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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Elevated temperature crack growth in advanced powder metallurgy aluminum alloys

Rapidly solidified Al-Fe-V-Si powder metallurgy alloy FVS0812 is among the most promising of the elevated temperature aluminum alloys developed in recent years. The ultra fine grain size and high volume fraction of thermally stable dispersoids enable the alloy to maintain tensile properties at elevated temperatures. In contrast, this alloy displays complex and potentially deleterious damage tolerant and time dependent fracture behavior that varies with temperature. J-Integral fracture mechanics were used to determine fracture toughness (K sub IC) and crack growth resistance (tearing modulus, T) of extruded FVS0812 as a function of temperature. The alloy exhibits high fracture properties at room temperature when tested in the LT orientation, due to extensive delamination of prior ribbon particle boundaries perpendicular to the crack front. Delamination results in a loss of through thickness constraint along the crack front, raising the critical stress intensity necessary for precrack initiation. The fracture toughness and tensile ductility of this alloy decrease with increasing temperature, with minima observed at 200 C. This behavior results from minima in the intrinsic toughness of the material, due to dynamic strain aging, and in the extent of prior particle boundary delaminations. At 200 C FVS0812 fails at K levels that are insufficient to cause through thickness delamination. As temperature increases beyond the minimum, strain aging is reduced and delamination returns. For the TL orientation, K (sub IC) decreased and T increased slightly with increasing temperature from 25 to 316 C. Fracture in the TL orientation is governed by prior particle boundary toughness; increased strain localization at these boundaries may result in lower toughness with increasing temperature. Preliminary results demonstrate a complex effect of loading rate on K (sub IC) and T at 175 C, and indicate that the combined effects of time dependent deformation, environment, and strain aging may play a role. Fractography showed that microvoid coalescence was the microscopic mode of fracture in FVS0812 under all testing conditions. However, the nature of the microvoids varied with test temperature and loading rate, and is complex for the fine grain and dipersoid sizes of FVS0812.

Porr, William C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1990

One step HIP canning of powder metallurgy composites

A single step is relied on in the canning process for hot isostatic pressing (HIP) powder metallurgy composites. The binders are totally removed while the HIP can of compatible refractory metal is sealed at high vacuum and temperature. This eliminates outgassing during hot isostatic pressing.

John J Juhas↗
NASA NTRS1990

Mechanical strength and thermophysical properties of PM212: A high temperature self-lubricating powder metallurgy composite

A powder metallurgy composite, PM212, composed of metal bonded chromium carbide and solid lubricants is shown to be self-lubricating to a maximum application temperature of 900 C. The high temperature compressive strength, tensile strength, thermal expansion and thermal conductivity data needed to design PM212 sliding contact bearings and seals are reported for sintered and isostatically pressed (HIPed) versions of PM212. Other properties presented are room temperature density, hardness, and elastic modulus. In general, both versions appear to have adequate strength to be considered as sliding contact bearing materials, but the HIPed version, which is fully dense, is much stronger than the sintered version which contains about 20 percent pore volume. The sintered material is less costly to make, but the HIPed version is better where high compressive strength is important.

Edwards, Phillip M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Tribological properties of PM212 - A high temperature, self-lubricating, powder metallurgy composite

This paper describes a research program to develop and evaluate a new high temperature, self-lubricating powder metallurgy composite, PM212. PM212 has the same composition as the plasma-sprayed coating, PS212, which contains 70 wt percent metal-bonded chromium carbide, 15 wt percent silver and 15 wt percent barium fluoride/calcium fluoride eutectic. The carbide acts as a wear resistant matrix and the silver and fluorides act as low and high temperature lubricants, respectively. The material is prepared by sequential cold press, cold isostatic pressing and sintering techniques. In this study, hemispherically tipped wear pins of PM212 were prepared and slid against superalloy disks at temperatures from 25 to 850 C in air in a pin-on-disk tribometer. Friction coefficients range from 0.29 to 0.38 and the wear of both the composite pins and superalloy disks was moderate to low in the 10(exp -5) to 10(exp -6) cubic mm/N-m range. Preliminary tests indicate that the material has a compressive strength of at least 130 MPa over the entire temperature range of 25 to 900 C. This material has promise for use as seal inserts, bushings, small inside diameter parts and other applications where plasma-sprayed coatings are impractical or too costly.

Dellacorte, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS1992

Development and characterization of Powder Metallurgy (PM) 2XXX series Al alloy products and Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) 2XXX Al/SiC materials for high temperature aircraft structural applications

The results of a series of material studies performed by the Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company over the time period from 1980 to 1991 are discussed. The technical objective of these evaluations was to develop and characterize advanced aluminum alloy materials with temperature capabilities extending to 350 F. An overview is given of the first five alloy development efforts under this contract. Prior work conducted during the first five modifications of the alloy development program are listed. Recent developments based on the addition of high Zr levels to an optimum Al-Cu-Mg alloy composition by powder metallurgy processing are discussed. Both reinforced and SiC or B4C ceramic reinforced alloys were explored to achieve specific target goals for high temperature aluminum alloy applications.

Chellman, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A major advance in powder metallurgy

Ultramet has developed a process which promises to significantly increase the mechanical properties of powder metallurgy (PM) parts. Current PM technology uses mixed powders of various constituents prior to compaction. The homogeneity and flaw distribution in PM parts depends on the uniformity of mixing and the maintenance of uniformity during compaction. Conventional PM fabrication processes typically result in non-uniform distribution of the matrix, flaw generation due to particle-particle contact when one of the constituents is a brittle material, and grain growth caused by high temperature, long duration compaction processes. Additionally, a significant amount of matrix material is usually necessary to fill voids and create 100 percent dense parts. In Ultramet's process, each individual particle is coated with the matrix material, and compaction is performed by solid state processing. In this program, Ultramet coated 12-micron tungsten particles with approximately 5 wt percent nickel/iron. After compaction, flexure strengths were measured 50 percent higher than those achieved in conventional liquid phase sintered parts (10 wt percent Ni/Fe). Further results and other material combinations are discussed.

Williams, Brian E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Powder metallurgy: Solid and liquid phase sintering of copper

Basic powder metallurgy (P/M) principles and techniques are presented in this laboratory experiment. A copper based system is used since it is relatively easy to work with and is commercially important. In addition to standard solid state sintering, small quantities of low melting metals such as tin, zinc, lead, and aluminum can be added to demonstrate liquid phase sintering and alloy formation. The Taguchi Method of experimental design was used to study the effect of particle size, pressing force, sintering temperature, and sintering time. These parameters can be easily changed to incorporate liquid phase sintering effects and some guidelines for such substitutions are presented. The experiment is typically carried out over a period of three weeks.

Sheldon, Rex↗
NASA NTRS1992

Application of powder metallurgy techniques to produce improved bearing elements for liquid rocket engines

The objective was to apply powder metallurgy techniques for the production of improved bearing elements, specifically balls and races, for advanced cryogenic turbopump bearings. The materials and fabrication techniques evaluated were judged on the basis of their ability to improve fatigue life, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) propellant bearings over the currently used 440C. An extensive list of candidate bearing alloys in five different categories was considered: tool/die steels, through hardened stainless steels, cobalt-base alloys, and gear steels. Testing of alloys for final consideration included hardness, rolling contact fatigue, cross cylinder wear, elevated temperature wear, room and cryogenic fracture toughness, stress corrosion cracking, and five-ball (rolling-sliding element) testing. Results of the program indicated two alloys that showed promise for improved bearing elements. These alloys were MRC-2001 and X-405. 57mm bearings were fabricated from the MRC-2001 alloy for further actual hardware rig testing by NASA-MSFC.

Moracz, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Testing of electroformed deposited iridium/powder metallurgy rhenium rockets

High-temperature, oxidation-resistant chamber materials offer the thermal margin for high performance and extended lifetimes for radiation-cooled rockets. Rhenium (Re) coated with iridium (Ir) allow hours of operation at 2200 C on Earth-storable propellants. One process for manufacturing Ir/Re rocket chambers is the fabrication of Re substrates by powder metallurgy (PM) and the application of Ir coatings by using electroformed deposition (ED). ED Ir coatings, however, have been found to be porous and poorly adherent. The integrity of ED Ir coatings could be improved by densification after the electroforming process. This report summarizes the testing of two 22-N, ED Ir/PM Re rocket chambers that were subjected to post-deposition treatments in an effort to densify the Ir coating. One chamber was vacuum annealed, while the other chamber was subjected to hot isostatic pressure (HIP). The chambers were tested on gaseous oxygen/gaseous hydrogen propellants, at mixture ratios that simulated the oxidizing environments of Earth-storable propellants. ne annealed ED Ir/PM Re chamber was tested for a total of 24 firings and 4.58 hr at a mixture ratio of 4.2. After only 9 firings, the annealed ED Ir coating began to blister and spall upstream of the throat. The blistering and spalling were similar to what had been experienced with unannealed, as-deposited ED Ir coatings. The HIP ED Ir/PM Re chamber was tested for a total of 91 firings and 11.45 hr at mixture ratios of 3.2 and 4.2. The HIP ED Ir coating remained adherent to the Re substrate throughout testing; there were no visible signs of coating degradation. Metallography revealed, however, thinning of the HIP Ir coating and occasional pores in the Re layer upstream of the throat. Pinholes in the Ir coating may have provided a path for oxidation of the Re substrate at these locations. The HIP ED Ir coating proved to be more effective than vacuum annealed and as-deposited ED Ir. Further densification is still required to match the integrity of chemically vapor deposited Ir coatings. Despite this, the successful long duration testing of the HIP ED Ir chamber, in an oxidizing environment comparable to Earth-storable propellants, demonstrated the viability of this Ir/Re rocket fabrication process.

Reed, Brian D.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Accelerated Near-Threshold Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of an Aluminum Powder Metallurgy Alloy

Fatigue crack growth (FCG) research conducted in the near threshold regime has identified a room temperature creep crack growth damage mechanism for a fine grain powder metallurgy (PM) aluminum alloy (8009). At very low DK, an abrupt acceleration in room temperature FCG rate occurs at high stress ratio (R = Kmin/Kmax). The near threshold accelerated FCG rates are exacerbated by increased levels of Kmax (Kmax less than 0.4 KIC). Detailed fractographic analysis correlates accelerated FCG with the formation of crack-tip process zone micro-void damage. Experimental results show that the near threshold and Kmax influenced accelerated crack growth is time and temperature dependent.

Piascik, Robert S.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Initial Assessment of the Effects of Nonmetallic Inclusions on Fatigue Life of Powder-Metallurgy-Processed Udimet(TM) 720

The fatigue lives of modern powder metallurgy (PM) disk alloys are influenced by variabilities in alloy microstructure and mechanical properties. These properties can vary due to the different steps of materials/component processing and machining. One of these variables, the presence of nonmetallic inclusions, has been shown to significantly degrade low-cycle fatigue (LCF) life. Nonmetallic inclusions are inherent defects in powder alloys that are a by-product of powder-processing techniques. Contamination of the powder can occur in the melt, during powder atomization, or during any of the various handling processes through consolidation. In modern nickel disk powder processing facilities, the levels of inclusion contamination have been reduced to less than 1 part per million by weight. Despite the efforts of manufacturers to ensure the cleanliness of their powder production processes, the presence of inclusions remains a source of great concern for the designer. the objective of this study was to investigate the effects on fatigue life of these inclusions. Since natural inclusions occur so infrequently, elevated levels of inclusions were carefully introduced in a nickel-based disk superalloy, Udimet 720 (registered trademark of Special Metals Corporation), produced using PM processing. Multiple strain-controlled fatigue tests were then performed on this material at 650 C. Analyses were performed to compare the LCF lives and failure initiation sites as functions of inclusion content and fatigue conditions. A large majority of the failures in specimens with introduced inclusions occurred at cracks initiating from inclusions at the specimen surface. The inclusions could reduce fatigue life by up to 100 times. These effects were found to be dependent on strain range and strain ratio. Tests at lower strain ranges and higher strain ratios produced larger effects of inclusions on life.

Gabb, T. P.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Accelerated Threshold Fatigue Crack Growth Effect-Powder Metallurgy Aluminum Alloy

Fatigue crack growth (FCG) research conducted in the near threshold regime has identified a room temperature creep crack growth damage mechanism for a fine grain powder metallurgy (PM) aluminum alloy (8009). At very low (Delta) K, an abrupt acceleration in room temperature FCG rate occurs at high stress ratio (R = K(sub min)/K(sub max)). The near threshold accelerated FCG rates are exacerbated by increased levels of K(sub max) (K(sub max) = 0.4 K(sub IC)). Detailed fractographic analysis correlates accelerated FCG with the formation of crack-tip process zone micro-void damage. Experimental results show that the near threshold and K(sub max) influenced accelerated crack growth is time and temperature dependent.

Piascik, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Investigation of the Environmental Durability of a Powder Metallurgy Material

PM304 is a NASA-developed composite powder metallurgy material that is being developed for high temperature applications such as bushings in high temperature industrial furnace conveyor systems. My goal this summer was to analyze and evaluate the effects that heat exposure had on the PM304 material at 500 C and 650 C. The material is composed of Ni-Cr, Ag, Cr2O3, and eutectic BaF2-CaF2. PM304 is designed to eliminate the need for oil based lubricants in high temperature applications, while reducing friction and wear. However, further investigation was needed to thoroughly examine the properties of PM304. The effects of heat exposure on PM304 bushings were investigated. This investigation was necessary due to the high temperatures that the material would be exposed to in a typical application. Each bushing was cut into eight sections. The specimens were heated to 500 C or 650 C for time intervals from 1 hr to 5,000 hrs. Control specimens were kept at room temperature. Weight and thickness measurements were taken before and after the bushing sections were exposed to heat. Then the heat treated specimens were mounted and polished side by side with the control specimens. This enabled optical examination of the material's microstructure using a metallograph. The specimens were also examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The microstructures were compared to observe the effects of the heat exposure. Chemical analysis was done to investigate the interactions between Ni-Cr and BaF2-CaF2 and between Cr2O3 and BaF2-CaF2 at high temperature. To observe this, the two compounds that were being analyzed were mixed in a crucible in varied weight percentages and heated to 1100 C in a furnace for approximately two hours. Then the product was allowed to cool and was then analyzed by X-ray diffraction. Interpretation of the results is in progress.

Ward, LaNita D.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Distribution of Inclusion-Initiated Fatigue Cracking in Powder Metallurgy Udimet 720 Characterized

In the absence of extrinsic surface damage, the fatigue life of metals is often dictated by the distribution of intrinsic defects. In powder metallurgy (PM) alloys, relatively large defects occur rarely enough that a typical characterization with a limited number of small volume fatigue test specimens will not adequately sample inclusion-initiated damage. Counterintuitively, inclusion-initiated failure has a greater impact on the distribution in PM alloy fatigue lives because they tend to have fewer defects than their cast and wrought counterparts. Although the relative paucity of defects in PM alloys leads to higher mean fatigue lives, the distribution in observed lives tends to be broader. In order to study this important failure initiation mechanism without expending an inordinate number of specimens, a study was undertaken at the NASA Glenn Research Center where known populations of artificial inclusions (seeds) were introduced to production powder. Fatigue specimens were machined from forgings produced from the seeded powder. Considerable effort has been expended in characterizing the crack growth rate from inclusion-initiated cracks in seeded PM alloys. A rotating and translating positioning system, with associated software, was devised to map the surface inclusions in low-cycle fatigue (LCF) test bars and to monitor the crack growth from these inclusions. The preceding graph illustrates the measured extension in fatigue cracks from inclusions on a seeded LCF test bar subjected to cyclic loading at a strain range of 0.8 percent and a strain ratio (max/min) of zero. Notice that the observed inclusions fall into three categories: some do not propagate at all (arrest), some propagate with a decreasing crack growth rate, and a few propagate at increasing rates that can be modeled by fracture mechanics. The following graph shows the measured inclusion-initiated crack growth rates from 10 interrupted LCF tests plotted against stress intensities calculated for semi-elliptical cracks with the observed surface lengths. The expected scatter in the crack growth rates for stress intensity ranges near threshold is observed. These data will be used to help determine the distribution in growth rates of cracks emanating from inclusions as well as the proportion of cracks that arrest under various loading conditions.

Bonacuse, Peter J.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Phase Stability of a Powder Metallurgy Disk Superalloy

Advanced powder metallurgy superalloy disks in aerospace turbine engines now entering service can be exposed to temperatures approaching 700 C, higher than those previously encountered. They also have higher levels of refractory elements, which can increase mechanical properties at these temperatures but can also encourage phase instabilities during service. Microstructural changes including precipitation of topological close pack phase precipitation and coarsening of existing gamma' precipitates can be slow at these temperatures, yet potentially significant for anticipated disk service times exceeding 1,000 h. The ability to quantify and predict such potential phase instabilities and degradation of capabilities is needed to insure structural integrity and air worthiness of propulsion systems over the full life cycle. A prototypical advanced disk superalloy was subjected to high temperature exposures, and then evaluated. Microstructural changes and corresponding changes in mechanical properties were quantified. The results will be compared to predictions of microstructure modeling software.

Gabb, Timothy P.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Factors Influencing Dwell Fatigue Cracking in Notches of Powder Metallurgy Superalloys

The influences of heat treatment and cyclic dwells on the notch fatigue resistance of powder metallurgy disk superalloys were investigated for low solvus high refractory (LSHR) and ME3 disk alloys. Disks were processed to produce material conditions with varied microstructures and associated mechanical properties. Notched specimens were first subjected to baseline dwell fatigue cycles having a dwell at maximum load, as well as tensile, stress relaxation, creep rupture, and dwell fatigue crack growth tests at 704 C. Several material heat treatments displayed a bimodal distribution of fatigue life with the lives varying by two orders-of-magnitude, while others had more consistent fatigue lives. This response was compared to other mechanical properties, in search of correlations. The wide scatter in baseline dwell fatigue life was observed only for material conditions resistant to stress relaxation. For selected materials and conditions, additional tests were then performed with the dwells shifted in part or in total to minimum tensile load. The tests performed with dwells at minimum load exhibited lower fatigue lives than max dwell tests, and also exhibited early crack initiation and a substantial increase in the number of initiation sites. These results could be explained in part by modeling evolution of peak stresses in the notch with continued dwell fatigue cycling. Fatigue-environment interactions were determined to limit life for the fatigue cycles with dwells.

Gabb, T. P.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Oxidation and the Effects of High Temperature Exposures on Notched Fatigue Life of an Advanced Powder Metallurgy Disk Superalloy

Oxidation and the effects of high temperature exposures on notched fatigue life were considered for a powder metallurgy processed supersolvus heat-treated ME3 disk superalloy. The isothermal static oxidation response at 704 C, 760 C, and 815 C was consistent with other chromia forming nickel-based superalloys: a TiO2-Cr2O3 external oxide formed with a branched Al2O3 internal subscale that extended into a recrystallized - dissolution layer. These surface changes can potentially impact disk durability, making layer growth rates important. Growth of the external scales and dissolution layers followed a cubic rate law, while Al2O3 subscales followed a parabolic rate law. Cr- rich M23C6 carbides at the grain boundaries dissolved to help sustain Cr2O3 growth to depths about 12 times thicker than the scale. The effect of prior exposures was examined through notched low cycle fatigue tests performed to failure in air at 704 C. Prior exposures led to pronounced debits of up to 99 % in fatigue life, where fatigue life decreased inversely with exposure time. Exposures that produced roughly equivalent 1 m thick external scales at the various isotherms showed statistically equivalent fatigue lives, establishing that surface damage drives fatigue debit, not exposure temperature. Fractographic evaluation indicated the failure mode for the pre-exposed specimens involved surface crack initiations that shifted with exposure from predominately single intergranular initiations with transgranular propagation to multi-initiations from the cracked external oxide with intergranular propagation. Weakened grain boundaries at the surface resulting from the M23C6 carbide dissolution are partially responsible for the intergranular cracking. Removing the scale and subscale while leaving a layer where M23C6 carbides were dissolved did not lead to a significant fatigue life improvement, however, also removing the M23C6 carbide dissolution layer led to nearly full recovery of life, with a transgranular initiation typical to that observed in unexposed specimens.

Sudbrack, Chantal K.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Dwell Notch Low Cycle Fatigue Behavior of a Powder Metallurgy Nickel Disk Alloy

A study was conducted to determine the processes which govern dwell notch low cycle fatigue (NLCF) behavior of a powder metallurgy (P/M) ME3 disk superalloy. The emphasis was placed on the environmentally driven mechanisms which may embrittle the highly stressed notch surface regions and reduce NLCF life. In conjunction with the environmentally driven notch surface degradation processes, the visco-plastic driven mechanisms which can significantly change the notch root stresses were also considered. Dwell notch low cycle fatigue testing was performed in air and vacuum on a ME3 P/M disk alloy specimens heat treated using either a fast or a slow cooling rate from the solutioning treatment. It was shown that dwells at the minimum stress typically produced a greater life debit than the dwells applied at the maximum stress, especially for the slow cooled heat treatment. Two different environmentally driven failure mechanisms were identified as the root cause of early crack initiation in the min dwell tests. Both of these failure mechanisms produced mostly a transgranular crack initiation failure mode and yet still resulted in low NLCF fatigue lives. The lack of stress relaxation during the min dwell tests produced higher notch root stresses which caused early crack initiation and premature failure when combined with the environmentally driven surface degradation mechanisms. The importance of environmental degradation mechanisms was further highlighted by vacuum dwell NLCF tests which resulted in considerably longer NLCF lives, especially for the min dwell tests.

Telesman, J.↗