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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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Tantalum pentoxide: a new material platform for high-performance dielectric metasurface optics in the ultraviolet and visible region

Dielectric metasurfaces, composed of planar arrays of subwavelength dielectric structures that collectively mimic the operation of conventional bulk optical elements, have revolutionized the field of optics by their potential in constructing high-efficiency and multi-functional optoelectronic systems on chip. The performance of a dielectric metasurface is largely determined by its constituent material, which is highly desired to have a high refractive index, low optical loss and wide bandgap, and at the same time, be fabrication friendly. Here, we present a new material platform based on tantalum pentoxide (Ta 2 O 5 ) for implementing high-performance dielectric metasurface optics over the ultraviolet and visible spectral region. This wide-bandgap dielectric, exhibiting a high refractive index exceeding 2.1 and negligible extinction coefficient across a broad spectrum, can be easily deposited over large areas with good quality using straightforward physical vapor deposition, and patterned into high-aspect-ratio subwavelength nanostructures through commonly-available fluorine-gas-based reactive ion etching. We implement a series of high-efficiency ultraviolet and visible metasurfaces with representative light-field modulation functionalities including polarization-independent high-numerical-aperture lensing, spin-selective hologram projection, and vivid structural color generation, and the devices exhibit operational efficiencies up to 80%. Our work overcomes limitations faced by scalability of commonly-employed metasurface dielectrics and their operation into the visible and ultraviolet spectral range, and provides a novel route towards realization of high-performance, robust and foundry-manufacturable metasurface optics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Fundamentals of Polymer Crystallization in Laser Powder Bed Fusion for New Material Screening

Although laser powder bed fusion (PBF/LB) was one of the first industrially viable additive manufacturing (AM) methods for end-use part production, polyamides remain grossly dominant at both the commercial- and researchscale. The research community continues to develop and refine “rapid screening” methods for evaluating the suitability of a new polymer for PBF/LB. The so-called “SLS Process Window,” which is the difference between melting and crystallization temperature measured at 10 K min-1 as originally outlined in the patent literature, is perhaps the most often reported screening method. Although perhaps appropriate as part of a larger study, the simplistic guidelines put forth by the “SLS Process Window” are not sufficiently scientifically rigorous to understand how crystallization kinetics affects successful 3D printing. The common understanding of the SLS Process Window omits details from published theories of polymer crystallization. as evidenced by published assumptions and methods in PBF/LB process modeling papers. The authors explain polymer crystallization in the PBF/LB process context and propose replacing the “process window” with crystallization halftime and physical gelation for new material screening. These measurements better represent behavior critical for ensuring a lengthy coexistence of solid powder and molten polymer affecting warp-free parts.

CHATHAM, CAMDEN A.↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Regulatory Approach to Accelerated Deployment for New Material or Applications in Advanced Reactors

New advanced reactor developers may embark on deploying materials in novel and unique environments where a material’s long-term performance may be in question or unknown. In many cases, sufficient test data may not exist for the material in the desired application, or that no prescript or applicable regulatory testing requirements are available to demonstrate the safety of the application explicitly. This study endeavors to develop the framework for a regulatory and technical approach for safe and predictable accelerated materials use in advanced reactors guided by 10 CFR Part 50.43(e)(1), Advanced Reactor Design Criteria contained in Regulatory Guide 1.232, and Reliability Integrity Management Program (RIM) principles.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2012

RF Surface Impedance Characterization of Potential New Materials for SRF-based Accelerators

In the development of new superconducting materials for possible use in SRF-based accelerators, it is useful to work with small candidate samples rather than complete resonant cavities. The recently commissioned Jefferson Lab RF Surface Impedance Characterization (SIC) system can presently characterize the central region of 50 mm diameter disk samples of various materials from 2 to 40 K exposed to RF magnetic fields up to 14 mT at 7.4 GHz. We report the recent measurement results of bulk Nb, thin film Nb on Cu and sapphire substrates, Nb{sub 3}Sn sample, and thin film MgB{sub 2} on sapphire substrate provided by colleagues at JLab and Temple University.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Investigation of the Solution Chemistry of Hybrid Organic–Inorganic Indium Halides for New Material Discovery

Recently, metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have emerged as a new class of materials for optical and electronic applications such as solar cells and ionizing radiation detectors. Although the solution-processability of MHPs is among their greatest advantages, the solution chemistries of most metal halide systems and their relationship with the observed structural and chemical diversity are poorly understood. In this work, we study the solution chemistry of a model indium halide system, methylammonium (MA)–In–Br, using a combination of the UV–vis spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) measurements, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our results show that indium could form either octahedral [InBr 6 3– ] or tetrahedral [InBr 4 – ] anions in solution or a combination of both, depending on the loading ratios of MABr and InBr 3 reactants. Understanding the solution chemistry of this system and recognizing the optical fingerprints of these polyanions allow for targeted crystallization of two novel compounds: MAInBr 4 featuring tetrahedral [InBr 4 – ] anions and MA 2 InBr 5 containing both octahedral [InBr 6 3– ] and tetrahedral [InBr 4 – ] anions. Further increase of the MABr content leads to the formation of previously reported MA 4 InBr 7 , containing only octahedral [InBr 6 3– ] anions separated by Br – anions. Furthermore, our results suggest that understanding the solution chemistry of multinary metal halide systems could be a valuable tool for discovering functional materials for practical applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Opsin vs opsin: New materials for biotechnological applications

The need of new diagnostic methods satisfying, as an early detection, a low invasive procedure and a cost-efficient value, is orienting the technological research toward the use of bio-integrated devices, in particular, bio-sensors. The set of know-why necessary to achieve this goal is wide, from biochemistry to electronics and is summarized in an emerging branch of electronics, called proteotronics. Proteotronics is here applied to state a comparative analysis of the electrical responses coming from type-1 and type-2 opsins. In particular, the procedure is used as an early investigation of a recently discovered family of opsins, the proteorhodopsins activated by blue light, BPRs. The results reveal some interesting and unexpected similarities between proteins of the two families, suggesting the global electrical response are not strictly linked to the class identity.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1973

New materials in the aerospace industries

Trends in the development of new aerospace metals and alloys are reviewed, and applications of these advanced materials in nonaerospace fields are indicated. Emphasis is placed on the light metals and the high-temperature alloys. Attention is given to the properties and uses of the high-strength aluminum alloy 7050, alpha and beta titanium alloys, dispersion strengthened superalloys, metal-metal composites, eutectic superalloys, and coated columbium alloys.

Gangler, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Teeing Off With an Entirely New Material

Liquidmetal(R) alloy is part of an entirely new class of vitrified metals, and is also known as metallic glass, or Vitreloy(R). A vitrified metal is a frozen liquid that fails to crystallize during solidification, unlike common metals such as titanium, steel, and aluminum. The technology takes the non-crystalline structure of glass and combines it with the properties of metal, a combination not found in nature, allowing for a product that offers the strength of a metal with the elasticity of a polymer. This unique technology is more than twice as strong as titanium and has a higher elastic limit. Liquidmetal(R) Golf presents this space-age development in a complete line golf clubs. Clubs made with this technology have a lower vibration response along with a softer, more solid feel. Because less energy is absorbed by the club's head upon impact, more energy is transferred directly to the ball. Vitreloy has potential commercial uses in sporting equipment: tennis rackets, bicycle frames, and baseball bats. The material may find applications in the medical industry for the manufacturing of surgical instruments and prosthetics. The Liquidmetal alloy is projected to replace many high performance materials, such as titanium, in the industries of aerospace, defense, military, automotives, medical instrumentation, and sporting goods

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2021

High-Entropy Ceramic Coatings: Transformative New Materials for Environmentally-Compatible Thin-Film Insulators against High-T Molten Salts

An emerging new class of promising materials, High-Entropy Ceramics (HECs) or Compositionally-Complex Ceramics (CCCs), have been successfully fabricated in the last three years. This project evaluates HECs/CCCs in the concentrated solar power (CSP) context. In this project, we have identified a couple of simple, and key descriptors governing thermal conductivity in HECs. Size disorder among the cations was found to have a strong influence on the thermal conductivity across multiple systems and throughout a vast compositional space. Since identifying this, we have optimized previous compositions to achieve low thermal conductivities of $k$~$1-1.4Wm{-1}K{-1}$. We have further reduced our selection of promising compositions based on project guidelines and applied a theory that can potentially predict reactivity with molten salts to identify a small set of HECs that are suitable for further molten salt heat transfer media (HTM) stability testing. Many compositions reveal poor resistance to molten chloride salt after being exposed for 24 h compared to the reference structural alloy, Haynes 230. However, after 100 h, a few HECs/CCCs show strong parabolic rate constant effects and provide greater resistance to chloride salt compared to Haynes 230 alloy, which shows more linear kinetics. Postmortem characterization of the microstructure reveals the parabolic rate constant originates from a dense reaction layer form at the interface. This feature is absent in Haynes 230, which only shows grain boundary infiltration. The HECs/CCCs were also put in contact with the metal alloy under Ar for 800 h at 800°C and show negligible interaction. Lastly, parabolic rate constant HECs/CCCs also have low thermal conductivity $(<2 Wm^{-1} K^{-1})$ at 800°C. These specimens satisfy all project requirements and demonstrate their promising application in next-generation CSP.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1994

A new material for removing heavy metals from water

The NASA Lewis Research Center developed and is patenting a new high capacity ion exchange material (IEM) that removes toxic metals from contaminated water in laboratory tests. The IEM can be made into many forms, such as thin films, coatings, pellets, and fibers. As a result, it can be adapted to many applications to purify contaminated water wherever it is found, be it in waste water treatment systems, lakes, ponds, industrial plants, or in homes. Laboratory tests have been conducted on aqueous solutions containing only one of the following metal cations: lead, copper, mercury, cadmium, silver, chromium (III), nickel, zinc, and yttrium. Tests were also conducted with: (1) calcium present to determine its effects on the uptake of cadmium and copper, and (2) uranium and lanthanides which are stand-ins for other radioactive elements, (3) drinking water for the removal of copper and lead, and (3) others compositions. The results revealed that the IEM removes all these cations, even in the presence of the calcium. Of particular interest are the results of the tests with the drinking water: the lead concentration was reduced from 142 ppb down to 2.8 ppb (well below the accepted EPA standard).

Philipp, Warren H., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2011

Molecular simulations of H 2 adsorption in metal-porphyrin frameworks: A potential new material evaluation

Path integral grand canonical Monte Carlo (PI-GCMC) simulations using standard force fields are typically carried out to calculate the adsorption of H 2 in five metal-porphyrin frameworks (MPFs), a new class of metal organic framework (MOF)-type materials. These simulations are performed at 77 K and room temperature (300 K). The adsorption isotherms of H 2 in IRMOF-1 and IRMOF-10 are also calculated as a comparison. All calculations indicate that all MPFs adsorbed a higher weight fraction of H 2 than both IRMOF-1 and IRMOF-10, with one exception (MPF-2). The gravimetric hydrogen capacities are still well short of practical goals. The MPFs provide additional adsorption sites due to the porphyrin. A statistical mechanical lattice model predicts the adsorption well at room temperature. The prediction by this model reflected that a weight fraction of hydrogen of 6 wt. % adsorbed in pores of the size found in IRMOF-1 at ambient temperature and modest pressures required a binding energy of about 17 kJ/mole, which is consistent with other findings.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2020

Technical Qualification of New Materials for High Efficiency Coal-Fired Boilers and Other Advanced FE Concepts: Haynes® 282® ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Case

This DOE Fossil Energy project, FEAA117, addressed materials issues relevant to qualifying and deploying a Ni-base alloy for a new application in an advanced ultra-supercritical coal-fired boiler. The goal was the deployment of Haynes International alloy Haynes® 282® for applications in superheaters, reheaters, and steam delivery pipes, by completing base metal, cross-weld and all-weld metal mechanical testing needed for an ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Case and the associated microstructural analyses needed for assurance of boiler-relevant lifetimes. The alloy also is of interest for other applications including supercritical CO₂ power generation cycles. Tensile testing was completed from 20°-927°C on the three base metal alloy 282 heats, two sets of cross-weld specimens and all weld metal specimens. A total of 148 creep tests with over 565,000 h of cumulative testing was completed on base metal, cross-weld and all weld metal specimens. This project was performed with cost share from Haynes International.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
NASA NTRS2000

Development and Application of Computational/In Vitro Toxicological Methods for Chemical Hazard Risk Reduction of New Materials for Advanced Weapon Systems

The development of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) is essential for reducing the chemical hazards of new weapon systems. The current collaboration between HEST (toxicology research and testing), MLPJ (computational chemistry) and PRS (computational chemistry, new propellant synthesis) is focusing R&D efforts on basic research goals that will rapidly transition to useful products for propellant development. Computational methods are being investigated that will assist in forecasting cellular toxicological end-points. Models developed from these chemical structure-toxicity relationships are useful for the prediction of the toxicological endpoints of new related compounds. Research is focusing on the evaluation tools to be used for the discovery of such relationships and the development of models of the mechanisms of action. Combinations of computational chemistry techniques, in vitro toxicity methods, and statistical correlations, will be employed to develop and explore potential predictive relationships; results for series of molecular systems that demonstrate the viability of this approach are reported. A number of hydrazine salts have been synthesized for evaluation. Computational chemistry methods are being used to elucidate the mechanism of action of these salts. Toxicity endpoints such as viability (LDH) and changes in enzyme activity (glutahoione peroxidase and catalase) are being experimentally measured as indicators of cellular damage. Extrapolation from computational/in vitro studies to human toxicity, is the ultimate goal. The product of this program will be a predictive tool to assist in the development of new, less toxic propellants.

Frazier, John M.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Photoluminescence properties of NaPbB{sub 5}O{sub 9}:Dy{sup 3+} new material for white light applications

Keeping in view of the recent increased interest towards phosphor materials and its applications, an attempt has been made in the present paper to analyze the new NaPbB{sub 5}O{sub 9}:Dy{sub 3+} phosphor with different Dy{sub 3+} concentrations. Special attention is paid to investigate their crystal structure, morphology and luminescence properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirm the formation of NaPbB{sub 5}O{sub 9}:Dy{sub 3+} phosphor powder. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show that the grains are in micrometer range. Photoluminescence spectra are recorded with different excitation wavelengths for the investigated phosphor and analyzed the variation of intensity of emission bands with Dy{sub 3+} ion concentration. Color co-ordinates are calculated and are used to characterize the color of the phosphor.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

New Materials for Clean Energy Technologies

What does a successful innovation pipeline look like? It starts with fundamental research into properties of materials important for energy technologies, supported by the Basic Energy Sciences (BES) office of DOE. Potentially important discoveries are passed on to applied research supported by DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) office, which often partners with or licenses technology to private sector entities. The process usually takes two or three decades, but has repeatedly resulted in the commercialization of new energy technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Legacy of Metropolis continues through new materials donated to classified library collections

“From the very beginning of the Los Alamos project, it was inevitable that the Laboratory would suffer total immersion in computing,” said Nicholas Constantine Metropolis in 1976, reflecting his characteristic humor. Metropolis had succinctly summarized the prominent place of computing in Los Alamos’s mission and history. Metropolis himself played no small role in that “total immersion,” exemplified by the Lab’s supercomputing center, a postdoctoral fellowship, and the world-famous algorithm that carry his name. So does a collection of legacy materials in the National Security Research Center (NSRC). The NSRC, the Lab’s classified library, which also houses unclassified artifacts, recently received a new addition to the Metropolis Collections. This donation, 22 years after his death on October 17, 1999, provides tangible evidence of Metropolis’s continuing legacy at Los Alamos.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

New Materials and an Efficient Processing Approach for Materials for Harsh Environments – Continuous Electric Field Assisted Sintering

Electric-field assisted sintering (EFAS) is an advanced manufacturing method for the consolidation and processing of ceramic and metal materials. It is a particularly excellent candidate for efficient materials processing as it has greater than 90% energy cost savings and improved CO2 emissions compared to traditional sintering in a furnace. This is due to direct rapid heating of the materials and molds leveraging an electrification phenomenon called Joule heating where electrical current is passed through the sample/mold assemblies causing direct heating. The technique does have limitations though as it is traditionally a batch-process and suffers from scale up difficulties. To overcome this, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory changed the form factor of traditional EFAS instruments to develop and construct a continuous rolling electric-field assisted sintering (CEFAS) device. Its unique design creates highly localized electrical, thermal, and mechanical process parameters for continuous samples of limitless length. Advanced core shell powder materials were also created using fluidized powder bed atomic layer deposition of core/shell solid oxide electrochemical electrode/electrolyte BaCe0.7Zr0.1Y0.1Yb0.1O3 (BCZYYb) and yttrium doped BaZrO3 (BZY) to be a feedstock for the new CEFAS instrument. The innovative core/shell powder is hypothesized to have high protonic conductivity with enhanced environmental resistance. The completed project covers innovations in process control and design enabled by control theory, finite element modeling and mechanical design, three dimensionally printed carbon-carbon composite manufacturing and utilization, and green materials processing techniques.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Probabilistic data fusion and physics-informed machine learning: A new paradigm for modeling under uncertainty, and its application to accelerating the discovery of new materials

In this report we summarize the work conducted by PI Perdikaris and his group under this Early Career project DE–SC0019116 during the period of 09/01/2018 – 08/31/2023. The central aim of the work was to introduce a new paradigm for scientific data analysis that can seamlessly synthesize rigorous mathematical modeling with data of variable fidelity (e.g., measurements at multiple scales/resolutions or predictions of variable fidelity models) and multiple modalities (e.g., images, time–series, or scattered measurements). The setting we are interested in involves complex systems that are partially observed and whose dynamical behavior could be hard to model or totally unknown. The inherent uncertainty associated with this setting necessitates a departure from the classical deterministic realm of modeling and scientific computation, and, consequently, our main building blocks can no longer be crisp deterministic numbers and governing laws, but instead we must operate with probabilistic models.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗