Experimental Analysis and Material Characterization of Ultra High Temperature Composites

Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2021 Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition GT2021Ultra high temperature ceramic (UHTC) materials have attracted attention for hypersonic applications. Currently there is significant interest in possible gas turbine engine applications of UHTC composites as well. However, many of these materials, such as hafnium carbide, zirconium carbide, and zirconium diboride, have significant oxidation resistance and toughness limitations. In addition, these materials are very difficult to manufacture because of their high melting points. In many cases, SiC powder is incorporated into UHTCs to aid in processing and to enhance fracture toughness. This can also improve the materials’ oxidation resistance at moderately high temperatures due to a crack-healing borosilicate phase. ZrB₂-SiC composites show very good oxidation resistance up to 1700 °C, due to the formation of SiO₂ and ZrO₂ scales in numerous prior studies. While this may limit its application to hypersonic applications (due to reduced thermal conductivity and oxidation resistance at higher temperatures), these UHTC-SiC composites may find applications in turbomachinery, as either stand-alone parts or as a component in a multi-layer system.This research was supported in part by an appointment to the Postdoctoral Research Participation Program at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory administered by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and DEVCOM ARL. Research was sponsored by the Army Research Laboratory and was accomplished under Cooperative Agreement Number W911NF-16-2-0008. The first author would like to acknowledge the support of DoD Laboratory University Collaborative Initiative (LUCI) Fellowship [2016-2019]. The UHTC specimen fabrication via Spark Plasma Sintering processing was done at UCSD by UCSD and DEVCOM ARL. The ablation experimental testing was conducted at DEVCOM ARL. The microstructure analysis and characterization were performed at NPS.W911NF-16-2-000

Microstructure Based Material-Sand Particulate Interactions and Assessment of Coatings for High Temperature Turbine Blades

Gas turbine engines for military/commercial fixed-wing and rotary wing aircraft use thermal barrier coatings in the high-temperature sections of the engine for improved efficiency and power. The desire to further make improvements in gas turbine engine efficiency and high power-density is driving the research and development of thermal barrier coatings and the effort of improving their tolerance to fine foreign particulates that may be contained in the intake air. Both commercial and military aircraft engines often are required to operate over sandy regions such as in the Middle-East nations, as well as over volcanic zones. For rotorcraft gas turbine engines, the sand ingestion is adverse during take-off, hovering near ground, and landing conditions. Although, most of the rotorcraft gas turbine engines are fitted with inlet particle separators, they are not 100 percent efficient in filtering fine sand particles of size 75 microns or below. The presence of these fine solid particles in the working fluid medium has an adverse effect on the durability of turbine blade thermal barrier coatings and overall performance of the engine. Typical turbine blade damages include blade coating wear, sand glazing, Calcia-Magnesia-Alumina-Silicate (CMAS) attack, oxidation, plugged cooling holes, all of which can cause rapid performance deterioration including loss of aircraft. The objective of this research is to understand the fine particle interactions with typical ceramic coatings of turbine blades at the microstructure level. A finite-element based microstructure modeling and analysis has been performed to investigate particle-surface interactions, and restitution characteristics. Experimentally, a set of tailored thermal barrier coatings and surface treatments were down-selected through hot burner rig tests and then applied to first stage nozzle vanes of the Gas Generator Turbine of a typical rotorcraft gas turbine engine. Laser Doppler velocity measurements were performed during hot burner rig testing to determine sand particle incoming velocities and their rebound characteristics upon impact on coated material targets. Further, engine sand ingestion tests were carried out to test the CMAS tolerance of the coated nozzle vanes. The findings from this on-going collaborative research to develop the next-gen sand tolerant coatings for turbine blades are presented in this paper

Interfacial characteristics and microstructural evolution of ceramics exposed to high temperature sand laden combustion environments

Sand laden combustion environments are a current challenge plaguing ceramic thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) and environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) on metallic and emerging ceramic matrix composite (CMC) turbomachinery components. Exposure of thermal and environmental barrier coatings on ceramic matrix composites to environmental particulate laden deteriorates the ceramic structure via chemical reactions and infiltration into pore structures. The challenge of environmental particulates, collectively referred to as calcium-magnesium-aluminosilicate (CMAS), is expected to be exacerbated in future components that utilize ceramic matric composites (CMCs), since the higher operating temperatures will accelerate particulate melting, infiltration, and diffusion kinetics. This study first presents efforts at ARL to develop sandphobic coatings resistant to CMAS infiltration and deposition. The results of a recent full scale sand ingestion engine test used to evaluate several ARL layered and blended coating compositions are presented. The study also includes the evaluation of interactions of CMAS plasma sprayed environmental barrier coatings and HfO2-Si bond coats on SiC/SiC CMCs in rig simulated engine test conditions. The focus is on the microstructural evolution of the coatings and the interfacial characteristics between the TBCs and EBCs and CMAS. Interfaces between coating constituents are also of interest in order to tailor coatings with superior thermal, structural, and chemical characteristics. Controlled studies on YSZ-based ceramic compacts are also performed in order to gain a more fundamental understanding of the effect of porosity on infiltration kinetics, as well as the nature of interfaces and interfacial products wrought by CMAS infiltration into YSZ ceramic grain boundaries. These model studies on YSZ are conducted by immersing the ceramic compacts into AFRL-02 sand and exposing the system to temperatures of up to 1300 °C. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron back scattered diffraction, and focused ion beam (milling and imaging) are utilized for microstructural and interfacial characterization of the CMAS reacted thermal and environmental barrier coating systems

High Temperature Ceramic Microstructure and Interface Evolution during Exposure to Particulate Laden Combustion Flows in Gas Turbine Engines

Objective: To innovate sandphobic coating and surface modification for high temperature turbine blades to resist sand glaze build-up and related Calcia-Magnesia-Alumina-Silicate (CMAS) attack on Thermal/Environmental Barrier Coatings (T/EBCs)

Three-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography: how to use and when to use-a clinical consensus statement from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging of the European Society of Cardiology.

peer reviewedThree-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography (3D TOE) has been rapidly developed in the last 15 years. Currently, 3D TOE is particularly useful as an additional imaging modality for the cardiac echocardiographers in the echo-lab, for cardiac interventionalists as a tool to guide complex catheter-based procedures cardiac, for surgeons to plan surgical strategies, and for cardiac anaesthesiologists and/or cardiologists, to assess intra-operative results. The authors of this document believe that acquiring 3D data set should become a 'standard part' of the TOE examination. This document provides (i) a basic understanding of the physic of 3D TOE technology which enables the echocardiographer to obtain new skills necessary to acquire, manipulate, and interpret 3D data sets, (ii) a description of valvular pathologies, and (iii) a description of non-valvular pathologies in which 3D TOE has shown to be a diagnostic tool particularly valuable. This document has a new format: instead of figures randomly positioned through the text, it has been organized in tables which include figures. We believe that this arrangement makes easier the lecture by clinical cardiologists and practising echocardiographers

Comparative Evaluation of Titanium Feedstock Powder Derived from Recycled Battlefield Scrap vs. Virgin Powder for Cold Spray Processing

Gas-atomization is extensively used to produce metallic feedstock powders for additive manufacturing processes, including gas dynamic cold spray processing. This work explores the potential utility of on-demand recycled titanium scrap feedstock powder as a viable substitute for virgin powder sources. Three recycled titanium powders were atomized from different battlefield scrap sources using a mobile foundry developed by MolyWorks Materials Corporation. Recycled titanium alloy powders were compared against virgin Ti-6Al-4V powder to verify there were no significant variations between the recycled and virgin materials. Powder characterization methods included chemical analysis, particle size distribution analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Karl Fischer (KF) titration moisture content analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) phase analysis, microparticle compression testing (MCT), and nanoindentation. Results indicate that recycled titanium powder provides a viable alternative to virgin titanium alloy powders without compromising mechanical capabilities, microstructural features, or ASTM-specified composition and impurity standards. The results of this work will be used to aid future research efforts that will focus on optimizing cold spray parameters to maximize coating density, mechanical strength, and hardness of recycled titanium feedstock powders. “Cold spray” presents opportunities to enhance the sustainability of titanium component production through the utilization of recycled feedstock powder, mitigating issues of long lead times and high waste associated with the use of conventional virgin feedstock

Crystal Plasticity Modeling to Capture Microstructural Variations in Cold-Sprayed Materials

The high-velocity impact of powder particles in cold-spray additively manufactured (CSAM) parts creates intersplat boundaries with regions of high dislocation densities and sub-grain structures. Upon microstructure and mechanical characterization, CSAM Aluminum 6061 showed non-uniformity with spatial variation in the microstructure and mechanical properties, affecting the overall response of the additively manufactured parts. Post-processing treatments are conducted in as-printed samples to improve particle bonding, relieve residual stresses, and improve mechanical properties. In this work, we attempt to implement the effects of grain size and distribution of smaller grains along the intersplat boundaries using the grain size distribution function and powder size information to accurately predict the deformation response of cold-sprayed material using a mean-field viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) model. The incorporation of an intersplat boundary term in the VPSC model resulted in a stress–strain response closely matching the experimental findings, preventing the superficially high stresses observed due to Hall–Petch effects from ultra-fine-grain structures. Likewise, the results from the grain analysis showed the combined effects of grain size, orientation, and intersplat mechanisms that captured the stresses experienced and strain accommodated by individual grains