Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “surface oxidation”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 577 records · Page 32

Stress corrosion in titanium alloys and other metallic materials

Multiple physical and chemical techniques including mass spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, gas chromatography, electron microscopy, optical microscopy, electronic spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray analysis, conductivity, and isotopic labeling were used in investigating the atomic interactions between organic environments and titanium and titanium oxide surfaces. Key anhydrous environments studied included alcohols, which contain hydrogen; carbon tetrachloride, which does not contain hydrogen; and mixtures of alcohols and halocarbons. Effects of dissolved salts in alcohols were also studied. This program emphasized experiments designed to delineate the conditions necessary rather than sufficient for initiation processes and for propagation processes in Ti SCC.

Harkins, C. G.↗

Testing for hydrogen environment embrittlement - Primary and secondary influences

A somewhat phenomological overview of the hydrogen embrittlement process, both internal as well as external, is presented in a effort to make more clear the type of parameters which must be considered in the selection of a test method and test procedure so that the resulting data may be meaningfully applied to real engineering structures. What are believed to be the three primary influences on the embrittlement process are considered - the original location and form of the hydrogen, the transport reactions involved in the transport of hydrogen from its origin to some point it can interact with the metal to cause embrittlement, and the embrittlement interaction itself. Additionally, a few of the large number of secondary influences on the embrittlement process are discussed, for example, the influence of impurity species in the environment, surface hydride films, and surface oxide films.

Nelson, H. G.↗

Consideration of materials for aircraft brakes

A study has been made of the frictional behavior of several aircraft brake materials using a simple high-temperature Falex-type apparatus. Tests were run at velocities of seven ft/minute; loads to 600 pounds and temperatures to 700 C. The data for these brake materials sliding against a variety of steels and other materials indicate a large reduction in friction due to surface oxidation in the temperature range 250 to 300 C. It also was found that the retention of this oxide was a function of the temperature changes. With increasing temperature the oxide was removed, while with reducing temperature it was retained. Frictional behavior was more characteristic of the steel than the brake material.

Peterson, M. B.↗

Comparison of fracture mechanisms for carbon-epoxy composites under tensile loading

The effects of oxidative surface treatments and differences in resin crack sensitivity on the tensile properties of carbon-epoxy composites have been investigated. A comparison of the fracture mechanisms for two different fiber batches was made in both model and engineering composites, using unmodified and modified epoxy resin. It has been observed that two distinct characteristics occur in the fracture surfaces of most engineering composites; first, fibers which fracture at the surface result in cleavage failure and, second, those which have fractured elsewhere and pulled out. A detailed discussion of these observations is contained in this paper.

Mazzio, V. F.↗

Effects of atomic oxygen on graphite ablation

It is shown that a previously derived semiempirical equation for describing observed ablation rates of isotropic graphites cannot be applied to low-density flows containing dissociated oxygen. Experimentally determined reaction probabilities of isotropic graphites to molecular and atomic oxygen are used to calculate heat-transfer rates and stagnation-point ablation rates for typical conditions. Integrated mass losses are computed for a group of flight trajectories which start from geosynchronous orbit and enter earth's atmosphere in a skipping motion following near-elliptic decaying orbits. A comparison of the results with those obtained by the equation under question shows excellent agreement for steep trajectories, but large discrepancies for shallow trajectories. The differences are attributed to surface oxidation by atomic oxygen.

Park, C.↗

Can acoustic emission detect the initiation of fatigue cracks: Application to high-strength light alloys used in aeronautics

Acoustic emission was used for the detection of fatigue cracking in a number of high-strength light alloys used in aeronautical structures. Among the features studied were: the influence of emission frequency, the effect of surface oxidation, and the influence of grains. It was concluded that acoustic emission is an effective nondestructive technique for evaluating the initiation of fatigue cracking in such materials.

Bathias, C.↗

Novel duplex vapor-electrochemical method for silicon solar cells

Optimization studies were carried out for the SiF4-Na reaction with solid Na feed. The goals of the study were the consistent production of high purity reaction products and the gathering of relevant information needed to scale-up the reactor. Parameters studied include: (1) effect of surface to volume ratio of Na slices on the extent of reaction; (2) effect of Na surface oxidation on the extent of reaction; (3) effect of external heating on the extent of SiF4-Na reaction; (4) effect of Na slice addition rate on extent of the reaction; and (5) SiF4-Na reaction - high pressure experiments. An investigation was also made of the possible role played by NaF as a fluxing agent during the separation of silicon by melting of the reaction product (Si + NaF) mixture. Since silicon can be produced by the thermite reaction between Na2SiF6 and Na, studies were initiated to gather information on parameters which control the efficiency of the thermite reaction.

Nanis, L.↗

Phase 2 of the array automated assembly task for the low cost silicon solar array project

Studies were conducted on several fundamental aspects of electroless nickel/solder metallization for silicon solar cells. A process, which precedes the electroless nickel plating with several steps of palladium plating and heat treatment, was compared directly with single step electroless nickel plating. Work was directed toward answering specific questions concerning the effect of silicon surface oxide on nickel plating, effects of thermal stresses on the metallization, sintering of nickel plated on silicon, and effects of exposure to the plating solution on solar cell characteristics. The process was found to be extremely lengthy and cumbersome, and was also found to produce a product virtually identical to that produced by single step electroless nickel plating, as shown by adhesion tests and electrical characteristics of cells under illumination.

Petersen, R. C.↗

Method of cold welding using ion beam technology

A method for cold welding metal joints is described. In order to remove the contamination layer on the surface of the metal, an ion beam generator is used in a vacuum environment. A gas, such as xenon or argon, is ionized and accelerated toward the metal surface. The beam of gas effectively sputters away the surface oxides and contamination layer so that clean underlying metal is exposed in the area to be welded. The use of this method allows cold welding with minimal deformation. Both similar and dissimilar metals can be cold welded with this method.

Sater, B. L.↗

Determination of hydrogen permeability in commercial and modified superalloys

The results of hydrogen permeability measurements on several iron- and cobalt-base alloys as well as on two long-ranged ordered alloys over the range of 705 to 870 C (1300 to 1600 F) are summarized. The test alloys included wrought alloys N-155, IN 800, A-286, 19-9DL, and 19-9DL modifications with aluminum, niobium, and misch metal. In addition, XF-818, CRM-6D, SA-F11, and HS-31 were evaluated. Two wrought long-range ordered alloys, Ni3Al and (Fe,Ni)3(V,Al) were also evaluated. All tests were conducted at 20.7 MPa pressure in either pure and/or 1% CO2-doped H2 for test periods as long as 133 h. Detailed analyses were conducted to determine the relative permeability rankings of these alloys and the effect of doping, exit surface oxidation, specimen design variations, and test duration on permeability coefficient, and permeation activation energies were determined. The two long-range ordered alloys had the lowest permeability coefficients in pure H2 when compared with the eight commercial alloys and their modifications. With CO2 doping, significant decrease in permeability was observed in commercial alloys--no doped tests were conducted with the long-range ordered alloys.

Bhattacharyya, S.↗

Orbiting dynamic compression laboratory

In order to examine the feasibility of carrying out dynamic compression experiments on a space station, the possibility of using explosive gun launchers is studied. The question of whether powders of a refractory metal (molybdenum) and a metallic glass could be well considered by dynamic compression is examined. In both cases extremely good bonds are obtained between grains of metal and metallic glass at 180 and 80 kb, respectively. When the oxide surface is reduced and the dynamic consolidation is carried out in vacuum, in the case of molybdenum, tensile tests of the recovered samples demonstrated beneficial ultimate tensile strengths.

Ahrens, T. J.↗

Sintering behavior of ultrafine silicon carbide powders obtained by vapor phase reaction

The sintering behavior of ultrafine SiC powder with average particle size of about 0.01-0.06 microns produced by a vapor phase reaction of the Me4Si-H2 system was studied at the temperature range of 1400-2050 deg. It was found that the homogeneous dispersion of C on SiC particles is important to remove the surface oxide layer effectively. B and C and inhibitive effect on SiC grain growth.

Okabe, Y.↗

Possible roles of manganese redox chemistry in the sulfur cycle

Sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) are very potent MnO2 reducers by virtue of their sulfide production: H2S reacts rapidly with MnO2 to yield Mn(2), elemental sulfur, and water. In manganese rich zones, Mn cycles rapidly if sulfate is present to drive the reduction and the MnO2 precipitates and sinks into anaerobic zones. The production of sulfide (by organisms requiring organic carbon compounds) to reduce manganese oxides might act to couple the carbon and sulfur cycles in water bodies in which the two cycles are physically separated. Iron has been proposed for this provision of reducing power by (Jorgensen, 1983), but since MnS is soluble and FeS is very insoluble in water, it is equally likely that manganese rather than iron provides the electrons to the more oxidized surface layers.

Nealson, K. H.↗

Martian atmospheric photochemistry and composition during periods of low obliquity

During periods of low obliquity, previous work has shown that martian CO2 partial pressures decreased to 0.1 mbar; CO2 partial pressures decreased to 0.02 mbar prior to the formation of the Tharsis bulge. The permanent polar caps act as a cold trap and projected global average water vapor abundances drop to possibly as low as 0.00001 precipitable micron. As a result, the odd hydrogen catalytic cycle would not be effective at recombining CO and O back into CO2, and as much as 0.12 mbar of CO and 0.06 mbar of O2 could exist. These increased abundances would radically affect surface oxidation, change the lower atmospheric thermal structure, and completely alter the upper atmosphere.

Lindner, B. L.↗

Transient processes in combustion of single submillimeter metal droplets

A laser was used to ignite Al, Zr, Ti and Hf droplets in separate trials to study metal droplet combustion in air. The burning was recorded with high speed film at high magnification. Al was found to flash vaporize, melt, surface oxidize, revaporize, then combust. All species burned with a vapor diffusion flame surrounded by an oxide condensation front. The Zr, Ti and Hf droplets grew by condensation, coalesced, then convected toward the perimeter of the condensation zone. It is expected that the data will serve as bases for a theoretical vapor diffusion model. Finally, the introduction of a transverse acoustic field was observed to have no effect on either the luminosity or combustion zone geometry.

Pellett, G. L.↗

Drop tube technical tasks

Criteria, using fundamental thermochemical dynamics, were developed to assist a scientist using the Drop Tube Facility in designing a good experiment. The types of parameters involved in designing the experiments include the type of furnace, the type of atmosphere, and in general which materials are better behaved than others as determined by past experience in the facility. One of the major advantages of the facility lies in its ability to provide large undercoolings in the cooling curve during the drops. A beginning was to consider the effect of oxygen and other gases upon the amount of undercooling observed. The starting point of the thermochemistry was given by Ellingham and later transformed into what is known as the Richardson Chart. The effect of surface oxidations upon the nucleation phenomena can be observed in each specimen.

Workman, G. L.↗

Technology for satellite power conversion

The work performed in this reporting period has concentrated on the metal-oxide-metal (MOM) diode. The fabrication procedure begins with the deposition of gold probing pads to provide a non-oxidizing contact to test the dc characteristics to the diode accurately. A thin patch capped with an insulating SiO2 layer, is deposited next to form the first half of the diode. The other half of the diode, typically Ni, is deposited completing the conduction path from the oxidized edge of the Ni patch to the opposite gold probing pad. It is important in this step that the last metallization take place without exposing the newly oxidized surface to the atmosphere. Successful production of diodes has been achieved. Work on millimeter wave frequency rectennas incorporating known semiconductor diode technology has been initiated.

Gouker, M. A.↗

The application of thermodynamic and spectroscopic techniques to adhesion in the polyimide/Ti 6-4 and polyphenylquinoxaline/Ti 6-4 systems

The results of calorimetric measurements of Ti adherend surfaces are presented. The measurements were carried out after several chemical pretreatments and after fracture of several lap shear samples aged at high temperature. The exact composition of the Ti samples was Ti(6 percent Al-4 percent V). The adhesives used were polyimides and polyphenylquinoxalines (PPQ). Each chemical pretreatment was accompanied by a unique spectroscopic feature which was characterized by XPS, SEM, and specular reflectance infrared spectroscopy. The energetics of the interaction between primer solutions and the Ti adherend were evaluated by microcalorimetry. Changes in the structure of the surface oxide layer upon heating of the adherend were deduced from immersion temperatures of the PI and PPQ solutions. The XPS and SEM data are given is a table.

Dias, S.↗