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At least 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Transformational Challenge Reactor – On the Application of Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) Techniques to the Conception of Nuclear Core

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are radically changing the way objects are designed and manufactured. They allow building by deposition and solidification of material layer by layer, enabling the possibility to create simple and complex features alike, almost seamlessly. Generally, the design optimization process requires to define objectives, design variables and constraints. Additive manufacturing does not challenge this process per se but does allow designers to completely redefine the constraints space as the ones originating from fabrication can be considerably relaxed compared to more “traditional” manufacturing. Thus, design optimization becomes naturally far more responsive to the actual physics being solved and considerably less influenced by fabrication limitations, leading to dramatically different designs. To take advantage of these new opportunities, so-called Designing for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) techniques are emerging. Development of design techniques specifically tailored for additive manufacturing is warranted because, considering AM, the design space is typically considerably larger than with traditional manufacturing. The ability to explore the design space efficiently is of paramount importance for designers. This study proposes to investigate and apply some of these DfAM techniques to the conception of nuclear core. The goal being to assess if these new methods can be applied to core design and if core design could benefits from additive manufacturing technologies. After a brief investigation on the pertinence of some DfAM techniques for core design, algorithms are proposed and a workflow is established to carry neutronics and steady-state thermal-hydraulics analyses. To diminish the work load, the workflow has been automated using python modules. These modules allow the rapid creation of input files, post-treatment of output files and visualization. To test the pertinence of the proposed workflow, three test cases have been investigated: a research and test reactor, a micro-reactor and a space propulsion reactor. These test cases offered a variety of objectives, constraints and operating conditions. It is observed that the proposed workflow is capable of converging quickly and efficiently to valid design solutions. It is then concluded that DfAM techniques can be applied to core design.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Nitrogen addition alters soil fungal communities, but root fungal communities are resistant to change

Plants are colonized by numerous microorganisms serving important symbiotic functions that are vital to plant growth and success. Understanding and harnessing these interactions will be useful in both managed and natural ecosystems faced with global change, but it is still unclear how variation in environmental conditions and soils influence the trajectory of these interactions. In this study, we examine how nitrogen addition alters plant-fungal interactions within two species of Populus - Populus deltoides and P. trichocarpa. In this experiment, we manipulated plant host, starting soil (native vs. away for each tree species), and nitrogen addition in a fully factorial replicated design. After ~10 weeks of growth, we destructively harvested the plants and characterized plant growth factors and the soil and root endosphere fungal communities using targeted amplicon sequencing of the ITS2 gene region. Overall, we found nitrogen addition altered plant growth factors, e.g., plant height, chlorophyll density, and plant N content. Interestingly, nitrogen addition resulted in a lower fungal alpha diversity in soils but not plant roots. Further, there was an interactive effect of tree species, soil origin, and nitrogen addition on soil fungal community composition. Starting soils collected from Oregon and West Virginia were dominated by the ectomycorrhizal fungi Inocybe (55.8% relative abundance), but interestingly when P. deltoides was grown in its native West Virginia soil, the roots selected for a high abundance of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Rhizophagus. These results highlight the importance of soil origin and plant species on establishing plant-fungal interactions.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Impact of lubricant additives on the physicochemical properties and activity of three-way catalysts

As alternative lubricant anti-wear additives are sought to reduce friction and improve overall fuel economy, it is important that these additives are also compatible with current emissions control catalysts. In the present work, an oil-miscible phosphorous-containing ionic liquid (IL), trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate ([P 66614 ][DEHP]), is evaluated for its impact on three-way catalysts (TWC) and benchmarked against the industry standard zinc-dialkyl-dithio-phosphate (ZDDP). The TWCs are aged in different scenarios: neat gasoline (no-additive, or NA), gasoline+ZDDP, and gasoline+IL. The aged samples, along with the as received TWC, are characterized through various analytical techniques including catalyst reactivity evaluation in a bench-flow reactor. The temperatures of 50% conversion (T50) for the ZDDP-aged TWCs increased by 30, 24, and 25 °C for NO, CO, and C3H6, respectively, compared to the no-additive case. Although the IL-aged TWC also increased in T50 for CO and C3H6, it was notably less than ZDDP, 7 and 9 °C, respectively. Additionally, the IL-aged samples had higher water-gas-shift reactivity and oxygen storage capacity than the ZDDP-aged TWC. Characterization of the aged samples indicated the predominant presence of CePO 4 in the ZDDP-aged TWC aged by ZDDP, while its formation was retarded in the case of IL where higher levels of AlPO 4 is observed. Furthermore, the results in this work indicate that the phosphonium-phosphate IL potentially has less adverse impact on TWC than ZDDP.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mitigating Scatter in Mechanical Properties in AISI 410 Fabricated via Arc-Based Additive Manufacturing Process

Wire-based metal additive manufacturing utilizes the ability of additive manufacturing to fabricate complex geometries with high deposition rates (above 7 kg/h), thus finding applications in the fabrication of large-scale components, such as stamping dies. Traditionally, the workhorse materials for stamping dies have been martensitic steels. However, the complex thermal gyrations induced during additive manufacturing can cause the evolution of an inhomogeneous microstructure, which leads to a significant scatter in the mechanical properties, especially the toughness. Therefore, to understand these phenomena, arc-based additive AISI 410 samples were fabricated using robotic gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and were subjected to a detailed characterization campaign. The results show significant scatter in the tensile properties as well as Charpy V-notch impact toughness data, which was then correlated to the microstructural heterogeneity and delta (δ) ferrite formation. Post-processing (austenitizing and tempering) treatments were developed and an ~70% reduction in the scatter of tensile data and a four-times improvement in the toughness were obtained. The changes in mechanical properties were rationalized based on the microstructure evolution during additive manufacturing. Based on these, an outline to tailor the composition of “printable” steels for tooling with isotropic and uniform mechanical properties is presented and discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Comparison of Eco-Friendly Ionic Liquids and Commercial Bio-Derived Lubricant Additives in Terms of Tribological Performance and Aquatic Toxicity

Approximately half of the lubricants sold globally find their way into the environment. The need for Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) is gaining increased recognition. A lubricant is composed of a base oil and multiple functional additives. The literature has been focused on EAL base oils, with much less attention given to eco-friendly additives. This study presents the tribological performance and aquatic toxicity of four short-chain phosphonium-phosphate and ammonium-phosphate ionic liquids (ILs) as candidate anti-wear and friction-reducing additives for EALs. The results are benchmarked against those of four commercial bio-derived additives. The four ILs, at a mere 0.5 wt% concentration in a synthetic ester, demonstrated a 30–40% friction reduction and >99% wear reduction, superior to the commercial baselines. More impressively, all four ILs showed significantly lower toxicity than the bio-derived products. In an EPA-standard chronic aquatic toxicity test, the sensitive model organism, Ceriodaphnia dubia, had 90–100% survival when exposed to the ILs but 0% survival in exposure to the bio-derived products at the same concentration. This study offers scientific insights for the future development of eco-friendly ILs as lubricant additives.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

DETERMINATION OF THE SOLID-STATE RESISTANCE-WELDABILITY OF ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED 304L STAINLESS STEEL

Additive manufacturing of pressure-containing boundaries is of interest to numerous industries, so a project was initiated to develop several different methods to join and weld additively manufactured materials. The approach investigated in this study was a low energy, solid state spot weld. This general approach has been routinely used for conventionally prepared tubing and is now being expanded to additively manufactured components. Additively manufactured 304L stainless steel sheets, semi-tubes, and tubes were resistance spot welded and compared to comparable welds in conventionally manufactured tubing. Radiographic computed tomography and metallography were used to evaluate the suitability of the welds using three criteria: weld closure length, thickness, and width. All additively manufactured test welds closely matched the conventional tubing for these criteria

additive manufacturing↗
DOE OSTI2019

Trifunctional Electrode Additive for High Active Material Content and Volumetric Lithium-Ion Electrode Densities

The use of electrode additives such as binder and conductive additive (CA) in addition to high pore volume for electrolytes, results in reduced volumetric energy densities of all battery electrodes. Here, it is proposed to use poly(furfuryl alcohol) (PFA) conductive resin as a trifunctional electrode additive to replace polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and CA while simultaneously enabling low porosity electrode function. The resultant PFA binder has a long-range ordered structure of conjugated diene, which allow electronic conductivity that leads to a CA-free electrode fabrication process. The oxygen heteroatoms in the PFA structure reduce the diffusion barriers of lithium ions, lowers the amount of required electrolyte/pore volume and thus, increasing electrode density. Serving as a trifunctional electrode additive, a high electrode density of 2.65 g cm -3 of the LiFePO 4 (LFP) electrode and therefore the highest volumetric energy density of 1551 Wh L -1 so far. The LFP electrode using PFA binder can achieve a capacity retention of ≈ 80% and Coulombic efficiency of over 99.9% after cycling for 500 times. The presented in situ polymerization strategy could revolutionize the electrode process, with the advantages of being simple, environmentally friendly, and easily scalable to industrial applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Inorganic N addition replaces N supplied to switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ) by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) provide many benefits in agroecosystems including improved soil tilth, carbon sequestration, and water and nutrient transfer to plants. AMF are known to affect plant nitrogen (N) dynamics and transfer N to plants, but there have been few studies addressing whether the amount of N transferred to plants by AMF is agronomically relevant. We used δ 15 N natural abundance methods and δ 15 N mass balance equations to estimate the amount of plant N derived from AMF transfer in perennial grasses managed for bioenergy production under different N addition treatments (0, 56, and 196 kg N/ha). Differentiation of δ 15 N among plant, soil N, and AMF pools was higher than anticipated leading to calculations of 34–55% of plant N transferred by AMF in the treatments receiving no N addition to 6–22% of plant N transferred to plants in high-N addition treatments. AMF extra-radical hyphae biomass was significantly reduced in the high-N (196 kg N/ha) addition treatments, which was negatively correlated to enriched plant δ 15 N. Our results suggest that N addition decreases AMF N transfer to plants. When N was limiting to plant growth, AMF supplied agronomically significant amounts of plant N, and a higher proportion of overall plant N. Because differentiation between N pools was greater than expected, stable isotope measurements can be used to estimate N transfer to AMF plant hosts.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Stress interference in multilayer additive friction stir deposition of AA6061 aluminum

Due to the multilayer deposition nature of metal additive manufacturing processes, each layer being printed experiences the state of thermokinetic and thermomechanical stress that in turn interfere with the state of thermokinetics and thermomechanical stress of subsequently deposited layers. Especially, this multilayer interference significantly affects the resultant properties of the component fabricated using solid-state additive friction stir deposition due to evolution of asymmetric state of planar stress. Due to the lack of comprehensive and suitable in situ diagnosis technique, the complex interference of inter- and multi-layer stresses during additive friction stir deposition was studied in an integrated approach of numerical simulation of fluidic state and experimental probing of stress influenced ultrasonic elastography. The uni-directional and bi-directional layer deposition configurations adopted during additive friction stir deposition result in the generation of constructive and destructive interference of the interlayer stress and hence, asymmetric and symmetric dynamic elasticity distribution respectively within the subsequent layers. With subsequent deposition of additional layers, the odd and even numbers of deposited layers generate asymmetric and nearly symmetric dynamic elasticity distributions.

Yang, Teng↗
DOE OSTI2019

Influence of Iron Ore Addition on Metallurgical Reaction Behavior of Iron Coke Hot Briquette

Utilization of iron coke hot briquette (ICHB) has been considered to be one effective countermeasure to achieve low-carbon blast furnace. Before its actual application, a series of extensive fundamental investigations on the ICHB are required. In this study, the influence of iron ore addition on the metallurgical reaction behavior of ICHB made from carbonizing coal–iron ore composite agglomeration were investigated based on Chinese raw material conditions, and the corresponding mechanisms were revealed. The results show that the addition of iron ore concentrate leads to the degradation of the compressive strength and drum strength of ICHB, but they are maintained at a relatively high level. Furthermore, by increasing the addition ratio of iron ore from 0 to 20 pct, the density of ICHB is enhanced from 1413 to 1637 kg/m{sup 3}, and the porosity is increased from 8.03 to 12.84 pct, and the optical texture index (OTI) is reduced from 58.1 to 25.3. The phase composition of ICHB mainly consists of C, Fe, SiO{sub 2}, Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}, and FeO after the addition of the iron ore concentrate. Moreover, the reactivity of ICHB is accelerated from 46.74 to 69.54 pct due to the catalytic effects of metallic iron and iron oxide, which worked as oxygen transfer carriers, while the post-reaction strength is reduced from 74.08 to 36.81 pct. In addition, the starting temperature of the ICHB gasification reaction is decreased remarkably from 919 °C to 839 °C. The activation energy (E{sub a}) for the gasification reaction under nonisothermal conditions is reduced from 312.78 to 249.83 kJ/mol, and the preexponential factor (A) shows a decreasing trend as well. Simultaneously, E{sub a} and A display the kinetic compensation effect and present a good linear relationship.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Data Mining and Visualization of High-Dimensional ICME Data for Additive Manufacturing

Integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) methods combining CALPHAD with process-based simulations can produce rich, high-dimensional data for alloy and process design. In ICME methods for metallurgical applications, the visualization and interpretation of such high-dimensional data has previously been through heat maps represented in 2 or 3 dimensions. While such an approach is ideal when one variable is varied at a time, in the case of high-dimensional data with multiple variables varied simultaneously, as is the case in additive manufacturing, interpreting the trends through two- or three-dimensional heat maps becomes challenging. Here, we propose a strategy of mixed visual data mining and quantitative analysis for high-dimensional metallurgical and process data using high-throughput thermodynamic calculations. Two case studies show the application of the proposed approach. The first case study investigated the effects of feedstock chemistry on the δ ferrite formation in 316L stainless steel powders used for binder jet additive manufacturing. The second case study linked Scheil–Gulliver calculations to a process model for dissimilar joining of aluminum alloys 5356 and 6111 during laser hot-wire additive manufacturing. Both cases contained thousands of calculated data points, showcasing the utility of visual data analysis through parallel coordinate plotting, Pearson correlation coefficient matrices, and scatter matrices compared to traditional process maps. These visualization techniques can be extended to many additive manufacturing problems to capture process–structure–property relationships for additively manufactured components.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

A techno-economic framework for comparing conventionally and additively manufactured parts for geothermal applications

Geothermal reservoir characterization, construction, and operations are technology-intensive activities that contribute significantly to the cost of delivering renewable electricity. The technologies involved, such as downhole tools and drilling equipment, are similar to those used in oil and gas exploration and production must often be adapted for use in the corrosive, high-temperature geothermal reservoir environment. Low production volume of geothermal tools presents a major challenge in meeting the industry's technology needs. Production of specialized tools for geothermal subsurface applications is often cost-prohibitive. Reduced inventory of subsurface well construction, characterization, and production tools causes geothermal reservoir development efficiency and sophistication to lag behind that of the oil and gas industry. Advances in additive manufacturing provide opportunities to advance geothermal technology while reducing lead time and costs associated with production of low-volume, complex parts. Additionally, this paper performs an initial techno-economic analysis comparing the cost of conventional production techniques and additive manufacturing for geothermal downhole applications. An analysis of representative downhole tools is used to create a framework for estimating fabrication costs of subtractive and additive techniques, including post-print machining required to meet final tolerances. The framework is used to explore several manufacturing scenarios and identify the dominant factors driving manufacturing time and cost. The current feasibility of additive manufacturing for geothermal downhole tool applications is assessed and issues for future development to better meet the needs of the geothermal industry are identified.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

The effect of varying powder feedstock chemistry and printing atmosphere on the microstructure of additively manufactured nickel-based ODS alloys: Role on stabilization of cellular structures vs. oxide dispersion formation

Nickel-based alloys have a wide variety of structural applications due to their high corrosion resistance and mechanical strength which depend on solid solution strengthening, or the formation of oxides and/or intermetallic precipitation for their properties. In this study, the microstructure of six Ni–Cr–Y–Ti–Al powder batches designed for the production of oxide dispersion strengthened nickel were compared. These batches varied in chemistry and atomization technique used which included Gas Atomization Reactive Synthesis (GARS). The batches of powder were then consolidated via Additive Manufacturing (AM) Powder Bed Fusion using Laser Beam (PBF-LB) and characterized via transmission electron microscopy to elucidate the influence of powder feedstock (i.e. synthesis methodology and chemistry) on the PBF-LB microstructure. The study investigates (i) how the amount of yttrium and titanium additions in the powder feedstock and the addition of oxygen during the processing (through GARS) affect the microstructure of the powder itself and the AM printed microstructure, and (ii) how the control of oxygen addition in the printing atmosphere during the PBF-LB printing process itself is another important parameter for achieving the formation of the wanted oxide dispersion versus the stabilization of the cellular structure (often observed in AM processed alloys). Microstructural characterization of both powder particles and additively manufactured nickel alloys in this study provide important insights into the movement of yttrium within the material upon solidification, particularly along cell boundaries, and how yttrium behaves depending on alloy chemistry. When a threshold of yttrium content is reached within the system, yttrium consistently reacts to form an intermetallic along cell boundaries instead of forming oxide nanoparticles.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nanoscopic structure of borosilicate glass with additives for nuclear waste vitrification

In this report we investigated the nanoscopic structure of borosilicate glasses as a host for high-level radioactive liquid waste (HLLW) in the presence of the additives Na 2 O and CaO/ZnO with and without Li 2 O. These additives have been used to lower the glass melting point, suppress the macroscopic phase separation, and increase the chemical durability of glasses. Small-angle neutron scattering was used to elucidate the effect of the additives on the nanoscopic structure along with macro- and atomic-scale observations obtained using neutron imaging and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The borosilicate glass made without Na 2 O formed a microphase-separated structure of SiO 2 - and B 2 O 3 -rich domains approximately 100 nm in size, and the material was homogeneous at length scales up to millimeters. With the addition of increasing amounts of Na 2 O, the domain spacing decreased. Introducing CaO/ZnO additives induced inhomogeneities in the glass, such as void structures several nanometers in size, although the inhomogeneity was suppressed by the coaddition of Li 2 O. These results provide insights into the performance of host glasses for HLLW vitrification. Incorporating HLLW into glasses is likely to cause changes in the nanoscopic structure of host glasses similar to those revealed here.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2014

Enhanced magnetic behaviors of CoPt nanoparticles by addition of SiO{sub 2}

Equiatomic L1{sub 0} CoPt alloy nanoparticles (NPs) with various contents of SiO{sub 2} are synthesized by the simple sol–gel method. The SiO{sub 2} additions restrain the growth of grain and hinder the agglomeration formation. The coercivity increases first and then decreases with SiO{sub 2} addition. Compared to the 0 μl-SiO{sub 2} CoPt NPs, the higher ordering degree and better magnetic properties are obtained by the addition of amount 10 μl SiO{sub 2} in our sample. And the coercivity is two times as large as that of 0 μl-SiO{sub 2} NPs. When the addition of SiO{sub 2} is more than 10 μl, the deteriorated magnetic properties are ascribed to the transformation from hard magnetically phase to soft magnetically phase due to the decrease of particle size. - Graphical abstract: L1{sub 0} CoPt alloy nanoparticles with various contents of SiO{sub 2} are synthesized by sol–gel method. The effects of SiO{sub 2} on the structure and magnetic properties of CoPt nanoparticles are investigated. - Highlights: • The L1{sub 0} CoPt–SiO{sub 2} nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by sol–gel method. • Effects of SiO{sub 2} content on the structure and magnetic properties were investigated. • The addition of SiO{sub 2} restrained the growth of particle size. • CoPt–10 μl SiO{sub 2} NPs showed a higher ordering degree and better magnetic properties.

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

The negative effect of Zr addition on the high temperature strength in alumina-forming austenitic stainless steels

The effect of a Zr addition on the precipitation behavior and mechanical properties in Nb-containing alumina-forming austenitic (AFA) stainless steels was investigated using tensile tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) analysis. The TEM observation showed that a Zr addition led to the formation of a (Nb,Zr)(C,N) complex particle, which coarsened the Nb-rich carbonitride. Tensile tests were performed at an elevated temperature (700 °C), and both the tensile and yield strengths decreased with a Zr addition. This unexpected result of a Zr addition was due to the reduction of the precipitation strengthening by particle coarsening. - Highlights: • The effect of Zr on high temperature strength in AFA steel containing Nb was studied. • Both the tensile and yield strengths of an AFA steel decreased with Zr-addition. • This is due to the reduction of precipitation strengthening by particle coarsening. • Nb(C,N) and (Nb,Zr)(C,N) particles were precipitated in an AFA and Zr-added AFA steel. • The size of (Nb,Zr)(C,N) particle is much bigger than that of Nb(C,N) particle.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Defects and 3D structural inhomogeneity in electron beam additively manufactured Inconel 718

Highlights: • A protocol for 3D characterization of structure and defects in additively manufactured EBM 718 is presented. • Lack of fusion defects disrupt local microstructure, creating isolated regions of equiaxed grains. • Clustering of micron-scale nitrides is attributed to a particle rafting process. • Normalized size-number density relationship of carbides matches that of industrial ingots. • Removal of porosity via post-processing will not correct microstructural inhomogeneities created by lack of fusion defects. - Abstract: Material structure and defects created during additive manufacturing contribute to the variability in mechanical properties of these parts, limiting their use for critical applications. Three-dimensional crystallographic, structural, and chemical information in electron beam melted Inconel 718 was collected from the sub-micron to the millimeter scale using the TriBeam tomography system. The relationship of defects to the surrounding microstructure has been studied in detail. Lack of fusion defects created sharp discontinuities in the grain morphology that extended several build layers beyond the layer where the defect originated. Nitrides and carbides in the size range of 1.25 μm to 10 μm were observed throughout the volume, with pronounced nitride clustering. The similarities between solidification in additive manufacturing and traditional manufacturing processes are demonstrated by the comparable size and distribution of carbides measured for industrial-scale samples of 718. Defects created during additive manufacturing cannot be easily remedied via standard post-processing techniques, and will likely diminish the mechanical performance of additively manufactured parts.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Graphene addition to MgB{sub 2} superconductor obtained by ex-situ spark plasma sintering technique

Highlights: • Graphene-added dense MgB{sub 2} was prepared by ex-situ spark plasma sintering. • There is a limited interaction between graphene and MgB{sub 2}. • Addition of graphene (G) shows a small enhancement of J{sub c} and μ{sub 0}H{sub irr}. • G is one of the least effective C-containing additions. - Abstract: Graphene nanopowder (G) with average thickness particle size of about 6–8 nm was added to MgB{sub 2} commercial powder. Starting composition was (MgB{sub 2}){sub (1−x)}(G){sub x}, x = 0.0125, 0.025, 0.05. Processing was performed by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technique. All added samples have high density (above 95%). The critical temperature (T{sub c}) and the lattice parameter a (c-axis lattice parameter is constant) show a small variation suggesting that carbon substitution for boron is low. TEM observations show the presence of un-reacted graphene plates supporting the T{sub c} and structural results. It also indicates that G-addition does not modify the MgB{sub 2} microstructure. Despite this, there is an optimum doped sample (MgB{sub 2}){sub 0.9875}(G){sub 0.0125} for which the critical current density at temperatures below 25 K is slightly higher at high magnetic fields than for the pristine sample. The addition of G is found as one of the least effective C-source additions enhancing J{sub c}. We discuss results as being strongly related to variation of the residual stress.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗