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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

A step forward from high-entropy ceramics to compositionally complex ceramics: a new perspective

High-entropy ceramics (HECs) have quickly gained attention since 2015. To date, nearly all work has focused on five-component, equimolar compositions. This perspective article briefly reviews different families of HECs and selected properties. Following a couple of our most recent studies, we propose a step forward to expand HECs to compositionally-complex ceramics (CCCs) to include medium-entropy and/or non-equimolar compositions. Here, using defective fluorite and ordered pyrochlore oxides as two primary examples, we further consider the complexities of aliovalent cations and anion vacancies as well as ordered structures with two cation sublattices. Better thermally-insulating yet stiff CCCs have been found in non-equimolar compositions with optimal amounts of oxygen vacancies and in ordered pyrochlores with large size disorder; it is demonstrated that medium-entropy ceramics (MECs) can prevail over their high-entropy counterparts. The diversifying classes of CCCs provide even more possibilities than HECs to tailor the composition, defects, disorder/order, and consequently various properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Data-driven glass/ceramic science research: Insights from the glass and ceramic and data science/informatics communities

Data-driven science and technology have helped achieve meaningful results in areas such as materials/drug discovery and health care, but efforts to apply high-end data science algorithms to the areas of glass and ceramics are still limited. Many glass and ceramic researchers are interested in enhancing their work by using more data and data analytics to efficiently develop better functional materials. Simultaneously, the data science community is looking for a way to access materials data resources to test and validate their advanced computational learning algorithms. To bring together the glass/ceramic and data science communities to address this issue, The American Ceramic Society (ACerS) convened a Glass/Ceramics Data Science Workshop on February 6, 2018, at Nexight Group offices in Silver Spring, Maryland. The workshop, sponsored by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMTech) program, brought together a select group of 20 key leaders in the data science, informatics, and glass/ceramics communities to identify the greatest opportunities and mechanisms for facilitating increased collaboration and coordination between these communities. This article summarizes workshop discussions about the current challenges that limit interactions and collaboration between the glass/ceramic and data science communities, opportunities for a coordinated approach that leverages existing knowledge in both communities, and a clear path toward the enhanced use of data science technologies for functional glass and ceramic research and development.

data science, ceramics, informatics↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of hydrocarbon adsorption on the wettability of rare earth oxide ceramics

Vapor condensation is routinely used as an effective means of transferring heat, with dropwise condensation exhibiting a 5 − 7x heat transfer improvement compared to filmwise condensation. However, state-of-the-art techniques to promote dropwise condensation rely on functional hydrophobic coatings, which are often not robust and therefore undesirable for industrial implementation. Natural surface contamination due to hydrocarbon adsorption, particularly on noble metals, has been explored as an alternative approach to realize stable dropwise condensing surfaces. While noble metals are prohibitively expensive, the recent discovery of robust rare earth oxide (REO) hydrophobicity has generated interest for dropwise condensation applications due to material costs approaching 1% of gold; however, the underlying mechanism of REO hydrophobicity remains under debate. In this work, we show through careful experiments and modeling that REO hydrophobicity occurs due to the same hydrocarbon adsorption mechanism seen previously on noble metals. To investigate adsorption dynamics, we studied holmia and ceria REOs, along with control samples of gold and silica, via X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and dynamic time-resolved contact angle measurements. The contact angle and surface carbon percent started at ≈0 on in-situ argon-plasma-cleaned samples and increased asymptotically over time after exposure to laboratory air, with the rare earth oxides displaying hydrophobic (>90°) advancing contact angle behavior at long times (>4 days). The results indicate that REOs are in fact hydrophilic when clean and become hydrophobic due to hydrocarbon adsorption. Furthermore, this study provides insight into how REOs can be used to promote stable dropwise condensation, which is important for the development of enhanced phase change surfaces.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Method of forming a ceramic matrix composite and a ceramic matrix component

A method of forming a ceramic matrix composite component includes providing a formed ceramic member having a cavity, filling at least a portion of the cavity with a ceramic foam. The ceramic foam is deposited on a barrier layer covering at least one internal passage of the cavity. The method includes processing the formed ceramic member and ceramic foam to obtain a ceramic matrix composite component. Also provided is a method of forming a ceramic matrix composite blade and a ceramic matrix composite component.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Metal-to-Ceramic Joining Methods to Support Development of Advanced Ceramic-Based CSP Components

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Colorado School of Mines (CSM) collaborated to design, develop, and test a material concept at bench scale which will be used to achieve a ceramic-to-metal (C2M) joint between a selected metal HTF loop material and a selected ceramic material used by the Gen3 CSP technology pathway. The final joint assembly will need to possess sufficient mechanical properties to withstand static high-temperature (650 degrees-700 degrees C) and high-pressure (20 MPa) and thermal cycling (between 650 degrees C and 100 degrees C) conditions. The material concept consists of three key components: (1) a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) that serves as a compliant transition material aiming to mitigate the stresses due to the mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) from a direct ceramic-to-metal joint, (2) a metal-end joint utilizing a multi-principal element alloy (MPEA) with changing percentage of particle loading to bond the candidate metal to the CMC, and (3) a ceramic-end joint utilizing a glass ceramic to bond the candidate ceramic to the CMC.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Thermal Processing Conditions for the Synthesis of Near Theoretical Density Li 5 La 3 Ta 2 O 12 Ceramics for Ceramic Dual-Mode Detectors

A family of Li-containing garnet compounds, extensively investigated for Li-ion solid electrolyte applications, show great potential to be developed into transparent ceramic dual-mode scintillators. In particular, Li 5 La 3 Ta 2 O 12 (LLTaO) shows promise as an efficient dual-mode scintillator due to its high Li content, high density, non-hygroscopicity, and high effective-Z. Often the synthesis of LLTaO ceramics involves solid state processing techniques starting with oxide and carbonate powders, calcining, sintering for the removal of residual porosity, and post-processing. This study focuses on two objectives: (1) establishing thermal processing boundary conditions for a flexible alkoxide-based sol-gel method for synthesizing fine-grained powders; and (2), consolidating powders via hot-pressing to form high-density ceramics. In this study, near single-phase ceramics were achieved by hot-pressing sol-gel powders with varying amounts of excess Li. Rietveld refinements were used to analyze X-ray diffraction data and provide a quantitative evaluation of the phases present in the hot pressed ceramics. Some of the diffraction data showed large low angle peak asymmetry, suggesting the presence of two cubic Li 5 La 3 Ta 2 O 12 garnet phases with different lattice parameters. Depending on the synthesis and processing conditions, the refinement revealed ~ 90 wt% concentration of a phase with a ≈ 12.8 Å and ~ 10 wt% concentration of a phase with a ≈ 12.9 Å, indicating a remaining excess of Li in the hot pressed ceramics in the large lattice parameter phase. These synthesis experiments allowed for the determination of a baseline for Li loss during hot-pressing. X-ray excited radioluminescence and photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra were obtained from the hot pressed ceramics. In conclusion, the measured emission spectra featured broad tantalate emission and line emissions likely from a rare-earth impurity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Ceramic Coatings for Clad (The C 3 Project): Advanced Accident-Tolerant Ceramic Coatings for Zr-Alloy Cladding

The goal of this NEUP-IRP project is to develop a fuel concept based on an advanced ceramic coating for Zr-alloy cladding. The coated cladding must exhibit demonstrably improved performance compared to conventional Zr-alloy clad in the following respects: During normal service, the ceramic coating should decrease cladding oxidation and hydrogen pickup (the latter leads to hydriding and embrittlement). During a reactor transient (e.g., a loss of coolant accident), the ceramic coating must minimize or at least significantly delay oxidation of the Zr-alloy cladding, thus reducing the amount of hydrogen generated and the oxygen ingress into the cladding. The specific objectives of this project are as follows: To produce durable ceramic coatings on Zr-alloy clad using two possible routes: (i) MAX phase ceramic coatings or similar nitride or carbide coatings; and (ii) graded interface architecture (multilayer) ceramic coatings, using, for instance, an oxide such as yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as the outer protective layer. To characterize the structural and physical properties of the coated clad samples produced in 1. above, especially the corrosion properties under simulated normal and transient reactor operating conditions. To perform computational analyses to assess the effects of such coatings on fuel performance and reactor neutronics, and to perform fuel cycle analyses to assess the economic viability of modifying conventional Zr-alloy cladding with ceramic coatings. This project meets a number of the goals outlined in the NEUP-IRP call for proposals, including: Improve the fuel/cladding system through innovative designs (e.g. coatings/liners for zirconium-based cladding) Reduce or eliminate hydrogen generation Increase resistance to bulk steam oxidation Achievement of our goals and objectives, as defined above, will lead to safer light-water reactor (LWR) nuclear fuel assemblies, due to improved cladding properties and built-in accident resistance, as well as the possibilities for enhanced fuel/clad system performance and longevity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Cold crucible induction melter studies for making glass ceramic waste forms: A feasibility assessment

Glass ceramics are being developed to immobilize fission products, separated from used nuclear fuel by aqueous reprocessing, into a stable waste form suitable for disposal in a geological repository. This work documents the glass ceramic formulation at bench scale and for a scaled melter test performed in a pilot-scale (approximately 1/4 scale) cold crucible induction melter (CCIM). Melt viscosity, electrical conductivity, and crystallization behavior upon cooling were measured on a small set of compositions to select a formulation for melter testing. Property measurements also identified a temperature range for melter operation and cooling profiles necessary to crystallize the targeted phases in the waste form. Bench scale and melter run results successfully demonstrate the processability of the glass ceramic using the CCIM melter technology.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2014

Radiation stability test on multiphase glass ceramic and crystalline ceramic waste forms

A radiation stability study was performed on glass ceramic and crystalline ceramic waste forms. These materials are candidate host materials for immobilizing alkali/alkaline earth (Cs/Sr-CS) + lanthanide (LN) + transition metal (TM) fission product waste streams from nuclear fuel reprocessing. In this study, glass ceramics were fabricated using a borosilicate glass as a matrix in which to incorporate CS/LN/TM combined waste streams. The major phases in these multiphase materials are powellite, oxyaptite, pollucite, celsian, and durable residual glass phases. Al2O3 and TiO2 were combined with these waste components to produce multiphase crystalline ceramics containing hollandite-type phases, perovskites, pyrochlores and other minor metal titanate phases. For the radiation stability test, selected glass ceramic and crystalline ceramic samples were exposed to different irradiation environments including low fluxes of high-energy (~1–5 MeV) protons and alpha particles generated by an ion accelerator, high fluxes of low-energy (hundreds of keV) krypton particles generated by an ion implanter, and in-situ electron irradiations in a transmission electron microscope. These irradiation experiments were performed to simulate self-radiation effects in a waste form. Ion irradiation-induced microstructural modifications were examined using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Our preliminary results reveal different radiation tolerance in different crystalline phases under various radiation damage environments. However, their stability may be rate dependent which may limit the waste loading that can be achieved.

Crystalline ceramic↗
DOE OSTI2022

Tritium Transport Modeling at the Pore Scale in Ceramic Breeder Materials Using TMAP8

Fusion reactors depend on the blanket material to breed and release tritium at the same rate or faster than it is consumed by the fusion reaction. Cellular ceramic breeders (CCBs) are dense materials that can maintain a high tritium breeding ratio while promoting tritium release because of highly connected pores. Assessing the tritium breeding capabilities of these materials requires a combination of extensive experimental and modeling efforts. In this work, we develop and calibrate a multiphysics model of tritium transport. This novel model accounts for ceramic and pore diffusion, trapping and detrapping, and several surface reactions at the pore surface. We perform a sensitivity analysis and calibrate the model by comparing its predictions against experimental measurements of deuterium absorption. The calibrated model is then used to model tritium absorption in samples with different pore microstructures to investigate the effect of pore interconnectivity on tritium absorption. The model is part of the development of the multiscale, multiphysics framework for tritium transport [i.e., the Tritium Migration Analysis Program (TMAP8)], which is itself built on top of the finite-element multiphysics framework multiphysics object-oriented simulation environment (MOOSE). This study demonstrates some of TMAP8’s capabilities and is the first step toward assessing the tritium breeding capabilities of ceramic breeder material designs.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗