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Cobalt-base alloy which combines high temperature strength and magnetic properties has a composition in weight percent of 7-1/2 tungsten, 2-1/2 iron, 1 titanium, 1/2 zirconium, 1/2 carbon, and the balance cobalt. It may be used as construction material for electric motors and generators operating at high temperatures.
High purity dielectric materials tested in capacitors at high temperatures
High temperature directional reflectance measurements of ablative materials as function of sample temperature using paraboloid reflectometer
Inorganic bonding materials minimize outgassing and improve electrical and mechanical properties of semiconductor strain-gage transducers in high-vacuum and high-temperature operations. The two basic methods described are ceramic-glass-bonding and metallic bond formation between the strain gage and the substrate.
Thermocouple measures continuously in flowing gaseous hydrogen at temperatures up to 4000 deg F, in environments made hazardous by radiation, and where rapid response and calibration reproducibility are critically important. Thermocouple wires extend continuously, without splice or foreign material, from cold junction to probe's tip.
A permeameter is described that measures the magnetizing force and the corresponding magnetic induction up to 1000 C. The two symmetrical yokes are made of an alloy of 9 percent iron, 91 percent cobalt. A coil surrounding the specimen supplies a magnetizing force of up to 100 oersteds. The instrument uses the magnetic potentiometer principle to cancel the effects of the reluctance of the yoke and the joint gaps. Very close agreement was obtained at room temperature when compared to an MH type permeameter. The effect of temperature on the normal induction curves for the yoke material is also presented.
The design of bearings for the control system of a fast reactor concept is presented. The bearings are required to operate at temperatures up to 2200 F in one of two fluids, lithium or argon. Basic bearing types are the same regardless of the fluid. Crowned cylindrical journals were selected for radially loaded bearings and modified spherical bearings were selected for bearings under combined thrust and radial loads. Graphite and aluminum oxide are the materials selected for the argon atmosphere bearings while cermet compositions (carbides or nitrides bonded with refractory metals) were selected for the lithium lubricated bearings. Mounting of components is by shrink fit or by axial clamping utilizing differential thermal expansion.
The materials studied are described along with the apparatus and the experimental techniques employed. The results of the measurements involving two REI Silica materials and a Mod 1 B REI Mullite are listed in a table. Measurements were conducted at unusually high temperature differences to detect 'shine-through' radiation transparency. Photographs are presented of the high-temperature guarded hot plate assembly.
The condensation temperatures of refractory silicates and oxides in a gas of cosmic composition are strongly dependent on the C/O ratio. As the ratio increases from 0.4 to 0.9, condensation temperatures of compounds such as Al2O3, Ca2Al2SiO7, MgAl2O4, Mg2SiO4, and MgSiO3 decrease by 50-100 degrees. As C/O increases from 0.9 to 1.0, these temperatures drop an additional 300-400 degrees. Other chemical differences result when C/O approximately equals or exceeds 0.9. A new suite of high-temperature minerals appears (graphite, CaS, Fe3C, SiC and TiN); the reaction CO + 3H2 yields CH4 + H2O proceeds to the right at higher temperatures; and iron, whose condensation temperature is unaffected, condenses at higher temperatures than any silicate or oxide.
Progress in the development of a pressure transducer for measurement of the pressure fluctuations in the high temperature environment of a jet exhaust is reported. A condenser microphone carrier system was adapted to meet the specifications. A theoretical analysis is presented which describes the operation of the condenser microphone in terms of geometry, materials, and other physical properties. The analysis was used as the basis for design of a prototype high temperature microphone. The feasibility of connecting the microphone to a converter over a high temperature cable operating as a half-wavelength transmission line was also examined.
Two-element gauge used alternately in two different bridge circuits to measure both temperature and strain. Three-lead strain-and-temperature gauge developed for use at temperatures up to 750 degree F (390 degree C) on fiber-reinforced carbon/carbon composite material having coefficient of thermal expansion of 0.8 ppm/degree F. Unlike most temperature-compensated gauges, gauge gives accurate results even during rapid heating and cooling cycles. Similar gauges produced for materials with different coefficients of thermal expansion.
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A method is presented for the calculation of elastic stresses in symmetrical disks typical of those of a high-temperature gas turbine. The method is essentially a finite-difference solution of the equilibrium and compatibility equations for elastic stresses in a symmetrical disk. Account can be taken of point-to-point variations in disk thickness, in temperature, in elastic modulus, in coefficient of thermal expansion, in material density, and in Poisson's ratio. No numerical integration or trial-and-error procedures are involved and the computations can be performed in rapid and routine fashion by nontechnical computers with little engineering supervision. Checks on problems for which exact mathematical solutions are known indicate that the method yields results of high accuracy. Illustrative examples are presented to show the manner of treating solid disks, disks with central holes, and disks constructed either of a single material or two or more welded materials. The effect of shrink fitting is taken into account by a very simple device.
Pyroceram 9608 (a crystallized glass ceramic) has been considered for use in high-temperature bearing and seal applications. One of the problems encountered with Pyroceram is the lack of availability of lubricants for the temperature range in which this material becomes practical. Experiments were conducted with Pyroceram sliding on various nickel- and cobalt-base alloys using reactive halogen-containing gases as lubricants. Friction and wear data were obtained as a function of sliding velocity and temperature. Studies were made with a hemispherical rider (3/16-in. rad., Pyroceram 9608) sliding in a circumferential path on the flat surface of a rotating disk (2(1/2) in. diam., nickel- or cobalt-base alloys). The specimens were run in an atmosphere of the various gases with a load of 1200 grams, a sliding velocity of 3200 feet per minute, and temperatures from 75 to 1500 F. The gas CF2Br-CF2Br was found to be an effective lubricant for Pyroceram 9608 sliding on Hastelloy R-235 and Inconel X up to 1400 F. The gas CF2Cl-CF2Cl provided effective lubrication for Pyroceram sliding on various cobalt-base alloys at 1000 F.
Considerable work has been done on report preparation. All items listed in the March program report will be reported during July. Fundamental studies are in progress to establish the fundamental processes by which treatments and composition control properties of commercial alloys at high temperatures. As yet work has been confined to Low-Carbon N155 alloy and progress has been reported twice previously. The work is divided into two sections: studies of solution treated and aged material and studies of rolled structures. Electron microscopic work has been started as an additional technique for the studies. Brief descriptions of experimental techniques used, results, and interpretation of the data obtained since the last report covering this field are summarized below. Since the work outlined is to a large extent still in progress, the discussion given is to be considered tentative and subject to further modification as additional data becomes available.
Room Temperature Vulcanizing silicone (RTV) is a high-temperature adhesive that has successfully been used as a gap-filler between Thermal Protection System (TPS) tiles for heatshields on numerous missions. It is also used to bond instrumentation plugs such as temperature and pressure sensors into the heatshields. While RTV has been traditionally assumed to be a non-porous and non-ablating material, numerous experiments have shown that RTV pyrolyzes and becomes highly porous as it is heated. Heating RTV has also shown swelling, or intumescence, which can pose unique problems that lead to roughness induced boundary-layer transition, surface oxide formation and contamination of heat shield sensors. Therefore, it is crucial to understand and model the intumescence phenomenon of RTV. As data for RTV material properties is limited, the first step in modeling RTV is to collect material properties such as pyrolysis mass-loss, microstructure change, virgin and char porosity, etc. which was performed in our initial study. Additionally, thermomechanical properties such as Young’s modulus and Poisson ratio are required for modeling the intumescence of RTV, which were taken from literature and the coefficient of thermal expansion was collected using in-situ heating and Micro Computed Tomography (µ-CT) in previous studies. Finally, numerous other properties such as pyrolysis gas properties, virgin and char thermal conductivity and specific heat were compiled from previous experiments and literature into a material database that can be used for simulations. In Porous Material Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM (PATO) [4], structural mechanics coupled with material response was used for simulating the intumescence of RTV as it is heated. However, since the permeability of the material is very low, the pyrolysis gas creates an internal pressure build-up as the material is being heated, significantly contributing to the deformation of the material. To correctly characterize this phenomenon, additional physics models were implemented into PATO's stress analysis solver, and results were compared with RTV dilatometry test data as a preliminary verification case. Future work will include experiments of RTV at the Plasmatron X facility and the in-situ heating cell with µ-CT, and improvement of simulation tools to more accurately model RTV intumescence.
Room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone is a high-temperature adhesive used as a gap-filler between heatshield tiles in numerous entry missions. Its propensity to intumesce, or swell upon exposure to heat, is a well-known effect that needs to be carefully quantified during design. At tile interfaces of charring ablators, intumescence, combined with differential recession, could cause the gap filler to protrude past the ablator outer mold line, forming a “fence”. Fencing can in turn cause transition to turbulence of the flow wetting the heat shield, leading to augmented surface heating. Recent experiments conducted at the Plasmatron X facility, the high enthalpy wind tunnel of the Center for Hypersonics and Entry Systems Studies, have shown prominent fencing of RTV gap fillers in PICA, under both nitrogen and air plasmas. Similar observations are well known in the arcjet literature. Further experiments under controlled environment, performed using in situ X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), have shown heating rate-dependent swelling and shrinkage of RTV during pyrolysis. To simulate RTV intumescence, a novel model was introduced in the Porous Materials Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM, PATO, to account for pore-pressure buildup within both closed- and open-pores. The governing equation for the thermo-poro-mechanical response were developed, assuming linear elasticity for the charring silicone. A new multi-pyrolysis model that tracks non-monotonic advancement of material properties with pyrolysis was proposed. This model addresses the limitations of state-of-the-art ablator models to capture the different stages of thermal degradation and coupled thermomechanics. Swelling of RTV was simulated using the new thermo-poro-mechanical model and compared against in situ micro-CT data. Results showed good agreement in intumescence height and temperature profiles at all heating rates, indicating that the key factor contributing to RTV swelling is the internal pressure build-up within closed- and open-pores. As RTV is cured into a soft (rubbery) compound with low-porosity and permeability, initial temperature increase and pyrolysis gas production cause a significant increase of internal pressure, causing a pronounced volume growth. As thermal degradation progresses, rigidization of the silicone occurs due to char hardening which counteract volume shrinkage after gas pressure relief. Overall, our model shows that accounting for changes in properties such porosity, permeability and key thermomechanical coefficients is crucial for capturing the RTV volume change during ablation and enable a predictive capability for heatshield tile interface response. A plan for future calibration of thermomechanical properties evolution during degradation is discussed, as a key next step to close the new model.