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At least 19 records

Thermal Stability and Mechanical Properties of Cold-Sprayed Nickel-Yttria Coating

The microstructural evolution under the extreme environments imposed during cold spray deposition of cermet coatings and the microstructural recovery during post-processing annealing treatments is rather complex and not well understood. Here, Ni-Yttria cermet coatings on an SS304 substrate were produced using cold spray technique, resulting in a bimodal grain structure. The grain growth, phase stability, hardness, and wear properties are observed in as-deposited and annealed (at 400 °C) Ni-Yttria and pure Ni coatings. A multimodal microstructural characterization using electron microscopy, and atom probe tomography shows the structural and compositional stability of yttria particles and Ni grains. A fragmentation of Y-rich particles and dispersion in Ni was observed, however, no forced mixing/dissolution of Y in Ni is detected. Nano-yttria dispersed within the Ni grains slowed the grain growth during annealing. After annealing, Yttria reinforced coating was 1.5 times harder and showed better thermal and mechanical stability compared to the Ni coating.

Gwalani, Bharat↗

Survey of the mechanical and physical behaviors of yttria-stabilized zirconia from multiple dental laboratories

Background: When selecting zirconia for a dental restoration, laboratory prescriptions often refer to high strength and high translucency. In this survey, zirconia specimens were ordered from various dental laboratories for posterior (high strength) and anterior (high translucency) clinical indications. The specimens were then tested and evaluated for their mechanical and physical behaviors. Methods: In a double-blinded manner, 9 laboratories provided 32 specimens from 17 different zirconia blanks, which were tested in the American Dental Association laboratory. Flexural strength tests were performed on standard specimens, and fracture surfaces were examined using both optical and scanning electron microscopy. Chemical composition, Vickers hardness, and absolute transmittance measurements were also performed. Results: A large scatter in the strength values was observed. The zirconia intended for posterior applications displayed strengths (SD) from 195 through 783 MPa (490 [183] MPa), which overlapped greatly with the strengths (SD) of the zirconia intended for anterior applications, 320 through 768 MPa (581 [136] MPa). However, when the strength values were recalculated on the basis of yttria content, the strengths (SD) were 584 (158) MPa for 3 mol% yttria and 373 (104) MPa for 5 mol% yttria. Conclusions: When a prescription was given to dental laboratories to request zirconia on the basis of clinical requirements, there was a large scatter and no consistency in the resulting strength values partly because of mixed use of 3 mol% and 5 mol% yttria zirconia. The 3 mol% materials had much higher strength when the strength values were grouped according to yttria content. Strength was also highly dependent on processing and finishing at the dental laboratories.

3 mol% yttria-tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (3Y-↗

Stresses within rare-earth doped yttria-stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings from in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction at high temperatures

There is a growing interest for smart coatings that can be integrated into turbine engines for in-situ temperature measurements or health monitoring. The addition of rare-earth dopants into standard thermal barrier ceramic top coat materials is used to obtain luminescent coatings that enable spectral measurements, for real-time temperature or health monitoring. The thermomechanical performance and durability of such novel coating compositions in extreme environments still remains to be evaluated. Consequently, the ability to manufacture sensor coatings which present suitable thermal properties needs to be demonstrated. For this study, highly luminescent erbium and europium doped yttria-stabilized zirconia and state-of-the-art yttria-stabilized zirconia coatings manufactured by air plasma spray were characterized to determine the effects of the embedded rareearth dopants on coating internal strain and stress and to quantify and compare their high temperature response using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. In-situ depth-resolved strain measurements were performed at 15 μm intervals along the depth of the coatings to evaluate materials response at key locations, specifically at layer interfaces. In-plane stress was calculated for the coatings and a finite element model was implemented to supplement the results and enable further predictions. The results show that the sensor coatings that were manufactured in this work revealed only minor variations in the strain response of sensor coatings under a typical thermal cycle and especially at temperatures closer to that of gas turbine operating conditions, compared to state-of-the-art coatings. This work demonstrates the viability of manufacturing rare-earth doped yttria-stabilized zirconia coatings that provide beneficial spectroscopic monitoring capabilities while having minimal impact on the thermomechanical response of the thermal barrier coatings.

Air plasma spray↗

A Model of Grain Boundary Complexion Transitions and Grain Growth in Yttria-Doped Alumina

In this work, we present a physically-parameterized microstructure evolution model for the Yttria-doped alumina system. Yttria-doped alumina is a well-known ceramic system which undergoes first-order phase-like transitions at grain boundaries, which can radically alter interface properties. The change in interfacial properties in turn can radically change microstructure outcomes during processing, including the induction of abnormal grain growth modes. In this work, we develop a simulation that evolves alumina microstructure as a function of yttria concentration and temperature. In the window studied, we achieve strong agreement with reviewed experimental results in identifying the windows for large grains, small grains, abnormal grain growth, and complexion transition kinetics. We then apply the model to study and demonstrate how the possible inclusion of second-phase particles or uneven solute distribution profiles will impact microstructure evolution. It is found that particles do not significantly affect abnormal grain growth in the window studied (but do lead to reduced grain size through pinning effects). It is found that even modest amounts of solute inhomogeneity will result in substantial changes in microstructure outcomes, frequently leading to clusters of abnormal grains. This model largely corroborates the expectations and hypotheses made from recent experimental studies in oxide-doped alumina systems. Further, it is found that there exists a peak transition fraction for the system at which abnormal grain size tends to be maximized.

Grain Growth, Grain Boundary Complexion, abnormal ↗

Effect of Deposition Conditions on Phase Content and Mechanical Properties of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Thin Films Deposited by Sol-Gel/Dip-Coating

The effect of yttria concentration (0-33.4 mol%), extraction rates (0.17, 0.33, 0.50, and 0.67 mm s -1 ), and the number of layers (up to four) on the phase content, surface defects, thickness, hardness, adhesion strength, and wear rate of yttria-stabilized zirconia coatings produced by sol-gel/dip-coating were studied for its use on thermolabile substrates. At 700°C, a metastable tetragonal phase ($\mathcal{t''}$) was obtained even with 33.4 mol% yttria when heat treated for 24 hours; however, a fully cubic structure was attained by extending the heat treatment up to 48 hours as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, it was necessary to use withdrawal speeds of at least 0.67 mm s -1 to produce defect-free coatings. Although the coatings were produced at low temperature, they showed 41% lower wear rate than steel and an adhesion strength of 30 MPa. Our work stresses the importance of the heat treatment history on the stabilization of the cubic phase in sol-gel YSZ coatings.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A molecular dynamics survey study of impact-induced amorphization in yttria nanoparticles

The impact of a single yttria (Y 2 O 3 ) nanoparticle onto a yttria substrate was studied as a function of particle velocity (300–1200 m/s) and diameter (5–12 nm) for three particle orientations and two substrate orientations using molecular dynamics simulations. Impacts resulted in minimal dislocation motion but extensive disordering of the crystal lattice without approaching the melting temperature. The resulting amorphous microstructure was both precisely coincident with plastic strain and retained until the end of the simulation, suggesting a deformation mechanism of amorphization-facilitated viscous flow. Further analysis revealed that the degree of amorphization depended primarily on the impact velocity and secondarily on the orientations of the particle and substrate, with significant second-order effects from variable interactions.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Applying molecular dynamics simulations to the study of micro cold spray of yttria

Micro cold spray (MCS) is a novel manufacturing process with proven success depositing dense, thick films of technical ceramics without the need for elevated processing temperatures or chemical precursors. The process transforms a loose sub-micrometer powder into an adherent film with mechanical properties approaching that of the bulk material through a phenomenon known as room temperature impact consolidation. While this phenomenon has been demonstrated for a wide variety of ceramic materials and film substrates, yttria stands out as a material that is both well-characterized in experiments and of significant interest for industrial applications due to its excellent refractory properties. This dissertation seeks to investigate the fundamental mechanisms that enable room temperature impact consolidation by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of yttria particle impacts and characterizing the deformation behavior of the system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Thermal energy evolution and mechanical deformation of monocrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia nanoparticles in aerosol deposition processes

Aerosol deposition (AD) is a coating process wherein aerosol particles are impacted on a target substrate. There are fundamental differences between the AD process (cold impact), where particle translational kinetic energy is high and thermal energy is low, and thermal spray deposition (thermal impact), where translational energy is lower but thermal energy is high. To better compare cold and thermal impact effects on particles, we carried out molecular dynamics simulations using yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) nanoparticles on YSZ substrates as a model system. We performed cold impact simulations at 300 K with variable impact velocity in the 500 ms –1 –1500 ms –1 range to understand how increasing translational kinetic energy affects thermal energy and mechanical evolution. We then performed thermal impact simulations at variable temperature and impact velocity, but where the total kinetic energy of the nanoparticle was equivalent to that of a 300 K, 1000 impact. In cold impact, the temperature increases in YSZ nanoparticles at a rate of 10 13 – 10 14 K s –1 , and large temperature gradients result. Conversely, in thermal impact, nanoparticle temperatures remain uniform. Furthermore, the temperature gradients during cold impact coincide with plastic deformation in nanoparticles, while with larger thermal energies, plastic deformation is reduced.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Multi-energy ion irradiation effects and distinctive features of color center generation in yttria-stabilized zirconia driven by structural discrepancy

Regarding a requirement for inert matrix fuel (IMF) to burn minor actinides and plutonium and high-level waste immobilization, Yttria-stabilized zirconia (ZrO 2 -6.5 wt% Y 2 O 3 ) (YSZ) crystals with cubic phase are selected to comprehensively evaluate the irradiation resistance by irradiation-induced structural discrepancies across multiple energy conditions. Electronic excitation and nuclear collisions reveal distinct color centers, influenced by varying component ratios that reflect their formation mechanisms. Key factors driving ultra-fast structural transitions include collision cascades, pressure waves, and energy dissipation from electronic excitation. In this work, we find that in the electronic energy loss (E ele )-dominant region, internal latent tracks with unique surface nanostructures emerge, distinct from the defect clusters seen in the nuclear energy loss (E nuc )-dominant region, while the threshold for latent track formation and melting are identified. In conclusion, structural discrepancies driven by different energy-loss mechanisms promote the generation of singly ionized and nearest-neighbor doubly ionized oxygen vacancies, which respectively dominate the formation of F⁺ and T-centers, resulting in bandgap narrowing (4.80 eV → 4.73 eV), and furthermore triggering visible light emission (2.17 eV → 2.20 eV) in irradiated YSZ crystals, thus, enabling the design of novel irradiation-tailored material functionalities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Evolution of the structure and chemical composition of the interface between multi-component silicate glasses and yttria-stabilized zirconia after 40,000 h exposure in air at 800 °C

The chemical and structural stability of two commercial multicomponent silicate glasses (SCN and G6) in contact with yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was investigated after exposure times of up to 40,000 h in air at 800 °C. With exposure time, interfacial layers develop at the SCN-YSZ and G6-YSZ interfaces, which were characterized in detail using both quantitative chemical analysis and atomic-resolution imaging. At the SCN-YSZ interface, a Ca-Ba-Si-O reaction phase was found to grow by diffusion control. In G6-YSZ, Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy revealed a disorganized interfacial reaction later between G6 and YSZ, and the occurrence of cubic to tetragonal to monoclinic phase transformations in YSZ. Finally, this microstructural evolution is discussed in terms of devitrification resistance of glass and diffusion processes at interfaces.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Spray Pyrolysis-Aerosol Deposition for the Production of Thick Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Coatings

Aerosol deposition (AD) is a coating technique wherein particles are impacted onto a target substrate at reduced pressures, and supersonic particle impact velocities lead to coating consolidation. The limiting step in AD application is often not supersonic deposition operation, but aerosolization of powder particles with the proper size distribution; the translational impact velocity is strongly size-dependent. It is demonstrated that by directly synthesizing particles in the gas phase, size-controlled ceramic particles can be injected into AD systems. This in situ formation step obviates the need for particle aerosolization. Ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) is applied to produce yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), and USP is directly coupled with AD to produce consolidated, thick, YSZ coatings on metal substrates. USP-AD yields YSZ coatings on stainless steel and aluminum substrates with porosities <0.20, which grow to thicknesses beyond 100 μm. Aerodynamic particle spectrometry and electron microscopy reveal that the depositing particles are 200 nm–1.2 μm in diameter, though each particle is composed of nanocrystalline YSZ. Supporting computational fluid dynamics calculations demonstrate that the YSZ particle impact speeds are above 300 m s -1 . Thermal conductivity measurements demonstrate that USP-AD coatings have conductivities consistent with those produced from high-temperature processes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A phase-field model for non-isothermal phase transformation and plasticity in polycrystalline yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia

Here we propose an elastoplastic phase-field (PF) model to investigate the mechanics of tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformation (TMPT) and elastoplastic deformation of polycrystalline yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia (YSTZ). A Landau polynomial with non-vanishing chemical energy at the equilibrium temperature is introduced to account for the actual formation energies of the phases. The effects of different grain orientations, latent heat, and temperature on TMPT and deformation mechanisms are considered. The suppressive transformation effects of the grain boundaries (GBs) is modeled using an inhomogeneous kinetic coefficient in the bulk and GBs. The simulation results for single crystals demonstrate the capability of the model to reproduce the orientation-dependent compressive deformation of YSTZ similar to atomistic simulations and micropillar experiments. The single crystal with [100] crystallographic orientation along the loading direction (SC[100]) displays both TMPT and plasticity, SC[101] experiences only phase transformation, while SC[001] undergoes only plastic yielding. The TMPT induced by compressive loading exhibits shape memory effect (SME) below the equilibrium transformation temperature and pseudoelasticity above it, while the critical transformation stress increases with increasing loading temperature. The irrecoverable plastic strain is found to trap a part of the monoclinic phase, which prevents a complete reverse transformation. The polycrystalline cases also display SME and PE at low and high temperatures, respectively. Due to the orientation differences between grains and the stress concentrations at geometric nonlinearities, plastic deformation occurs in polycrystalline YSTZ for an applied load less than the yield stress. The results suggest a possible limitation of plasticity and an improvement of the shape recovery of YSTZ if one can control the orientation of the grains and/or increase the density of stacking faults at the GBs during material processing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Chemical and structural origin of hole states in yttria-stabilized zirconia

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) has important electrochemical applications as a fast oxygen ion conductor and is the state-of-the-art electrolyte material for solid oxide fuel/electrolyzer cells. While much attention has been paid to the fast oxygen ion conduction, the electronic conductivity and especially hole carriers are not well understood, yet essential for the electrochemical stability, conduction kinetics and microstructural evolution in YSZ. The present work uses first-principles calculations to illustrate the chemical nature and local structural features of hole states in oxidized YSZ. Three types of hole states have been identified, including delocalized hole states on normal oxygen ions, localized hole states on special oxygen ions with extreme local structures, and peroxide-like groups. In conclusion, the implications on various experimental observations are discussed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Failure analysis of solid oxide fuel cells nickel-yttria stabilized zirconia anode under siloxane contamination

In this study, the failure process of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) Ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anode is investigated with D4 siloxane (octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane) contamination. In order to evaluate the influence of the electrochemical reaction on the siloxane deposition process, the SOFC experiments were operated at open circuit voltage (OCV) and 50 mA cm -2 conditions at 800°C. During the failure process, electrochemical, morphology and exhaust gas component analysis testing are conducted at the critical points. An equivalent circuit model and corresponding microstructure parameter calculations for separated physicochemical processes were utilized for the quantitative analysis of the failure process. Further, the results confirm the siloxane chemical adsorption deposition mechanism proposed in previous work. As a result, the failure of the anode was attributed to the gas diffusion blockage by dense silicon dioxide layer formation. The anode failure process with siloxane contamination is faster when the anode is operated under polarization.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

SiOC coatings on yttria stabilized zirconia microspheres using a fluidized bed coating process

In this study, defect-free SiOC coatings were prepared on yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) microspheres by a fluidized bed coating process. Effects of the rheological properties of the coating solution on the coating process were elucidated. An impact regime diagram was constructed, which demonstrated that the coating mechanisms were collision/impact. During the fluidized bed coating, longer spouted time resulted in wider dispersion, longer residence time, and more circulatory motion of particles; the fluid distributed more uniformly throughout the column, as demonstrated in our Multiphase Flow with Interface eXchange (MFiX) simulations. Two-step pyrolysis in Ar achieved complete coating layers, which were comprised of SiOC, SiO 2 , SiC, and graphite. The two stage mass loss during the pyrolysis corresponded to simultaneous reactions due to depolymerization and hydrocarbon loss from 400 to 600°C. Carbon cluster size in the pyrolyzed samples was calculated to be 25 ± 2 Å. In conclusion, this work provides a new method for producing SiOC coatings on micron spheres, with nuclear TRISO fuel particles as the application.

42 ENGINEERING↗