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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
NASA NTRS1961

Investigations of the Deterioration of 22 Refractory Materials in a Mach Number 2 Jet at a Stagnation Temperature of 3,800 F

A limited investigation of the deterioration characteristics of 22 refractory materials was conducted by exposing them to a stagnation temperature of 3,800 F in a Mach number 2 ceramic-heated jet at the Langley Research Center. The materials tested were six materials whose major constituent was silicon carbide, five cermets whose major constituent was titanium carbide, six materials whose major constituents were metal borides, four cermets containing alumina, and one silicon nitride model. Tests consisted of obtaining weight change and appearance changes for 1/2-inch-diameter hemispherical-nose cylindrical models exposed to the air jet for 30 seconds at a time for a total of four runs or 2 minutes exposure. Curves of weight changes plotted against the number of 30-second tests in the jet were obtained. Estimates of average surface temperature near the stagnation point of the model were obtained by use of a special temperature-measuring camera. The models were examined before and after the completion of the tests for possible changes in microstructure; no significant changes were found. The data obtained were analyzed with the view that the oxidation characteristics of the materials were the main factor in deterioration of the materials under the conditions of the tests. It was concluded that only those materials which changed in weight the least could be recommended for further extensive application-oriented evaluations. The following materials fell in this category: silicon carbide - silicon, chromium - 28-percent alumina cermet, titanium boride - 5-percent boron carbide. The remainder of the materials tested had oxidation characteristics which appeared to be too severely limiting of their general applications to flight vehicles.

Lewis, B. W.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Compatibility Studies of Various Refractory Materials in Contact with Molten Silicon

The production of low cost, efficient solar cells for terrestrial electric power generation involves the manipulation of molten silicon with a present need for noncontaminating, high temperature refractories to be used as containment vessels, ribbon-production dies, and dip-coated substrates. Studies were conducted on the wetting behavior and chemical/physical interactions between molten silicon and various refractory materials.

Odonnell, T.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Non-Contact Measurements of Creep Properties of Refractory Materials

State-of-the-art technologies for hypersonic aircraft, nuclear electric/thermal propulsion for spacecraft, and more efficient jet engines are driving ever more demanding needs for high-temperature (>2000 C) materials. At such high temperatures, creep rises as one of the most important design factors to be considered. Since conventional measurement techniques for creep resistance are limited to about 17OO0C, a new technique is in demand for higher temperatures. This paper presents a non-contact method using electrostatic levitation (ESL) which is applicable to both metallic and non-metallic materials. The samples were rotated quickly enough to cause creep deformation by centrifugal acceleration. The deformation of the samples was captured with a high speed camera and then the images were analyzed to estimate creep resistance. Finite element analyses were performed and compared to the experiments to verify the new method. Results are presented for niobium and tungsten, representative refractory materials at 2300 C and 2700 C respectively.

Lee, Jonghyun↗
NASA NTRS2012

Modeling of Heat Transfer and Ablation of Refractory Material Due to Rocket Plume Impingement

CR Tech's Thermal Desktop-SINDA/FLUINT software was used in the thermal analysis of a flame deflector design for Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The analysis of the flame deflector takes into account heat transfer due to plume impingement from expected vehicles to be launched at KSC. The heat flux from the plume was computed using computational fluid dynamics provided by Ames Research Center in Moffet Field, California. The results from the CFD solutions were mapped onto a 3-D Thermal Desktop model of the flame deflector using the boundary condition mapping capabilities in Thermal Desktop. The ablation subroutine in SINDA/FLUINT was then used to model the ablation of the refractory material.

Harris, Michael F.↗
NASA NTRS1972

High voltage electrical insulation coating for refractory materials

Formula and process have been developed for coating refractory metal surfaces with high voltage electrical insulation for use at temperatures to 600 C. Coatings were specifically developed as an insulation for the surface of a perforated, molybdenum, ion-accelerator grid, but are not limited to this application.

Lent, W. E.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Compatibility of refractory materials for nuclear reactor poison control systems

Metal-clad poison rods have been considered for the control system of an advanced space power reactor concept studied at the NASA Lewis Research Center. Such control rods may be required to operate at temperatures of about 140O C. Selected poison materials (including boron carbide and the diborides of zirconium, hafnium, and tantalum) were subjected to 1000-hour screening tests in contact with candidate refractory metal cladding materials (including tungsten and alloys of tantalum, niobium, and molybdenum) to assess the compatibility of these materials combinations at the temperatures of interest. Zirconium and hafnium diborides were compatible with refractory metals at 1400 C, but boron carbide and tantalum diboride reacted with the refractory metals at this temperature. Zirconium diboride also showed promise as a reaction barrier between boron carbide and tungsten.

Sinclair, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Refractory Materials for Flame Deflector Protection System Corrosion Control: Coatings Systems Literature Survey

When space vehicles are launched, extreme heat, exhaust, and chemicals are produced and these form a very aggressive exposure environment at the launch complex. The facilities in the launch complex are exposed to this aggressive environment. The vehicle exhaust directly impacts the flame deflectors, making these systems very susceptible to high wear and potential failure. A project was formulated to develop or identify new materials or systems such that the wear and/or damage to the flame deflector system, as a result of the severe environmental exposure conditions during launches, can be mitigated. This report provides a survey of potential protective coatings for the refractory concrete lining on the steel base structure on the flame deflectors at Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

Calle, Luz M.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Chemistry of vaporization of refractory materials

A discussion is given of the principles of physical chemistry important in vaporization studies, notably the concepts of equilibrium, phase behavior, thermodynamics, solid solution, and kinetics. The important factors influencing equilibrium vaporization phenomena are discussed and illustrated. A proper course of a vaporization study consisting of 9 stages is proposed. The important experimental techniques of Knudsen effusion, Langmuir vaporization and mass spectrometry are discussed. The principles, the factors, the course of a study and the experimental techniques and procedures are illustrated by recent work on the Ti-O system.

Gilles, P. W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Wire EDM for Refractory Materials

In an attempt to reduce fabrication time and costs, Wire Electrical Discharge Machine (Wire EDM) method was investigated as tool for fabricating matched blade roots and disk slots. Eight high-strength nickel-base superalloys were used. Computer-controlled Wire EDM technique provided high quality surfaces with excellent dimensional tolerances. Wire EDM method offers potential for substantial reductions in fabrication costs for "hard to machine" alloys and electrically conductive materials in specific high-precision applications.

Zellars, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Refractory materials for high-temperature thermoelectric energy conversion

Theoretical work of two decades ago adequately explained the transport behavior and effectively guided the development of thermoelectric materials of high conversion efficiencies of conventional semiconductors (e.g., SiGe alloys). The more significant contributions involved the estimation of optimum doping concentrations, the reduction of thermal conductivity by solid solution doping and the development of a variety of materials with ZT approx. 1 in the temperature range 300 K to 1200 K. ZT approx. 1 is not a theoretical limitation although, experimentally, values in excess of one were not achieved. Work has continued with emphasis on higher temperature energy conversion. A number of promising materials have been discovered in which it appears that ZT 1 is realizable. These materials are divided into two classes: (1) the rare-earth chalcogenides which behave as itinerant highly-degenerate n-type semiconductors at room-temperature, and (2) the boron-rich borides, which exhibit p-type small-polaronic hopping conductivity.

Wood, C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Refractory materials for high-temperature thermoelectric energy conversion

Theoretical work of two decades ago adequately explained the transport behavior and effectively guided the development of thermoelectric materials of high conversion efficiencies of conventional semiconductors (e.g., SiGe alloys). The more significant contributions involved the estimaiation of optimum doping concentrations, the reduction of thermal conductivity by solid solution doping and the development of a variety of materials with ZT approx. 1 in the temperature range 300 K to 1200 K. ZT approx. 1 is not a theoretical limitation although, experimentally, values in excess of one were not achieved. Work has continued with emphasis on higher temperature energy conversion. A number of promising materials have been discovered in which it appears that ZT 1 is realizable. These materials are divided into two classes: (1) the rare-earth chalcogenides which behave as itinerant highly-degenerate n-type semiconductors at room-temperature, and (2) the boron-rich borides, which exhibit p-type small-polaronic hopping conductivity.

Wood, C.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Initial Measurement of the Vapor Pressures of Simple Refractory Materials: Cu and Fe

It has become increasingly clear over the past decade that high temperature processes played important roles in the Primitive Solar Nebula. Unfortunately, basic data, such as the vapor pressures of iron or SiO have not been measured over the appropriate temperature range (near T approximately equal to 2000K), but must be extrapolated from lower temperature measurements often made more than 50 years ago. The extrapolation of the available data to higher temperatures can be quite complex and can depend on other factors such as the oxygen fugacity or the presence of hydrogen gas. Moreover, modern technology has made possible more accurate measurements of such quantities over a wider temperature range. We recently acquired a commercial Thermo-Cahn Thermogravimetric system capable of vacuum operation to 1700 C and measurement of mass change with microgram accuracy in a 100g sample or smaller. In this paper, we will report our progress in learning to make vapor pressure measurements using this system.

Nuth, Joseph A., III↗
NASA NTRS1987

Method and apparatus for generating microshells of refractory materials

A system is described for forming accurately spherical and centered fluid-filled shells, especially of high melting temperature material. Material which is to form the shells is placed in a solid form in a container, and the material is rapidly heated to a molten temperature to avoid recrystallization and the possible generation of unwanted microbubbles in the melt. Immediately after the molten shells are formed, they drop through a drop tower whose upper end is heated along a distance of at least one foot to provide time for dissipation of surface waves on the shells while they cool to a highly viscous, or just above melting temperature so that the bubble within the shell will not rise and become off centered. The rest of the tower is cryogenically cooled to cool the shell to a solid state.

Lee, Mark C.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Emissivity Results on High Temperature Coatings for Refractory Composite Materials

The directional emissivity of various refractory composite materials considered for application for reentry and hypersonic vehicles was investigated. The directional emissivity was measured at elevated temperatures of up to 3400 F using a directional spectral radiometric technique during arc-jet test runs. A laboratory-based relative total radiance method was also used to measure total normal emissivity of some of the refractory composite materials. The data from the two techniques are compared. The paper will also compare the historical database of Reinforced Carbon-Carbon emissivity measurements with emissivity values generated recently on the material using the two techniques described in the paper.

Ohlhorst, Craig W.↗