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Results for “elastic modulus”

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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Linking spout fluidization hydrodynamics to pyrolytic carbon deposition characteristics in a fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition reactor

Spout fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition (SFB-CVD) is the dominant method for producing pyrolytic carbon (PyC) coatings on tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles, yet the relationship between gas injector design, fluidization hydrodynamics, and resulting coating quality remains poorly quantified. Here, in this work, three spout fluidized bed (SFB) nozzle geometries were designed and fabricated to empirically investigate how injector-driven changes in particle circulation influence PyC deposition. The geometries were first evaluated in a room temperature fluidization apparatus using time-resolved particle image velocimetry, which highlighted distinct differences in particle velocity fields, circulation pathways, and overall fluidization quality. Graphite versions of each injector geometry were subsequently implemented in a laboratory-scale SFB-CVD reactor to deposit PyC onto surrogate fuel kernels under similar conditions. Post-deposition characterization included particle morphology, coating thickness, porosity distribution, optical anisotropy, and microindentation mechanical testing. Overall, the results show clear differences in coating microstructure as a function of changing injector geometry, despite mechanical testing indicating comparable elastic modulus values across all coatings. This study provides one of the first fully experimental, quantitative mappings between SFB nozzle geometry, fluidization hydrodynamics, and resulting PyC coating structure. The framework established here supports rational injector design and offers a pathway toward improved coating control in future pilot- and production-scale TRISO fuel fabrication systems.

Coated particle fuel↗
DOE OSTI2025

Carbonation reaction of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA): CO 2 mass consumption under various treatment conditions

Concrete is a key building material around the world due to its excellent strength and durability. Recycling demolished concrete for new construction materials may play a significant role in sustainable development. Producing recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) from waste concrete is one approach for such an initiative. However, using RCA may pose challenges, such as reduced density, lower elastic modulus and strength, and increased water absorption. Recently, the carbonation of RCA has emerged as a method to address those concerns. This study explores the carbon sequestration capacity of RCA through carbonation, examining various parametric conditions, including initial CO 2 pressure, relative humidity, temperature, and pre-treatment approach. Both lab-scale and large-scale carbonation tests were conducted. Additionally, a cost analysis and CO 2 footprint assessment were performed. The findings showed that applying higher initial CO 2 pressures (e.g., 40–60 psi) and optimal relative humidity (~55 %) could significantly enhance the carbonation efficiency of RCA. Elevating temperature also led to accelerated CO 2 consumption, being more effective on the lab scale. The economic analysis presented potential cost benefits when substituting natural aggregates with CO 2 -treated RCA. All in all, these results suggest that the carbonation of RCA may provide significant environmental benefits through carbon sequestration, promoting sustainable construction practices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

A new approach to model geomaterials with heterogeneous properties in thermo-hydro-mechanical coupled problems

The main objective of this article is to present a new approach to model coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical problems considering geomaterials with heterogeneous properties. This approach has been implemented in the software CODE_BRIGHT and it provides the possibility of considering geomaterials with a spatially correlated heterogeneous field of porosity, following a normal distribution. This spatial correlation can be isotropic or anisotropic. An important feature of this approach is that material properties such as intrinsic permeability, thermal conductivity, diffusivity, retention curve, elastic modulus or cohesion are defined as a function of porosity and, thus, they become heterogeneous with spatial correlation and, eventually, anisotropic. A validation exercise and other basic numerical examples have been carried out to illustrate the possibilities of the proposed approach. The results, which have been compared with a homogeneous case, show that considering heterogeneous fields can be relevant in different modelling problems, especially coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical problems.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Reactive extrusion of frontally polymerizing continuous carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites

The manufacturing of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites demands rapid and energy-efficient strategies. Frontal polymerization (FP) enables the manufacturing of CFRP using dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) thermoset polymer which meets these requirements. In this work, we introduce reactive extrusion of CFRP (RE-CFRP), where two rollers provide localized heat and pressure to sustain the curing reaction and the consolidation of a continuous carbon fiber tow pre-impregnated with DCPD. We study the effect of the extrusion speed, temperature, and compaction force on the properties of the produced CFRP. Mechanical testing confirms that the resulting fiber volume fraction and the elastic modulus are similar to bulk cured tows. A homogenized thermo-chemical model is developed to study the effect of the process parameters on the polymerization reaction. The process produces hollow woven composite tubes directly via extrusion and in situ curing. Overall, this process offers advantages in curing, tooling, speed, and energy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

High performance Nb/TiNi nanocomposites produced by packaged accumulative roll bonding

Taking full advantage of intrinsic high strength of nano-reinforcements has been proven difficult in a composite until the concept of strain matching was experimental verified in a nanowire Nb/TiNi in-situ composite, which was obtained via solidifying eutectic Nb/TiNi and subsequent severe wire drawing. However, the volume fraction of the nano-reinforcement was dictated by eutectic reaction, which severely limited the development of high-performance composites. Here, the martensitic transformation nanocomposites were successfully acquired with increased volume fraction and changeable morphology of the nano-reinforcement through hot packaged ARB (PARB) and subsequent wire drawing. The nano-reinforcement with lamellar configuration in the composite could exhibit a large lattice strain of similar to 3.8%, which demonstrated the applicability and effectiveness of the strain matching principle in nano-lamellar composite. The obtained composites show a yield strength over 2.0 GPa and a quasi-linear elastic strain as larger as similar to 6.5% with adjustable apparent elastic modulus from 30 to 50 GPa.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Peridynamic modeling of cementitious materials for nuclear waste management

Radioactive and hazardous waste generated from fuel processing plants, nuclear reactors, and hospitals, requires effective management strategies. Cementitious materials are widely applied for these needs, serving as structural materials, reactive barriers, or waste forms. In these applications cracking poses a significant risk to performance, driven by inconsistent shrinkage of the components and the varying strength and permeability of their interfaces. Traditional modeling approaches face challenges in representing the complex fracture behavior of cementitious materials due to the reliance on spatial derivatives and difficulties with mesh generation. Here, to overcome these limitations, we employ peridynamics, a novel continuum mechanics formulation that uses integrals to describe mechanical equilibrium, avoiding discontinuities associated with traditional methods. Through incorporation of a bi-linear softening model and quasistatics, an experimentally validated model for Portland cement concrete samples was created. Mechanical parameters, including compressive strength and elastic modulus were validated and variation due to aggregate packing was evaluated. Additionally, sensitivity analysis of the peridynamic parameters to the bulk material properties was established. The results lay the groundwork for evaluating the impact of unique conditions of cementitious waste forms that can be assessed to improve the reliability of waste management strategies.

Aggregates↗
DOE OSTI2024

Pathways to formulate lightweight and ultra-lightweight 3D printable cementitious composites

Here, this paper studies the pathways to formulate lightweight and ultra-lightweight 3D printable cementitious composites. A hybrid approach was proposed by combining the advantages of traditional chemical-induced foaming (foaming approach) and lightweight particulate inclusions (synthetic foam approach). A comprehensive experimental program was conducted to evaluate the effects of foaming agents and fly ash cenosphere (FAC) on the printability, microstructure, mechanical and thermal properties of 3D printed samples. The results showed that the hybrid approach could produce a mixture with a density as low as 470 kg/m 3 while ensuring good flowability and buildability owing to the lubricating effect of foaming and supporting skeleton formed by FAC. In addition, a three-step homogenization procedure was also developed to predict the effective elastic modulus and thermal conductivity of 3D printable cementitious composites and cementitious foam. The findings of the study highlighted the effectiveness of the hybrid approach in formulating 3D printable ultra-lightweight cementitious composites in thermal insulation and acoustic applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Mechanically and thermally robust microporous copolymer separators for lithium ion batteries

Next generation, multifunctional separators can enhance energy storage, power, and safety performance of lithium ion batteries but must be simple to fabricate and incorporate with existing roll-to-roll manufacturing. Here, this study presents a strategy to facilely prepare these separators using UV-initiated polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS), wherein microporous polymer separators are fabricated directly from constituent monomers and ethylene carbonate (EC) porogen. This enables a wide compositional design space as co-monomers with specific chemical functionality can be readily incorporated into the PIPS precursor mixture. Herein, 1,4-butanediol diacrylate (BDDA) was copolymerized with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) to increase the acrylate conversion in the photopolymerization and improve mechanical properties. By tuning the ratio of PEGDA and EC, separators with high porosity (41.3%) and effective ionic conductivity (2.09 mS cm –1 ) were prepared. Inclusion of PEGDA was essential to increasing the elastic modulus to > 345 MPa, which is required for cell assembly by roll-to-roll manufacturing. All separators prepared were shown to enable reversible cycling of lithium metal/LiNi 0.5 Mn 0.3 Co 0.2 O 2 half-cells for 100 cycles. Unlike conventional polyolefin separators, which were shown to melt at 160 °C and shrink by up to 29.8% at elevated temperatures, the PIPS separators possess exceptional, safety-enhancing thermomechanical properties, undergoing no phase transitions or thermal shrinkage.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Gradient process parameter optimization in additive friction stir deposition of aluminum alloys

As one of the most novel additive manufacturing methods, currently selection and optimization of processing parameters in additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) have mainly relied on experiments and subsequent characterization of microstructural and mechanical properties. Such approaches are both time- and resource-consuming. Therefore, an ultrasound elastography enhanced gradient process parameter optimization method was applied in the present work to obtain a window of optimized processing parameters for AFSD processing of aluminum alloy by varying both rotational and linear deposition speeds. Further, the quality of AFSD processed layer was investigated for physical nature of surface, dynamic elastic modulus, and microstructural aspects in cross-sections of the deposited layer. The efficiency in exploring process parameters was significantly enhanced by implementing a high-throughput screening experimental design based on application of gradient process parameters and continuous ultrasound elastographs. In addition, the applied ultrasonic elastography technique assisted in evaluating the homogeneity in microstructure and mechanical properties of AFSD sample over the entire gradients of the process parameters. The techniques adopted in current work can be further extended to identify suitable parameters for AFSD fabrication of components with desired mechanical properties such as hardness, fatigue, etc.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Experimental workflow to estimate model parameters for evaluating long term viscoelastic response of CO2 storage caprocks

Understanding the time-dependent behavior of reservoir and sealing formations is critical to assessing risks associated with geological carbon storage since time-dependent deformation strongly influences mechanical responses of some rock types. Many studies have evaluated the risk of CO2 leakage and induced seismicity by assuming poroelastic rheology in sealing formations. Few have considered viscoelastic or other time-dependent responses, where the existing literature adopts 1D models to represent long-term time-dependent responses. This is primarily because to date, the general form of a reasonable 3D time-dependent model for rocks remains unclear. In this paper, we address this unclear issue by proposing a new workflow to select constitutive modeling parameters to evaluate if a 3D viscoelastic model is reasonable using several-hour-long experimental data and a power-law response to extrapolate to the decades-long time frames of interest in geologic carbon storage. To provide experimental data, we conducted multi-level loading/unloading triaxial relaxation tests with four rock types. The experimental results showed that the maximum load relaxation observed is approximately 49%, with some rock types showing as little as 1.4%. Using a simple linear viscoelastic model, parameters were chosen such that a maximum deviation of 1.5 MPa in axial stress and 7 MPa in radial stress was attained with the extrapolated 30-year data. We found that a reasonable parameter range for the normalized elastic modulus is 0.1~2 for rocks with significant time-dependent responses and 0.01~0.06 for those with small time-dependent responses. No matter how significant time-dependent responses are for rocks considered, our results showed that the relaxation time has a general range of 1~10^10 s, whose time scale can be one or two orders higher than a time frame typically envisioned for CO2 injection projects.

Stress relaxation, 3D time-dependent model, viscoe↗
DOE OSTI2022

Atomistic simulations of nanoindentation on nanoglasses: Effects of grain size and gradient microstructure on the mechanical properties

The use of nanoglass (NG) microstructures has been shown as an effective strategy to improve the ductility of rather brittle metallic glass alloys. To evaluate the effects of grain size and gradient design on the mechanical properties of NGs, we perform molecular dynamics simulations of nanoindentation on Cu 64 Zr 36 NGs. We consider samples with uniform 3 and 7 nm grain sizes as well as gradient microstructures with gradient grain sizes varying from 3 to 7 nm. Here, the results show that the deformation mechanism in NGs with small grain sizes is dominated by the activation and evolution of multiple shear transformation zones. Increasing grain sizes enhances the elastic modulus and hardness at the cost of reduced abrasion resistance. Though the average grain size at the indentation surface plays a crucial role in the deformation behavior of gradient NG models, their strain localization and plastic deformation states are affected by the grain sizes far from the indenter. Desired combinations of mechanical properties can be realized by different NG microstructure designs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Three-dimensional mapping of mineral in intact shark centra with energy dispersive x-ray diffraction

The centra of shark vertebrae consist of cartilage mineralized by a bioapatite similar to bone's carbonated hy-droxyapatite, and, without a repair mechanism analogous to remodeling in bone, these structures still survive millions of cycles of high-strain loading. The main structures of the centrum are an hourglass-shaped double cone and the intermedialia which supports the cones. Little is known about the nanostructure of shark centra, spe-cifically the relationship between bioapatite and cartilage fibers, and this study uses energy dispersive diffraction (EDD) with polychromatic synchrotron x-radiation to study the spatial organization of the mineral phase and its crystallographic texture. The unique energy-sensitive detector array at beamline 6-BM-B, the Advanced Photon Source, enables EDD to quantify the texture within each sampling volume with one exposure while constructing 3D maps via specimen translation across the sampling volume. Herein this study maps a centrum from two shark orders, a carcharhiniform and a lamniform, with different intermedialia structures. In the blue shark (Prionace glauca, Carcharhiniformes), the bioapatite's c-axes are oriented laterally within the centrum's cone walls but axially within the wide wedges of the intermedialia; the former is interpreted to resist lateral deformation, the latter to support axial loads. In the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus, Lamniformes), there is some tendency for c-axis variation with position, but the situation is unclear because one dimension of the sampling volume is consid-erably larger than the thickness and spacing of the intermedialia's radially-oriented lamellae. Because elastic modulus in collagen plus bioapatite mineralized tissues varies significantly with both volume fraction of bio-apatite and crystallographic texture, the present 3D EDD-derived maps should inform future 3D numerical models of shark centra under applied load.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

In situ study on medium-range order evolution during the polyamorphous phase transition in a Pd-Ni-P nanostructured glass

Engineering multiscale structural hierarchies in glassy alloys enable a broad spectrum of potential applications. Metallic glasses were born in hierarchical structures from atomic-to-nanometer scales. However, the frozen-in structures in traditional metallic glasses prepared by rapid quenching techniques are challenging to tailor. Here, we show that a Pd 40 Ni 40 P 20 bulk nanostructured glass of polyamorphous interfacial structures was prepared by inert-gas condensation with a laser evaporation source, and its multiscale structures could be engineered. In-situ scattering experiment results reveal polyamorphous phase transitions occurred in the interfacial regions, which are accompanied by the evolution of medium-range order and the nanoscale heterogeneous structures during the condensation process of glassy nanoparticles under high pressure and the following heating process. Moreover, changes in the cluster connectivity resulting from repacking of the local ordering induced by pressure and temperature could be observed. The thermophysical and mechanical properties, including boson peaks, hardness, and elasticity modulus, could be changed as a function of heat-treatment parameters. In conclusion, our findings would shed light on the synthesis of bulk nanostructured glassy alloys with tailorable thermodynamic and dynamical behavior as well as mechanical properties based on the understanding of metastability for polyamorphous interfacial phases.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effect of grain size on iron-boride nanoglasses

Metallic nanoglasses are made of amorphous grains that are separated by lower-density amorphous boundaries, which have been proposed to enhance plasticity through the deflection of cracks and shear bands at interfaces. It has been difficult to experimentally control grain size and interfacial structure to understand their roles in plastic deformation. Here, we fabricate bulk nanoglasses via compaction and sintering of colloidally synthesized amorphous iron-boride nanoparticles. These nanoglasses have amorphous grains with diameters from 116nm to 576nm and were tested using nanoindentation and micropillar compressions. The nanoglass with a grain size of 576 nm shows the highest elastic modulus and hardness of 101 GPa and 7.4GPa, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that nanocrystals form within the nanoglasses during compaction. Higher nanocrystal density correlates with higher nanoparticle crystallization enthalpy, an increase in plasticity, and a decrease in yield strength. Plastic strain of 5.0%, yield strength of 3.8GPa, and ultimate compressive strength of 2.7–3.8GPa were achieved. Here we show that the compaction of colloidal metallic glass nanoparticles results in robust bulk samples, with mechanical properties similar to that of other iron-based bulk metallic glasses.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dynamic data-driven multiscale modeling for predicting the degradation of a 316L stainless steel nuclear cladding material

Here, we have developed a long short-term memory stacked ensemble (LSTM-SE) surrogate modeling approach that can provide rapid predictions of microstructural evolution and the resultant mechanical properties of American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) 316L series stainless steel (316LSS) fuel cladding under conditions of varying temperature and radiation dose rate. To acquire training data, we developed and implemented a kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) model to simulate precipitation kinetics of M 23 C 6 , γ', and G phases within SS316L cladding. Experimentally reported precipitation kinetics of SS316L in literature were linked to the kinetic parameters of the simulated precipitation in our KMC model. The model was then used to simulate microstructure evolution under synthetically generated treatments of varying temperature and radiation dose rate, for periods of up to 3000 hours. Changes in volume fraction, number density, and particle size of precipitates were recorded, and particle area fractions were correlated using statistical methods to develop the surrogate model. Simultaneously, the mechanical properties of the simulated microstructures were evaluated using microstructure-based finite element method (FEM) analysis to determine the elastic modulus, yield stress, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation to failure of the aged microstructures. Using this approach, our surrogate model can predict precipitation behavior within 0.25% volume fraction and mechanical properties within 6% relative error from the values predicted by the KMC and FEM models using 50 training simulations as input. The trained recurrent neural network-based model can return estimations of precipitation kinetics and mechanical properties ~1000 times faster than the physics-based codes. This work demonstrates, as a proof of concept, that reactor material service lifetimes under variable service conditions can be predicted for a statistics-based model from a practicably obtainable dataset.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tensile properties of co-rolled Zr/U-10Mo fuel at ambient and elevated temperatures

The United States High Performance Research Reactor (USHPRR) initiative is currently interested in replacing high-enriched uranium fuel in research reactors with high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel. Here, this work aimed to assist in that mission by providing tensile and bend test data on bare U-Mo and tensile test data on co-rolled Zr/U-10Mo plates at differing thicknesses (0.285 mm, 0.300 mm, and 0.465 mm) and temperatures (293 K, 473 K, and 623 K). Yield strength and ultimate tensile strength values are reported along with an in-depth comparison of how temperature, rolling direction, thickness, and the presence of the Zr-interlayer affect mechanical properties. Results showed that yield strength and ultimate tensile strength in Zr/U-10Mo foils lower as temperature increases by approximately 300 MPa from 293 to 473 K, and another 100 MPa from 473 to 623 K. Additionally it was found that with increased temperature, there is less differentiation in fuel necking and delamination behavior, as well as a greater perceived elongation to fracture. The elastic modulus of co-rolled mini-plates does not follow the volumetric rule of mixtures in terms of averaged strength and is actually lower than the reported moduli of both Zr and U-10Mo.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effects of surface treatments on ABS mechanical properties from fused filament fabrication

This paper examines the influence of surface treatments on the mechanical properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) samples printed by fused filament fabrication (FFF). Prior efforts have applied brushing, painting, solvent dipping, infiltration, and vapor smoothing as post-processing surface treatments to improve the mechanical properties of FFF components. Additionally, because FFF can produce components with undesirable surface roughness, mechanical abrasion, epoxy coating, and acetone treatment may increase tensile strength by decreasing stress concentrations. Ridged surface texture may provide desirable tribological or handling properties. Based on these opportunities, this paper investigates abrasive media blasting, epoxy coating, acetone immersion, and ridged texturing surface treatments on the tensile strength and other mechanical properties of FFF ABS samples. ASTM D638-14 Type-I samples were printed, treated on all sample sides, and tested. From tensile tests, the elastic modulus, tensile strength, and fracture strain for both the untreated and treated ABS samples were calculated. For each sample, the surface finish and fracture macromorphology were observed with optical microscopy and the roughness values for the surface finish were calculated from profilometer data. Furthermore, samples were submerged in water and weighed periodically to measure mass changes due to water absorption. From surface profilometry and optical miscopy data, mechanical media blasting, epoxy coating, and immersion in all concentrations of acetone decreased surface roughness. Overall, on average, grit blasting with large beads and epoxy coating led to 2.6% and 1.2% increases in tensile strength, respectively; immersion in 40% acetone led to a 1.9% increase in tensile strength while treatment in 60% and 80% acetone decreased tensile strength by 4.9% and 1.9%, respectively. The study concludes that only grit blasting with large beads, immersion in 60% acetone, and the ridged texture significantly affected the tensile strength.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Deformation mechanisms in single crystal Ni-based concentrated solid solution alloys by nanoindentation

Nanoindentation is a critical technique to probe mechanical properties at the micrometer and sub-micrometer scales, accompanied by challenges from indentation size effect, pile-up/sink-in effect, and strain rate sensitivity. In this work, different nanoindentation techniques have been employed to explore Ni-based concentrated solid solution alloys (CSAs) with the addition of 3d transition metal elements including Co, Cr, Mn, and Fe, including unique single-crystal Ni, NiCo, NiFe, Ni 80 Cr 20 , and NiCoFeCr samples with (100) surfaces. A procedure of nanoindentation tests and data analysis/correction have been developed, and a data set of hardness, elastic modulus, strain rate sensitivity, and activation volume for Ni-based CSAs are provided, including the less explored binary alloys such as Ni 80 Cr 20 and Ni 80 Mn 20 . The results show that the type of alloying elements is more critical than the number of elements in strengthening: Co does not provide strengthening in NiCo, while Cr, Mn, and Fe are effective strengthening elements. Cr is the most effective among all the 3d transition metal elements. Furthermore, atomic-level lattice distortion is responsible for the strengthening and the role of stacking fault energy is insignificant in Ni-based CSAs at room temperature. In summary, nanoindentation shows increasing promise as a reliable and fast tool to provide comprehensive mechanical information for new alloy design and development.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗