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At least 451 records · Page 25

High-temperature mechanical properties of a γ′-strengthened Co-based superalloy designed for additive manufacturing

GammaPrint®-700 is a recently developed high γ′ (∼70% volume fraction) CoNi-based superalloy designed to combine high-temperature mechanical performance with laser powder bed fusion processability. Room-temperature yield strength ranged from 610 to 658 MPa and increased to 661 MPa (longitudinal) and 730 MPa (transverse) at 760 °C. The creep behavior compared favorably to high-γ′ Ni-based superalloys manufactured via laser powder bed fusion such as Incoloy® 939 and Inconel® 738LC. In-situ neutron diffraction data measured during creep revealed that plastic deformation was largely localized to the γ phase at 760 °C, allowing the γ’ phase to elastically compensate and maintain creep strain resistance. Furthermore, at 900 °C, this load sharing behavior was weakened, contributing to accelerated creep rate and rupture.

Creep↗

Characterization of high-temperature figure of merit for solar-thermal absorbers

The figure of merit (FOM) is a widely used metric to characterize the solar-thermal conversion performance of solar absorber layers. Many of previous works have reported FOMs estimated from the radiative properties measured at room temperature. However, advanced concentrated solar power (CSP) plants operate at very high temperatures (~750°C), which can strongly affect the absorber’s radiative properties. Here, the present work proposes using a 1-D conduction-based reference bar technique to directly measure the converted thermal energy to determine the FOM at high absorber temperatures (≳ 750°C) while operating under a large solar concentration (~ 1200 x suns). Using the finite difference method, we carefully analyze several key parameters influencing the design of the experimental setup, such as temperature distribution, material properties, heat loss, and sensor accuracy. In addition, a rigorous uncertainty analysis is incorporated into the FOM to ascertain the confidence level of the result. We validate this new technique on a custom-built tungsten reference bar with an oxidized Inconel 625 solar-thermal absorber. A good agreement between the model and the experiment shows the reliability of the FOM measurement with a well-defined uncertainty. The same method can be implemented to measure the high-temperature FOM of most surface or volumetric solar absorbers for CSP.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Revealing latent pole and zone line information in atom probe detector maps using crystallographically correlated metrics

Poles and zone lines observed within atom probe field evaporation images are useful for a range of atom probe crystallography studies, including calibration of the reconstruction and crystallographic characterisation of microstructural features such as grain boundaries. However, this information is not always readily apparent. Techniques for plotting crystallographically correlated metrics contained within atom probe data to enhance pole and zone line contrast across the detector space are developed. This includes consideration of the electric field, molecular ions, lattice structure retained within the reconstruction, specific elemental species, the number of pulses between detection events, and the lateral distance between sequential detection events. These approaches are then applied to experimental atom probe tomography datasets on technically pure Al, nanocrystalline Al, highly doped Si, and additively manufactured Inconel 738, Haynes 282, and Ti–6Al–4V. The results facilitate the extension of atom probe crystallography studies to a broader range of crystalline datasets where crystallographic information is not readily apparent from existing methods, as well as a deeper understanding of field evaporation behaviour during an atom probe experiment.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Ultrasonic measurement of temperature distributions in extreme environments: Electrical power plants testing in utility-scale steam generators

Thermal heterogeneities within energy conversion and storage, material processing, nuclear processes, aerospace, and military applications are often inaccessible to characterization by insertion sensors. When sensor deployment is possible, conventional pointwise temperature probes quickly degrade when inserted into harsh environments typical of such processes. We developed spatially-resolved ultrasonic thermometry to noninvasively measure the spatial distributions of thermal properties in such applications, even when sizable thermal gradients are present. Our method divides the path of ultrasonic propagation into segments bound by echogenic features, which create echoes in pulse-echo mode, encoding the information about interior temperature distributions. We use the acquired ultrasonic responses to estimate the internal temperature distributions by solving an inverse problem or concatenating segmental estimates. This work describes the implementation and industrial testing of the developed method at a coal-fired electrical power generation plant. We inserted an echogenically segmented Inconel 625 waveguide into the combustion zone of the utility-scale boiler and continuously acquired ultrasonic data while keeping sensitive components away from the damaging combustion environment. The accuracy of the time-dependent temperature distributions reconstructed from the ultrasonic measurements was comparable to that of thermocouples. The resiliency of ultrasonic thermometry to harsh combustion conditions was far superior to conventional insertion sensors. The measurements obtained during plant operation captured daily steam generation cycles in response to changing customer demand and intermittent contributions of renewable power sources to the power grid. These measurements have revealed new insights into the relationship between the dynamic power generation load and the conditions inside the steam generator. As a result, the successful industrial testing of spatially-resolved ultrasonic thermometry in solids indicates that the developed technology has matured to become an attractive alternative to conventional sensing in solving challenging problems of long-term thermal characterizations in extreme environments.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Experimental investigation of low velocity and high temperature solid particle impact erosion wear

Next generation Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants utilizing solid particles as the heat transfer medium (HTM) are expected to achieve greater operational efficiencies. However, the erosion from the solid particles can cause significant damage to component materials. Low particle speeds (1–2 m/s) are proposed as a means of preventing excessive damage to containment materials. Within the current investigation, solid particle erosion of three potential containment materials, stainless-steel grade 316L, a nickel alloy (Inconel 740H), and a refractory material (Tufcrete 60 M), are examined at a particle impact speed of 1.6 m/s. CarboBead-HSP 40/70 particles, a candidate HTM for CSP systems, impact the specimens at a relatively high impact angle of 60° based on containment design criteria. Experiments were conducted at ambient temperature and 800 °C to examine erosion of the materials at very low impact speeds and determine how temperature effects erosion. Initial results revealed surprising outcomes inconsistent with available literature: ambient temperature erosion of SS316L is an order of magnitude lower than IN740H, but erosion (erosion-corrosion) of SS316L at 800 °C surpasses IN740H by two orders of magnitude. Furthermore, results suggest removal of oxide layers (erosion-corrosion) is responsible for the significant erosion that was observed even at these low particle speeds.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Spinel Cu–Mn–Cr Oxide Nanoparticle-Pigmented Solar Selective Coatings Maintaining >94% Efficiency at 750 °C

High-temperature concentrating solar power (CSP) system is capable of harvesting and storing solar energy as heat towards cost-effective dispatchable solar electricity. Solar selective coating is a critical component to boost its efficiency by maximizing solar absorptance and minimizing thermal emittance losses. However, maintaining a high solar-thermal conversion efficiency >90% for long-term operation at ≥750 ºC remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report spray-coated spinel Cu-Mn-Cr oxide nanoparticle-pigmented solar selective coatings on Inconel tube sections maintaining ≥94% efficiency at 750 ºC and ≥92.5% at 800 ºC under 1000x solar concentration after 60 simulated day-night thermal cycles in air, each cycle comprising 12h at 750 ºC/800 ºC and 12h cooling to 25 ºC. The solar spectral selectivity is intrinsic to the band-to-band and d-d transitions of non-stoichiometric spinel Cu-Mn-Cr oxide nanoparticles. Furthermore, this feature offers a large fabrication tolerance in nanoparticle volume fraction and coating thickness, facilitating low-cost and scalable spray-coated high-efficiency solar selective absorbers for high-temperature CSP systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Cold-Sprayed NMC622 Composite as a Cathode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

The growing demand for high-energy, low-cost lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) to power electric vehicles (EVs) necessitates advances in both materials and manufacturing processes. Conventional cathode fabrication methods, such as slurry casting and drying, are energy-intensive and pose challenges for scalability and environmental compliance. In this study, we propose cold-spray (CS) deposition as a solvent-free approach for fabricating LiNi 0.6 Mn 0.2 Co 0.2 O 2 (NMC622) composite cathodes. Powder blends of NMC622, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), and carbon black (CB) are directly deposited onto stainless steel and Inconel substrates under varied gas temperatures, pressures (and thus velocities), and standoff distances. The effects of temperature on the deposit morphology, coating density, and volume are systematically investigated. Computational fluid dynamics simulations reveal that increasing the gas temperature enhances the particle velocity, narrows the spray angle, and reduces the mass concentration radially at the nozzle outlet. CS deposition results in a dense cathode microstructure, accompanied by fracture in polycrystalline NMC622 particles. X-ray diffraction analysis further verifies that there are no phase changes during the deposition process. The electrochemical performance of the cold-sprayed cathodes reveals an initial capacity of approximately 96 mAh g –1 for single-crystal NMC622 and 167 mAh g –1 for polycrystalline NMC622. While these values are modest compared to state-of-the-art slurry-cast cathodes, which typically exhibit 180–200 mAh g –1 under optimized conditions. The results demonstrate a competitive performance given the solvent-free nature of the CS process and compare favorably with tape-cast samples made from identical feedstock. In conclusion, he CS process enables the formation of dense, binder-integrated cathode coatings without the need for solvent processing, offering a promising pathway for scalable, energy-efficient dry electrode manufacturing of next-generation LIBs.

Batteries↗

Method for conducting in situ high-temperature digital image correlation with simultaneous synchrotron measurements under thermomechanical conditions

This work presents a novel method of obtaining in situ strain measurements at high temperature by simultaneous digital image correlation (DIC), which provides the total strain on the specimen surface, and synchrotron x-ray diffraction (XRD), which provides lattice strains of crystalline materials. DIC at high temperature requires specialized techniques to overcome the effects of increased blackbody radiation that would otherwise overexpose the images. The technique presented herein is unique in that it can be used with a sample enclosed in an infrared heater, remotely and simultaneously with synchrotron XRD measurements. The heater included a window for camera access, and the light of the heater lamps is used as illumination. High-temperature paint is used to apply a random speckle pattern to the sample to allow the tracking of displacements and the calculation of the DIC strains. An inexpensive blue theatrical gel filter is used to block interfering visible and infrared light at high temperatures. This technique successfully produces properly exposed images at 870 °C and is expected to perform similarly at higher temperatures. The average strains measured by DIC were validated by an analytical calculation of the theoretical strain. Simultaneous DIC and XRD strain measurements of Inconel 718 (IN718) tensile test specimens were performed under thermal and mechanical loads and evaluated. Finally, this approach uses the fact that with DIC, the total strain is measured, including plastic strain, while with XRD, only elastic strain is captured. The observed differences were discussed with respect to the effective deformation mechanisms.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Spatiotemporal evolution of emission and absorption signatures in a laser-produced plasma

Here we report spatiotemporal evolution of emission and absorption signatures of Al species in a nanosecond (ns) laser-produced plasma (LPP). The plasmas were generated from an Inconel target, which contained ~0:4 wt. % Al, using 1064 nm, ≈6 ns full width half maximum pulses from an Nd:YAG laser at an Ar cover gas pressure of ≈34 Torr. The temporal distributions of the Al I (394.4 nm) transition were collected from various spatial points within the plasma employing time-of-flight (TOF) emission and laser absorption spectroscopy, and they provide kinetics of the excited state and ground state population of the selected transition. The emission and absorption signatures showed multiple peaks in their temporal profiles, although they appeared at different spatial locations and times after the plasma onset. The absorption temporal profiles showed an early time signature representing shock wave propagation into the ambient gas. We also used emission and absorption spectral features for measuring various physical properties of the plasma. The absorption spectral profiles are utilized for measuring linewidths, column density, and kinetic temperature, while emission spectra were used to measure excitation temperature. A comparison between excitation and kinetic temperature was made at various spatial points in the plasma. Our results highlight that the TOF measurements provide a resourceful tool for showing the spatiotemporal LPP dynamics with higher spatial and temporal resolution than is possible with spectral measurements but are difficult to interpret without additional information on excitation temperatures and linewidths. The combination of absorption and emission TOF and spectral measurements thus provides a more complete picture of LPP spatiotemporal dynamics than is possible using any one technique alone.

(140.3440) Laser-induced breakdown, (280.4788) Opt↗

Spectro-temporal comparisons of optical emission, absorption, and laser-induced fluorescence for characterizing ns and fs laser-produced plasmas

We performed simultaneous measurement of absorption, emission, and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopic signatures for determining nanosecond and femtosecond laser-produced plasma’s physical properties throughout its lifecycle. Plasmas are produced by focusing either ~6 ns, 1064 nm pulses from an Nd:YAG or ~35 fs, ~800 nm pulses from a Ti:Sapphire laser on an Inconel target that contains Al as a minor alloying addition. A continuous-wave narrowband tunable laser was used for performing absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy while a fast-gated detection system was used for emission spectroscopy. The temporal evolution of emission, fluorescence, and absorbance of Al transitions are compared for both ns and fs laser-produced plasms. Time-resolved absorbance was also used for evaluating linewidth, lineshape, temperature, and column-averaged atomic number density at late times of ns and fs plasma evolution. Our results demonstrate that lower and excited-state populations of fs laser produced plasmas are short-lived in comparison to those in ns plasmas. The lower state population is observed to reach a maximum value earlier in time for the fs plasma versus the ns plasma, while the kinetic temperature for the ns plasma was higher than for the fs plasma at most times of the plasma evolution.

(280.4788) Optical Sensing, (300.2140) Emission Sp↗

Power and isotope effects in the ITER baseline scenario with tungsten and tungsten-equivalent radiators in DIII-D

Abstract Experiments in DIII-D document the ITER Baseline Scenario (IBS) at q 95 ∼ 3 and P IN / P LH ∼ 1–2, in both deuterium and hydrogen utilizing Kr and Xe as Tungsten-equivalent radiators. The power threshold for H-mode operation ( P LH ) was determined experimentally without added impurities and found to be about a factor of two higher than the scaling law. In recent IBS experiments in deuterium, intrinsic levels of metals such as Tungsten (W) or molybdenum and inconel are present that reduce the pedestal pressure by 20%–25%. A complete radiative collapse of deuterium IBS plasmas occurs at W core concentrations C W = 10 −5 . Simulations show that for core temperatures expected for ITER, the plasmas would not have a radiative collapse at C W = 1 × 10 −5 , moreover Q = 8–10 would still be achieved for C W up to 3 × 10 −5 . In contrast to deuterium, the IBS in hydrogen is not affected by intrinsic high-Z impurities, indicating that hydrogen H-modes in ITER may not inform the D-T phase with respect to W accumulation and discharge survival. Compared to deuterium, the pedestal pressure in hydrogen is ∼25% lower, with much higher ELM frequency of 150 Hz, decreasing with input power. Krypton was injected in a matrix scan of input power and impurity flow in IBS hydrogen discharges. Krypton impurity density profiles in hydrogen are similar to deuterium plasmas, but at Kr flows that are 2–3 times higher for the same input power. Krypton is transported into the core and affects the whole radius; at the highest injection rates a radiative collapse occurs at core radiation fractions of 0.3–0.35, consistent with the expected maximum W radiation fraction for ITER core plasmas. Comparing the results with previous International Tokamak Physics Activity database studies of the IBS confirms that at higher radiation fraction due to high-Z impurities, a drop in H 98 of >10% is observed. On the other hand, the results using Kr as a W-equivalent radiator indicate that metal (W) devices at lower core temperatures than ITER may provide overly pessimistic performance extrapolations to ITER for deuterium-tritium operation. The new DIII-D results support a more attractive option for the ITER Research Plan with a short hydrogen phase for system commissioning, transitioning to deuterium operations as soon as possible to provide relevant conditions for deuterium-tritium operations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

An efficient numerical model for predicting residual stress and strain in parts manufactured by laser powder bed fusion

Abstract Computational modeling of additively manufactured structures plays an increasingly important role in product design and optimization. For laser powder bed fusion processes, the accurate modeling of stress and distortion requires large amount of computational cost due to very localized heat input and evolving complex geometries. The current study takes advantage of a graphics processing unit accelerated explicit finite element analysis code and approximated heat conduction analysis to predict the macroscopic thermo-mechanical behavior in laser selective melting. Adjacent layers and tracks were lumped to reduce the number of time steps and elements in the finite element model. The effects of track and layer grouping on prediction accuracy and solution efficiency are investigated to provide a guidance for a cost-effective simulation. Thin-wall builds from Inconel alloy 625 (IN625) powders were simulated by applying the developed modeling approach to get the detailed residual stress and distortion at a computational speed 50 times higher than conventional approach. Under repeated heating and cooling cycles, a high tensile stress was produced near surfaces of a build due to a larger shrinkage on surface than that in central area. It is also shown that horizontal stresses concentrate near the root and top layers of the IN625 build. The predicted residual elastic strain distribution was validated by the experimental measurement using x-ray synchrotron diffraction.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Time-resolved absorption spectroscopic characterization of ultrafast laser-produced plasmas under varying background pressures

Time-resolved tunable laser absorption spectroscopy is used to characterize the physical properties of ultrafast laser-produced plasmas. The plasmas were produced from an Inconel target, with = 0.4 wt. % Al, using ~ 35 fs, ~800 nm laser pulses at varying Ar background pressures from 1-100 Torr. The absorption spectrum of atomic Al is measured with high spectral and temporal resolution when the probe laser is stepped across the selected Al transition at 394.4 nm. Spectral fitting is used to infer linewidths, kinetic temperature, Al column density, and pressure broadening coefficient. The late time physical properties of plasmas are compared for various pressure levels. Our studies highlight that a significant lower state population exists even at early times of ultrafast laser-produced plasma evolution and lower state population persistence decreases with increasing ambient pressure. We also show that the fundamental optical properties, such as pressure-broadening, can be measured using ultrafast laser-produced plasmas combined with laser absorption spectroscopy.

laser absorption spectroscopy, laser produced plas↗

Combining synchrotron X-ray diffraction, mechanistic modeling and machine learning for in situ subsurface temperature quantification during laser melting

Laser melting, such as that encountered during additive manufacturing, produces extreme gradients of temperature in both space and time, which in turn influence microstructural development in the material. Qualification and model validation of the process itself and the resulting material necessitate the ability to characterize these temperature fields. However, well established means to directly probe the material temperature below the surface of an alloy while it is being processed are limited. To address this gap in characterization capabilities, a novel means is presented to extract subsurface temperature-distribution metrics, with uncertainty, from in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements to provide quantitative temperature evolution data during laser melting. Temperature-distribution metrics are determined using Gaussian process regression supervised machine-learning surrogate models trained with a combination of mechanistic modeling (heat transfer and fluid flow) and X-ray diffraction simulation. The trained surrogate model uncertainties are found to range from 5 to 15% depending on the metric and current temperature. The surrogate models are then applied to experimental data to extract temperature metrics from an Inconel 625 nickel superalloy wall specimen during laser melting. The maximum temperatures of the solid phase in the diffraction volume through melting and cooling are found to reach the solidus temperature as expected, with the mean and minimum temperatures found to be several hundred degrees less. The extracted temperature metrics near melting are determined to be more accurate because of the lower relative levels of mechanical elastic strains. However, uncertainties for temperature metrics during cooling are increased due to the effects of thermomechanical stress.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Deconvoluting thermomechanical effects in X-ray diffraction data using machine learning

X-ray diffraction is ideal for probing the sub-surface state during complex or rapid thermomechanical loading of crystalline materials. However, challenges arise as the size of diffraction volumes increases due to spatial broadening and because of the inability to deconvolute the effects of different lattice deformation mechanisms. Here, we present a novel approach that uses combinations of physics-based modeling and machine learning to deconvolve thermal and mechanical elastic strains for diffraction data analysis. The method builds on a previous effort to extract thermal strain distribution information from diffraction data. The new approach is applied to extract the evolution of the thermomechanical state during laser melting of an Inconel 625 wall specimen which produces significant residual stress upon cooling. A combination of heat transfer and fluid flow, elasto-plasticity and X-ray diffraction simulations is used to generate training data for machine-learning (Gaussian process regression, GPR) models that map diffracted intensity distributions to underlying thermomechanical strain fields. First-principles density functional theory is used to determine accurate temperature-dependent thermal expansion and elastic stiffness used for elasto-plasticity modeling. The trained GPR models are found to be capable of deconvoluting the effects of thermal and mechanical strains, in addition to providing information about underlying strain distributions, even from complex diffraction patterns with irregularly shaped peaks.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Wireless Interrogation of High Temperature Surface Acoustic Wave Dynamic Strain Sensor

Dynamic strain sensing is necessary for high-temperature harsh-environment applications, including powerplants, oil wells, aerospace, and metal manufacturing. Monitoring dynamic strain is important for structural health monitoring and condition-based maintenance in order to guarantee safety, increase process efficiency, and reduce operation and maintenance costs. Sensing in high-temperature (HT), harsh-environments (HE) comes with challenges including mounting and packaging, sensor stability, and data acquisition and processing. Wireless sensor operation at HT is desirable because it reduces the complexity of the sensor connection, increases reliability, and reduces costs. Surface acoustic wave resonators (SAWRs) are compact, can operate wirelessly and battery-free, and have been shown to operate above 1000°C, making them a potential option for HT HE dynamic strain sensing. This paper presents wirelessly interrogated SAWR dynamic strain sensors operating around 288.8MHz at room temperature and tested up to 400°C. The SAWRs were calibrated with a high-temperature wired commercial strain gauge. The sensors were mounted onto a tapered-type Inconel constant stress beam and the assembly was tested inside a box furnace. The SAWR sensitivity to dynamic strain excitation at 25°C, 100°C, and 400°C was .439 μV/με, 0.363μV/με, and .136 μV/με, respectively. Furthermore, the experimental outcomes verified that inductive coupled wirelessly interrogated SAWRs can be successfully used for dynamic strain sensing up to 400°C.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Impact of Thermal Stress on Attachment and Stability of High Temperature Strain Sensors

Static and dynamic strain sensing is required in high-temperature (HT), harsh-environments (HE) for industrial, aerospace, and energy sector applications to ensure equipment and process safety, reduce the cost of operation and maintenance, and increase process efficiency. Challenges that arise in HT HE sensing applications include device mounting, packaging, integrity, and stability to HT HE conditions. In previously reported work, static and dynamic strain surface acoustic wave resonator (SAWR) sensors were fabricated on langasite (LGS) and mounted on Inconel 625 strain beams for wireless testing up to 400°C. In this work, it has been identified that after subjecting the mounted SAWR strain sensor to thermal cycling between 100°C and 425°C, the measured sensitivity to dynamic strain decreased by 73% due to cracking at the adhesive/LGS interface, further deteriorating after additional thermal cycles. Strain modeling of the mounted LGS sensor chip up to 400°C revealed the existence of concentrated strain at the borders of the LGS chip. Microcracks caused by dicing make the chip boarders the most susceptible location for cracks to initiate when the sensor is subjected to thermal stress. In an attempt to mitigate the high strain at the LGS chip borders due to heating, adhesive shaping is proposed in this work. Simulations indicate a strain reduction of 50% at the border is achieved using both circular and triangular adhesive shapes, while also reducing the maximum strain over the entire adhesive/LGS interface by around 30%. Furthermore, the technique is thus promising for improving the integrity, reliability, and stability of static and dynamic strain sensors, particularly while operating under HT HE with several hundreddegree Celsius temperature excursions.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Small-sized specimen design with the provision for high-frequency bending-fatigue testing

The testing and study of emerging materials—such as additively manufactured materials—demands for specimen designs that are cost effective and time saving. Here the design of a small-sized bending-fatigue test specimen for an ultrasonic fatigue testing system is reported in this paper. The design is optimized based on the finite element analysis and analytical-solution results to achieve the proper vibration shape and stress distribution. The proposed design is evaluated in the high- and very-high-cycle fatigue regimes under 20-kHz frequency. Both simulation and testing results confirm that the desirable vibration mode occurs and the specimen fails at the designated test (gauge) section, where the maximum stress exists. The stress–life (S–N) curve is obtained for Inconel alloy 718 and indicates an expected trend.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗