Workshop on coatings needs in the auto industry

New lightweight materials continue to be of great interest to the automotive industry. Compared to 20 years ago, the average vehicle weight has been reduced by almost a fourth, and fuel economy has nearly doubled. While continued improvements are both desirable and possible, materials choices are narrowing and the manufacturing methods needed to produce advanced materials systems are much more costly. The incentives remain high, however; particularly in view of large payoffs associated with minimizing structural weight in electric and hybrid-type vehicles. One generic solution is to develop coatings that will enable the use of lower cost materials. A workshop on coatings needs in the auto industry was held in Detroit, Michigan on October 27 and 28, 1992 with the objective of identifying research needs where coatings could enhance the use of energy efficient lightweight materials for automotive applications. Four generic areas had previously been identified auto manufacturers and industry suppliers. These were: Wear Coatings, Hard Protective Coatings for Plastics, Solar Control Coatings, and Process Manufacturing Issues. The development of coatings and coating technologies for lightweight metals and metal matrix composites emerged as the number one research needs. This need underscores the interest in making better use of existing lightweight metals, e.g. magnesium, aluminum, and their alloys. Coatings to protect plastics and reinforced plastic composites were also identified as a major area of importance. Protection from automotive liquids and gases. Coatings that will improve mar resistance, resist UV degradation, or eliminate degradation due to moisture absorption are also needed. Accordingly, manufacturability issues associated with coating light metals, e.g. aluminum, magnesium, and metal matrix composites with wear and corrosion resistant materials, were identified as a high priority research need

Survey of potential light water reactor fuel rod failure mechanisms and damage limits

The findings and conclusions are presented of a survey to evaluate current information applicable to the development of fuel rod damage and failure limits for light water reactor fuel elements. The survey includes a review of past fuel failures, and identifies potential damage and failure mechanisms for both steady state operating conditions and postulated accident events. Possible relationships between the various damage and failure mechanisms are also proposed. The report identifies limiting criteria where possible, but concludes that sufficient data are not currently available in many important areas

Review of temperature dependent effects on the oxidation protection of carbon/carbon

There is continued interest in the use of carbon/carbon for a variety of structural applications because of the excellent strength retention exhibited by this composite at high temperatures. However, the principal performance limiting issue, which is oxidation protection, has yet to be solved. Coating development efforts have been extensively pursued and the factors that limit the effectiveness of oxidation protection systems are identified. This paper reviews the temperature dependency of several important criteria such as the limitations imposed by oxygen permeability, and the kinetics of oxidation for candidate coating materials. The influence of active/passive transition, mass loss by evaporation, and thermochemical stability are also included

Properties of reactor fuel rod materials at high temperatures: Final summary report: Severe Core Damage Property Tests Program

This report summarizes work sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Division of Accident Evaluation to investigate those physical properties that are needed to predict the behavior of fuel-rod assemblies during a loss-of-coolant accident. The results include a determination of the oxidation kinetics of Zircaloy and Zircaloy-uranium oxide mixtures in steam and steam-hydrogen gas mixtures at 1300 to 2400C, viscosity measurements of zirconium-oxide mixtures at 1800 to 2100C, an estimate of the heat of reaction for the dissolution of uranium oxide by molten zirconium at 2000C, and thermal diffusivity measurements on prereacted Zircaloy-uranium oxide mixtures at 800 to 1500C