understood. This study investigates the extent and mechanisms of degradation on an SLA-printed methacrylate-based polymer subjected to various chemicals, including polar and non-polar solvents, as well as strongly acidic aqueous solutions over a 12-week accelerated aging period. A comprehensive analytical approach incorporating swelling kinetics, surface morphology, tensile and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry (MS) was employed to characterize chemical absorption, structural integrity, and leached products. Results reveal that degradation severity is governed by both the polarity and reactivity of the chemical environment. Notably, exposure to 6 mol L -1 HNO₃ induced the most severe deterioration, with over threefold higher swelling compared to other media, and significant reductions in tensile strength, tensile modulus, and glass transition temperature (T g ). In contrast, specimens aged in non-polar solvents (xylene and dodecane) exhibited negligible chemical interaction and retained mechanical performance. FTIR and MS analyses identified acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of ester groups as prominent degradation pathways in acidic media, while diffusion-controlled plasticization prevailed in polar solvents. Furthermore, this study provides valuable insights into the chemical stability of SLA-printed polymers and develops predictive degradation profiles that are crucial for designing durable polymer systems for advanced industrial use.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Results of the International Energy Agency Round Robin on Fast Pyrolysis Bio-oil Production

An international round robin study of the production of fast pyrolysis bio-oil was undertaken. Fifteen institutions in six countries contributed. Three biomass samples were distributed to the laboratories for processing in fast pyrolysis reactors. Samples of the bio-oil produced were transported to a central analytical laboratory for analysis. The round robin was focused on validating the pyrolysis community understanding of production of fast pyrolysis bio-oil by providing a common feedstock for bio-oil preparation. The round robin included: •distribution of 3 feedstock samples from a common source to each participating laboratory; •preparation of fast pyrolysis bio-oil in each laboratory with the 3 feedstocks provided; •return of the 3 bio-oil products (minimum 500 ml) with operational description to a central analytical laboratory for bio-oil property determination. The analyses of interest were: density, viscosity, dissolved water, filterable solids, CHN, S, trace element analysis, ash, total acid number, pyrolytic lignin, and accelerated aging of bio-oil. In addition, an effort was made to compare the bio-oil components to the products of analytical pyrolysis through GC/MS analysis. The results showed that clear differences can occur in fast pyrolysis bio-oil properties by applying different reactor technologies or configurations. The comparison to analytical pyrolysis method suggested that Py-GC/MS could serve as a rapid screening method for bio-oil composition when produced in fluid-bed reactors. Furthermore, hot vapor filtration generally resulted in the most favorable bio-oil product, with respect to water, solids, viscosity, and total acid number. These results can be helpful in understanding the variation in bio-oil production methods and their effects on bio-oil product composition.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Chemical Degradation Pathways in Siloxane Polymers Following Phenyl Excitations

We use ensembles of quantum-based molecular dynamics simulations to predict the chemical reactions that follow radiation-induced excitations of phenyl groups in a model copolymer of polydimethylsiloxane and polydiphenylsiloxane. Our simulations span a wide range of highly porous and condensed phase densities and include both wet and dry conditions. We observe that in the absence of water, excited phenyl groups tend to abstract hydrogen from other methyl or phenyl side groups to produce benzene, with the under-hydrogenated group initiating subsequent intrachain cyclization reactions. These systems also yield minor products of diphenyl moieties formed by the complete abstraction of both phenyl groups from a single polydiphenylsiloxane subunit. In contrast, we find that the presence of water promotes the formation of free benzene and silanol side groups, reduces the likelihood for intrachain cyclization reactions, and completely suppresses the formation of diphenyl species. In addition, we predict that water plays a critical role in chain scission reactions, which indicates a possible synergistic effect between environmental moisture and radiation that could promote alterations of a larger polymer network. These results could have impact in interpreting accelerated aging experiments, where polymer decomposition reactions and network rearrangements are thought to have a significant effect on the ensuing mechanical properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Polymer Hole Transport Material Functional Group Tuning for Improved Perovskite Solar Cell Performance

As lead halide perovskites (LHPs) continue to achieve success as a light-harvesting material in perovskite solar cells (PSCs), exploring and understanding other materials in the device stack become increasingly important. Particularly, selection of suitable hole transport materials (HTMs) that demonstrate high performance and stability is imperative in the design of P-I-N PSCs. Presented here are a family of 12 structurally related polymers based on either fluorene or carbazole main chains with select aromatic side groups that introduce tunable properties for use in PSCs. How properties such as the highest occupied molecular orbital energy level, conductivity, glass-transition temperature, and wettability of the HTM affect the PSC performance is explored. Devices that incorporate the polymer HTMs perform well relative to PTAA in benchmark P-I-N PSC architectures while exhibiting similar or superior stability under accelerated aging studies. The relative synthetic simplicity and resultant performance of the HTMs in PSCs coupled with the ability to customize properties with different functional groups demonstrates the potential of this family of HTMs for a variety of LHP materials.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗