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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 1,441 records · Page 80
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Quantitative study of particle size distribution in an in-situ grown Al–TiB{sub 2} composite by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were applied to quantitatively characterize the average particle size and size distribution of free-standing TiB{sub 2} particles and TiB{sub 2} particles in an in-situ grown Al–TiB{sub 2} composite. The detailed evaluations were carried out by X-ray line profile analysis using the restricted moment method and multiple whole profile fitting procedure (MWP). Both numerical methods indicate that the formed TiB{sub 2} particles are well crystallized and free of crystal defects. The average particle size determined from different Bragg reflections by the restricted moment method ranges between 25 and 55 nm, where the smallest particle size is determined using the 110 reflection suggesting the highest lateral-growth velocity of (110) facets. The MWP method has shown that the in-situ grown TiB{sub 2} particles have a very low dislocation density (~ 10{sup 11} m{sup −} {sup 2}) and their size distribution can be described by a log-normal distribution. Good agreement was found between the results obtained from the restricted moment and MWP methods, which was further confirmed by TEM. - Highlights: • Accurate quantitative characterization of in-situ grown T{sub i}B{sub 2} particles has been achieved. • Particle size anisotropy was revealed indicating 110 facets being largest during T{sub i}B{sub 2} growth. • A wide size distribution was observed for T{sub i}B{sub 2} particles with a dominant size smaller than 100 nm.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Study of tempering behavior of lath martensite using in situ neutron diffraction

To elucidate changes in the density and substructure of dislocations during tempering of lath martensite steel, a convolutional multiple whole-profile fitting method was applied to in situ neutron diffraction profiles. With increasing tempering temperature, the dislocation density scarcely changed in the beginning and then decreased at temperatures above 473 K, whereas the dislocation arrangement drastically changed at temperatures above 673 K. The strength of the steel is speculated to depend on the density and arrangement of dislocations. - Highlights: • A convolutional multiple whole-profile fitting method was applied. • Dislocation density and dislocation arrangement changing with tempering were discussed. • Dislocation density scarcely changed in the beginning. • And then dislocation density decreased at temperatures above 473 K. • The dislocation arrangement drastically changed at temperatures above 673 K.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Studies on the kinetics of β → α phase transformation in 47Zr–45Ti–5Al–3V alloy under isothermal conditions by X-ray diffraction

The kinetics of the β → α phase transformation in the 47Zr–45Ti–5Al–3V (wt.%) alloy with different initial β grain sizes under isothermal conditions was investigated by X-ray diffraction. The results showed that the volume fraction of α phase first increased with increasing aging time, and then reached an equilibrium value. The equilibrium value of α phase decreased with increased aging temperature. At the same aging temperature and time, the volume fraction of α phase in the 47Zr–45Ti–5Al–3V alloy solution-treated at 850 °C was higher than at 1050 °C, and the size of α phase in the 47Zr–45Ti–5Al–3V alloy solution-treated at 850 °C was larger than that at 1050 °C. The kinetics of the β → α phase transformation was modeled under isothermal conditions in the theoretical frame of the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov (JMAK) theory. The Avrami index (n) increased with increasing aging temperature, while the reaction rate constant (k) decreased. - Highlights: • The kinetics of the β → α phase transformation in the ZrTiAlV alloy was investigated. • The volume fraction of α phase first increased and then reached an equilibrium value. • The kinetics of the β → α phase transformation was modeled by the JMAK theory. • The n increased with increasing aging temperature, while the k decreased.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Determination of grain boundary mobility during recrystallization by statistical evaluation of electron backscatter diffraction measurements

One of the key aspects influencing microstructural design pathways in metallic systems is grain boundary motion. The present work introduces a method by means of which direct measurement of grain boundary mobility vs. misorientation dependence is made possible. The technique utilizes datasets acquired by means of serial electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) measurements. The experimental EBSD measurements are collectively analyzed, whereby datasets were used to obtain grain boundary mobility and grain aspect ratio with respect to grain boundary misorientation. The proposed method is further validated using cellular automata (CA) simulations. Single crystal aluminium was cold rolled and scratched in order to nucleate random orientations. Subsequent annealing at 300 °C resulted in grains growing, in the direction normal to the scratch, into a single deformed orientation. Growth selection was observed, wherein the boundaries with misorientations close to Σ7 CSL orientation relationship (38° 〈111〉) migrated considerably faster. The obtained boundary mobility distribution exhibited a non-monotonic behavior with a maximum corresponding to misorientation of 38° ± 2° about 〈111〉 axes ± 4°, which was 10–100 times higher than the mobility values of random high angle boundaries. Correlation with the grain aspect ratio values indicated a strong growth anisotropy displayed by the fast growing grains. The observations have been discussed in terms of the influence of grain boundary character on grain boundary motion during recrystallization. - Highlights: • Statistical microstructure method to measure grain boundary mobility during recrystallization • Method implementation independent of material or crystal structure • Mobility of the Σ7 boundaries in 5N Al was calculated as 4.7 × 10{sup –8} m{sup 4}/J ⋅ s. • Pronounced growth selection in the recrystallizing nuclei in Al • Boundary mobility values during recrystallization 2–3 orders of magnitude larger vis-à-vis curvature driven motion.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Electron backscatter diffraction studies of focused ion beam induced phase transformation in cobalt

A focused ion beam microscope was used to induce cubic to hexagonal phase transformation in a cobalt alloy, of similar composition to that of the binder phase in a hardmetal, in a controlled manner at 0°, 45° and 80° ion incident angles. The cobalt had an average grain size of ~ 20 μm, allowing multiple orientations to be studied, exposed to a range of doses between 6 × 10{sup 7} and 2 × 10{sup 10} ions/μm{sup 2}. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was used to determine the original and induced phase orientations, and area fractions, before and after the ion beam exposure. On average, less phase transformation was observed at higher incident angles and after lower ion doses. However there was an orientation effect where grains with an orientation close to (111) planes were most susceptible to phase transformation, and (101) the least, where grains partially and fully transformed at varying ion doses. - Highlights: •Ion-induced phase change in FCC cobalt was observed at multiple incidence angles. •EBSD was used to study the relationship between grain orientation and transformation. •Custom software analysed ion dose and phase change with respect to grain orientation. •A predictive capability of ion-induced phase change in cobalt was enabled.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Non-destructive identification of unknown minor phases in polycrystalline bulk alloys using three-dimensional X-ray diffraction

Minor phases make considerable contributions to the mechanical and physical properties of metals and alloys. Unfortunately, it is difficult to identify unknown minor phases in a bulk polycrystalline material using conventional metallographic methods. Here, a non-destructive method based on three-dimensional X-ray diffraction (3DXRD) is developed to solve this problem. Simulation results demonstrate that this method is simultaneously able to identify minor phase grains and reveal their positions, orientations and sizes within bulk alloys. According to systematic simulations, the 3DXRD method is practicable for an extensive sample set, including polycrystalline alloys with hexagonal, orthorhombic and cubic minor phases. Experiments were also conducted to confirm the simulation results. The results for a bulk sample of aluminum alloy AA6061 show that the crystal grains of an unexpected γ-Fe (austenite) phase can be identified, three-dimensionally and nondestructively. Therefore, we conclude that the 3DXRD method is a powerful tool for the identification of unknown minor phases in bulk alloys belonging to a variety of crystal systems. This method also has the potential to be used for in situ observations of the effects of minor phases on the crystallographic behaviors of alloys. - Highlights: •A method based on 3DXRD is developed for identification of unknown minor phase. •Grain position, orientation and size, is simultaneously acquired. •A systematic simulation demonstrated the applicability of the proposed method. •Experimental results on a AA6061 sample confirmed the practicability of the method.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Phase quantification in low carbon Nb-Mo bearing steel by electron backscatter diffraction technique coupled with kernel average misorientation

Highlights: • The microstructures in a low carbon Nb-Mo bearing steel have been investigated. • EBSD combined with a (KAM) map has been used for quantification. • The effects of step size and kernel size on quantification are systemically discussed. • The result indicates that the kernel size should be close to the sub-structure of the granular bainite. - Abstract: An efficient and accurate method is developed for microstructural quantification of complex phases in a low carbon Nb-Mo bearing steel, of which optical micrographs show that it consists of granular bainite and a small amount of ferrite. Our previous work, proposing a method to measure the misorientation angles via electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to differentiate granular bainite and ferrite, has been reported. That method is accurate for phase quantification but laborious for the characterization process. To resolve this difficulty, in this study, EBSD combined with a kernel average misorientation (KAM) map is used for phase characterization. Comparisons are made among KAM maps with different kernel sizes (300 to 600 nm) and various step sizes (100 to 600 nm). It is found that a kernel size close to the sub-structure size of granular bainite (500 nm) is optimal for phase identification, while varied step sizes produce relatively invariant results. Therefore, KAM maps can be used for fast and reliable phase quantification, provided that an appropriate kernel size and a large step size are used.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Elevated temperature transmission Kikuchi diffraction in the SEM

Highlights: • The potential of high temperature in-situ TKD characterization is demonstrated. • High quality Kikuchi patterns can be obtained at high temperature. • The very local heat of the MEMS-based heating system minimises infrared radiation. • TKD is a suitable technique for in-situ studies of solid state dewetting. - Abstract: Transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) facilitates automated orientation mapping of thin films in scanning electron microscopes (SEM). In this study TKD is applied for the first time to perform in-situ annealing experiments on gold thin films deposited on a MEMS-based heating system. The very local heating associated with this system enables reliable TKD measurements at elevated temperatures without notable disturbance from infrared radiation. The dewetting of an Au thin film into Au nanoparticles upon heating is followed with orientation mapping in a temperature range between 20 °C and 900 °C. The local thickness variation associated with the dewetting is observed qualitatively by observing the intensity of the transmitted beam, which decreases as the film thickness increases locally. The results of this study reveal that TKD is a well suited technique to study thin-film stability and solid state dewetting. Moreover, the outcome of this methodological study provides a baseline for further in-situ crystallographic studies of electron transparent samples in the SEM.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Electron backscatter diffraction helps direct calculation of magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy in API 5L steels

Highlights: • Experimental evidence of the capability of EBSD to accurately estimate MAE of API 5L steels. • MAE can be calculated directly from raw EBSD data for reduced sample sizes. • Number of grains sufficient to estimate MAE from EBSD is in the order of several hundreds. • The use of equivalent orientations increases drastically the accuracy of MAE estimations. • EBSD helps explain origin of the observed correlation between MAE and Barkhausen noise. - Abstract: This paper shows evidence of the capability of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to accurately estimate the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy (MAE) of API 5L steels. The crystallographic texture of five circular steel samples was characterized by X-ray global texture and EBSD microtexture measurements. The average MAE of each one of these samples was estimated from the set of individual grain orientations obtained from orientation maps measured by EBSD. The angular dependence of EBSD-derived MAE was compared with predictions made from X-ray texture and Barkhausen noise (BHN) measurements. The average MAE determined from the EBSD data is in good agreement with the predictions made from X-ray and BHN measurements for all the studied samples. This agreement can be explained by the fact that the number of grains used to predict the average MAE from the EBSD results was statistically sufficient to reproduce the MAE predicted by the other two methods. The EBSD measurement strategy for the accurate MAE estimation was established in terms of parameters such as the number of individual grain orientations to be measured, the sample's texture acuity and grain size, the use of equivalent orientations given by the statistical orthorhombic symmetry of the studied samples, and different measurement planes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Non-destructive compositional and microstructural characterization of Sardinian Bronze Age swords through Neutron Diffraction

Highlights: • Determination of the manufacturing technique of some “Sa Idda” swords • New data on their provenience • Determination of: alloy composition, dendritic segregation, mineralization phase - Abstract: The Monte Sa Idda type swords belong to a well characterized typological class, whose origin has long been debated and seems to coincide with the Iberian Peninsula. The name comes from the site of the first discovery of a hoard containing this type of swords, among other bronze artefacts, namely Monte Sa Idda, Decimoputzu-Cagliari, Italy. The swords were produced through fusion inside a casting mould. Such kind of casting mould has not been found in Sardinia, and this may suggests that finished objects were either imported or made using clay or sand casting mould. Moreover, the discovery of these types of sword, in hoards and in votive deposits, raises the problem of their functional use. It is unknown if the blades were intended to be used as weapons, and therefore subjected to cold working necessary for thinning and sharpening of the blade, or as ceremonial objects. In order to answer to these questions, a neutron diffraction experiment was performed on three swords belonging to the Monte Sa Idda type. The results obtained are presented and discussed in the paper.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Quantifying the inter- and intra-granular stresses and their effects on deformation behaviors for the polycrystalline hexagonal beryllium by neutron diffraction

Highlights: • The inter- and intra-granular stresses are quantified for the polycrystalline hexagonal metal beryllium. • Composite behavior of the internal stresses is revealed in the polycrystalline beryllium. • Those internal stresses show the obvious grain-orientation dependence. • Those stresses can be significantly tuned by the temperature and strain rate effects. • The dislocation slip and twinning are quantified together with the inter- and intra-granular stored energies. - Abstract: The internal stresses developing at different length scales play the important role in materials performance. This importance has been well recognized for the cubic metals, however, not for the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) ones. The present work investigates the intergranular and intragranular stresses in the polycrystalline hexagonal beryllium by neutron diffraction. The correlation between those internal stresses and the deformation mechanism is revealed, and the strain rate and temperature effects on those stresses are presented. A composite behavior of intergranular and intragranular stresses is observed, which can be significantly tuned by the temperature and strain rate effects. The intergranular stress and stored energy are large for the soft-oriented grains (SOGs), while the intragranular stress and stored energy are large for the hard-oriented ones (HOGs). Both of those stresses are significantly high for the dynamic strain rate while they are relatively low for the elevated temperature. The large internal stresses in the dynamically compressed specimen should be attributed to the large number of twins and high density of dislocations. Different HOGs-SOGs configurations are proposed on the light of those observations, which might facilitate the properties controlling and extend the application scope for the hcp metal beryllium.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Grain-resolved temperature-dependent anisotropy in hexagonal Ti-7Al revealed by synchrotron X-ray diffraction

Hexagonal metals have anisotropic coefficients of thermal expansion causing grain-level internal stresses during heating. High energy x-ray diffraction microscopy, a non-destructive, in situ, micromechanical and microstructural characterization technique, has been used to determine the anisotropic coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) for Ti-7Al. Two samples of polycrystalline α-phase Ti-7Al were continuously heated from room temperature to 850 °C while far-field HEDM scans were collected. The results showed a change in the ratio of the CTEs in the ‘a’ and ‘c’ directions which explains discrepancies found in the literature. The CTE additionally appears to be affected by the dissolution of α 2 precipitates. Analysis of the grain-resolved micromechanical data also shows reconfiguration of the grain scale stresses likely due to anisotropic expansion driving crystallographic slip.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Creep properties of advanced austenitic steel 709 determined through short experiments under in-situ neutron diffraction followed by TEM characterization

Here in this study, the creep mechanisms at play in Alloy 709 (Fe-20Cr-25Ni) are investigated by performing short-term creep-type tests under in-situ neutron diffraction experiments. Short tests are performed in the temperature range of 500 to 900 °C under constant load with a load ranging from 50 to 150 MPa. The creep exponent and activation energy are determined using the Bird-Mukherjee-Dorn relation and compared to that obtained from conventional longer creep tests from the literature. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM) of the post-creep microstructure indicates that interaction of dislocations with precipitates are a dominant mechanism at play. Furthermore, local elemental mapping indicated chemical segregation at grain boundaries and formation of complex precipitates.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Local lattice distortion in NiCoCr, FeCoNiCr and FeCoNiCrMn concentrated alloys investigated by synchrotron X-ray diffraction

Severe lattice distortion is presumptively considered as a core effect of high-entropy alloys, but quantitative measurements are still missing. Here, we demonstrate that the lattice distortion in high-entropy alloys can be quantitatively analyzed based on pair distribution function obtained from synchrotron X-ray diffraction. By applying this method to equiatomic NiCoCr, FeCoNiCr and FeCoNiCrMn concentrated alloys, we found that the local lattice distortion in the NiCoCr (0.23%) and FeCoNiCrMn (0.24%) alloys are comparable while negligible in the FeCoNiCr alloy (0.04%). Furthermore, the origin of local lattice distortion in the NiCoCr and FeCoNiCrMn concentrated alloys was discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Coherent diffraction study of calcite crystallization during the hydration of tricalcium silicate

The aim of this work is using Bragg coherent X-ray diffraction imaging (BCDI) to study the calcite crystallization during carbonation of hydrated tricalcium silicate (C 3 S). Portland cement is a very complex synthesized product whose 50–70% mass is composed of C 3 S, which is the most important phase to produce calcium silicate hydrates and calcium hydroxide. Hence, its hydration contributes greatly to the hydration of cement and later to the carbonation of cement products when it reacts with CO 2 , often from the air, to form calcium carbonates. BCDI has emerged in the last decade as a promising high-resolution lens-less imaging approach for characterization of various samples. It has made significant progress with the development of X-ray sources and phase-retrieval algorithms. BCDI allows for imaging the whole three-dimensional structure of micro- and sub-micro- crystalline materials and can show the strain distribution at the nanometer spatial resolution. Finally, results show that calcite crystallization follows a through-solution reaction and the growth model of the calcite crystal can be explained by using “phase domain” theory. In conclusion, during carbonation, calcite crystals grow by increasing the number of phase domains within them while the domain size remains at about 200–300 nm.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Helium-implantation-induced lattice strains and defects in tungsten probed by X-ray micro-diffraction

Tungsten is the main candidate material for plasma-facing armour components in future fusion reactors. Bombardment with energetic fusion neutrons causes collision cascade damage and defect formation. Interaction of defects with helium, produced by transmutation and injected from the plasma, modifies defect retention and behaviour. Here we investigate the residual lattice strains caused by different doses of helium-ion-implantation into tungsten and tungsten-rhenium alloys. Energy and depth-resolved synchrotron X-ray micro-diffraction uniquely permits the measurement of lattice strain with sub-micron 3D spatial resolution and ~10 -4 strain sensitivity. Increase of helium dose from 300 appm to 3000 appm increases volumetric strain by only ~2.4 times, indicating that defect retention per injected helium is ~3 times higher at low helium doses. This suggests defect retention is not a simple function of implanted helium dose, but strongly depends on material composition and presence of impurities. Conversely, analysis of W-1 wt% Re alloy samples and of different crystal orientations shows that both the presence of rhenium, and crystal orientation, have a comparatively small effect on defect retention. These insights are key for the design of armour components in future reactors where it will be essential to account for irradiation-induced dimensional change when predicting component lifetime and performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Obtaining aluminas from the thermal decomposition of their different precursors: An {sup 27}Al MAS NMR and X-ray powder diffraction studies

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • We synthesized three precursors of alumina from different methods. • The calcination of the precursors generated several alumina polymorphs. • XRD and NMR were used for structural investigation of the polymorphs. • The synthesis route determines the structural and textural properties of the solids. - Abstract: A commercial sample of Boehmite was used as precursor of alumina polymorphs. For comparison, three other precursors were synthesized from different methods. Particularly, the use of excess of urea promoted a very crystalline form of basic aluminum carbonate. The characteristics of the four precursors were investigated by thermal, vibrational and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis. Additionally, the nuclear magnetic resonance, with magic angle spinning ({sup 27}Al MAS NMR), was used to verify the coordination of aluminum cations. Each precursor was calcined at various temperatures generating alumina polymorphs, which were structurally analyzed by XRD and {sup 27}Al MAS NMR. Due to interest in catalysis supports, special attention was given to the γ-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} phase, which in addition to structural investigation was subjected to textural analysis. The results showed that, from different synthesis procedures and common route of calcination, one can obtain materials with the same composition but with different structural and textural properties, which in turn can significantly influence the performance of a supported catalyst.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

In situ high-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction study of the structural stability in NdVO{sub 4} and LaVO{sub 4}

Highlights: • NdVO{sub 4} and LaVO{sub 4} were studied under high pressure using synchrotron powder XRD. • Both compounds exhibit first-order phase transitions. • In NdVO{sub 4} the transition involves a symmetry breaking and in LaVO{sub 4} is isomorphic. • The crystal structures of the high-pressure phases are assigned. • Axial and bulk compressibilities are determined. - Abstract: Room-temperature angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction measurements on zircon-type NdVO{sub 4} and monazite-type LaVO{sub 4} were performed in a diamond-anvil cell up to 12 GPa. In NdVO{sub 4}, we found evidence for a non-reversible pressure-induced structural phase transition from zircon to a monazite-type structure at 6.5 GPa. Monazite-type LaVO{sub 4} also exhibits a phase transition but at 8.6 GPa. In this case the transition is reversible and isomorphic. In both compounds the pressure induced transitions involve a large volume collapse. Finally, the equations of state and axial compressibilities for the low-pressure phases are also determined.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗