TY - JOUR A1 - Junge, P. A1 - Greinacher, M. A1 - Kober, D. A1 - Stargardt, Patrick A1 - Rupprecht, C. T1 - Metastable Phase Formation, Microstructure, and Dielectric Properties in Plasma-Sprayed Alumina Ceramic Coatings N2 - The need for new solutions for electrical insulation is growing due to the increased electrification in numerous industrial sectors, opening the door for innovation. Plasma spraying is a fast and efficient way to deposit various ceramics as electrical insulators, which are used in conditions where polymers are not suitable. Alumina (Al2O3) is among the most employed ceramics in the coating industry since it exhibits good dielectric properties, high hardness, and high melting point, while still being cost-effective. Various parameters (e.g., feedstock type, spray distance, plasma power) significantly influence the resulting coating in terms of microstructure, porosity, and metastable phase formation. Consequently, these parameters need to be investigated to estimate the impact on the dielectric properties of plasma-sprayed alumina coatings. In this work, alumina coatings with different spray distances have been prepared via atmospheric plasma spray (APS) on copper substrates. The microstructure, porosity, and corresponding phase formation have been analyzed with optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, we present an in-depth analysis of the fundamental dielectric properties e.g., direct current (DC) resistance, breakdown strength, dielectric loss tangent, and permittivity. Our results show that decreasing spray distance reduces the resistivity from 6.31 × 109 Ωm (130 mm) to 6.33 × 108 Ωm (70 mm), while at the same time enhances the formation of the metastable δ-Al2O3 phase. Furthermore, space charge polarization is determined as the main polarization mechanism at low frequencies. KW - Alumina KW - Plasma spray KW - Dielectric properties PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-564394 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12121847 SN - 2079-6412 VL - 12 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-56439 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Junge, P. A1 - Stargardt, Patrick A1 - Kober, D. A1 - Greinacher, M. A1 - Rupprecht, C. T1 - Thermally Sprayed Al2O3 Ceramic Coatings for Electrical Insulation Applications N2 - Thermal spraying enables a fast and propelling way to additively deposit various ceramics as electric insulators, which are used in conditions where polymers are not suitable. Alumina (Al2O3) is among the most employed materials in the coating industry since it exhibits good dielectric properties, high hardness, high melting point while still being cost-effective. Various parameters (e.g. feedstock type, plasma gas mixture, plasma power) significantly influence the resulting coating in terms of microstructure, porosity, crystallinity, and degree of un-or molten particles. As a consequence, these parameters need to be investigated to estimate the impact on the electrical insulating properties of thermally sprayed alumina. This study focuses on the development of a novel electric insulation coating from Al2O3 feedstock powders deposited via atmospheric plasma spray (APS). The microstructure, porosity, and corresponding crystallographic phases have been analyzed with optical microscopy, XRD, and SEM images. To achieve an understanding of the parameters influencing the electrical insulation performance of the manufactured coatings, an in-depth analysis of the fundamental dielectric parameters e.g., DC resistance, breakdown strength, dielectric loss tangent, permittivity is presented. T2 - International Thermal Spray Conference and Exposition 2022 CY - Vienna, Austria DA - 04.05.2022 KW - Thermal Spray KW - Alumina KW - Dielectric properties PY - 2022 SP - 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-55821 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Stargardt, Patrick T1 - Modeling of the cooling behavior of thermoelectric multilayers N2 - Multilayered designs are an attractive approach towards cost-effective manufacturing of thermoelectric generators. Therefore, efforts are being made to co-fire two promising thermoelectric oxides, namely calcium cobaltite and calcium manganate. In this study, ceramic tapes, multilayer technology, and pressure-assisted sintering (PAS) were used. A major challenge for the PAS of low-sintered calcium manganate was cracking during cooling. A relationship between the properties of the release tape used during PAS and the cracking behavior was experimentally observed. To understand the origin of failure, reaction layers in the multilayer were analyzed and thermal stresses during cooling were estimated by finite element (FE) simulations. Thermal expansion, elastic properties, and biaxial strength of the thermoelectric oxides and selected reaction layers were determined on separately prepared bulk samples. The analysis showed that the reaction layers were not the cause for cracking of calcium manganate. Using the FE model, thermal stresses in different manganate multilayer designs with varying properties of the release tape were studied. The FEM study indicated, and a validation experiment proved that the thickness of the release tape has the main effect on thermal stresses during cooling in separately sintered calcium manganate. T2 - Keramik 2021 / Ceramics 2021 CY - Online Meeting DA - 19.04.2021 KW - Fem KW - Thermoelectric KW - Pressure assisted sintering PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-52489 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Stargardt, Patrick A1 - Junge, P. A1 - Greinacher, M. A1 - Kober, D. A1 - Mieller, Björn T1 - Bulk vs thermal sprayed alumina for insulation applications: A comparison of electrical and dielectrical properties N2 - Additive manufacturing (AM) processes are opening new design possibilities for large scale electrical devices such as power generators. Conventional manufacturing methods use copper rods which are wrapped, vacuum impregnated, bend and welded. These processes are labor-intensive and time-consuming. The introduction of AM methods for manufacturing the copper conductor and electrical insulation can reduce the size of the generator head, the most complex part of the generator. In this study, the electrical and dielectrical properties of additively deposited ceramic layers are investigated and compared with the properties of conventionally fabricated bulk ceramics. The ceramic layers are thermally deposited by atmospheric plasma spraying of a commercially available alumina powder. Bulk ceramics are fabricated by dry pressing and sintering of the same powder. Microstructure and porosity were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrical and dielectrical properties such as DC resistance, dielectric strength, dielectric loss, and relative permittivity were determined according to the standards. The microstructures of sprayed and sintered alumina show significant differences with respect to grain form and porosity. The density of the bulk ceramic is lower than the density of the sprayed layer due to the coarse particle size (d50 = 33 μm). Therefore, data from dense samples of the same chemical composition but lower particle size alumina powder were used for comparison. T2 - Keramik 2022 CY - Online meeting DA - 07.03.2022 KW - High Voltage Insulation KW - Thermal Spray KW - Dielectric Spectroscopy KW - Atmospheric Plasma Spraying PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-54446 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Stargardt, Patrick A1 - Bresch, Sophie A1 - Mieller, Björn A1 - Rabe, Torsten T1 - Analysis of reaction layers and cooling simulations of co-fired thermoelectric multilayers N2 - Ceramic multilayer technology is an attractive approach for the cost-effective fabrication of thermoelectric generators. Therefore, efforts are being made to co-sinter two promising thermoelectric oxides, namely calcium cobaltite and calcium manganate. In this study, calcium cobaltite, calcium manganate and release tapes were pressure assisted sintered. A major challenge here is the cracking of calcium manganate during cooling. A relationship between the properties of the release tape used in pressure-assisted sintering and the cracking behavior was observed experimentally. To understand the origin of failure, formed reaction layers in the multilayer were analyzed by EDX and grazing incident XRD. Based on this analysis, bulk samples were prepared, and thermal expansion and Young's modulus and were determined thereon, if they were not known from the literature. The biaxial strength of the thermoelectric oxides was determined by the ball on three ball method. The thermal stresses during cooling of different multilayer designs were estimated by finite element simulations. The stresses caused by the reaction layers turned out to be negligible. The FEM study indicated further, and a validation experiment proved, that the thickness of the release tape has the main effect on thermal stresses during cooling in single material. For best performance, the design of a thermoelectric multilayer generator needs to consider thermoelectric performance and thermal stresses during cooling. T2 - Virtual Conference on Thermoelectrics CY - Online meeting DA - 20.07.2021 KW - Ceramic multilayer KW - Cooling simulations KW - Thermal stress KW - Thermoelectric PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-52994 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Stargardt, Patrick A1 - Junge, P. A1 - Greinacher, M. A1 - Kober, D. A1 - Mieller, Björn T1 - Dielectric properties of plasma sprayed coatings for insulation application N2 - Thermal spraying provides a rapid method for additive deposition of various ceramics as electrical insulation in applications where polymers are not suitable. New applications in complex shaped additive manufactured metal parts are emerging for example in large scale electrical devices. Microstructural and dielectric evaluation of coatings is crucial to the employment of such free-form processes. The properties and microstructure of the plasma sprayed alumina coatings are compared with dense reference samples of the same powder produced by spark plasma sintering (SPS). To obtain dense bulk samples from the coarse alumina powder for spray coating, SPS is used. Samples are fabricated by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) of commercially available alumina powder (d50 = 33 µm) on copper substrates and by SPS of the same powder. Microstructure and porosity were analyzed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Phase compositions were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Dielectric properties such as DC resistance, dielectric strength, dielectric loss, and relative permittivity were determined according to the standards. The microstructure and dielectric properties of the coating and bulk material are compared to assess whether the coating is suitable for use in electrical insulation application. T2 - Ceramics in Europe 2022 CY - Krakow, Poland DA - 10.07.2022 KW - Dielectric characterization KW - Atmospheric plasma spraying KW - Spark plasma sintering KW - Electrical insulation PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-55328 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Stargardt, Patrick A1 - Bresch, Sophie A1 - Walter, P A1 - Stargardt, Patrick A1 - Höhne, Patrick A1 - Moos, R A1 - Mieller, Björn T1 - Comparison of design concepts for ceramic oxide thermoelectric multilayer generators N2 - Multilayer thermoelectric generators are a promising perspective to the conventional π-type generators. Ceramic multilayer technology is well established for production of microelectronics and piezo-stacks. Key features of ceramic multilayer technology are full-automation, cost-effectiveness, and the co-firing of all materials in one single step. This requires similar sintering temperatures of all used materials. The development of multilayer thermoelectric generators is a subject of current research due to the advantages of this technology. One of the challenges is the compatibility of the different materials with respect to the specific design. The presented study compares three different designs of multilayer generators based on a given set of material properties. Dualleg, unileg and transverse multilayer generators are compared to conventional π-type generators., the designs are evaluated regarding the expected maximum output power and power density using analytical calculations and FEM simulations. Additionally, the complexity of the production process and material requirements are assessed and design optimizations to simplify production are discussed. Besides the theoretical aspects, unileg multilayer generator prototypes were produced by tape-casting and pressure-assisted sintering. These prototypes are compared to other multilayer generators from literature regarding the power factors of the used material system and the power density. Improvements of the power output by design optimizations are discussed T2 - 18th European Conference on Thermoelectrics CY - Barcelona, Spain DA - 13.09.2022 KW - Thermoelectric oxides KW - Thermoelectric generator design PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-55820 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bresch, Sophie A1 - Stargardt, Patrick A1 - Moos, Ralf A1 - Mieller, Björn T1 - Co‐Fired Multilayer Thermoelectric Generators Based on Textured Calcium Cobaltite N2 - Thermoelectric generators are very attractive devices for waste heat energy harvesting as they transform a temperature difference into electrical power. However, commercially available generators show poor power density and limited operation temperatures. Research focuses on high‐temperature materials and innovative generator designs. Finding the optimal design for a given material system is challenging. Here, a theoretical framework is provided that allows appropriate generator design selection based on the particular material properties. For high‐temperature thermoelectric oxides, it can be clearly deduced that unileg multilayer generators have the highest potential for effective energy harvesting. Based on these considerations, prototype unileg multilayer generators from the currently best thermoelectric oxide Ca3Co4O9 are manufactured for the first time by industrially established ceramic multilayer technology. These generators exhibit a power density of 2.2 mW/cm² at a temperature difference of 260 K, matching simulated values and confirming the suitability of the technology. Further design improvements increase the power density by a factor of 22 to facilitate practicable power output at temperature differences as low as 7 K. This work demonstrates that reasonable energy harvesting at elevated temperatures is possible with oxide materials and appropriate multilayer design. KW - Optical and Magnetic Materials KW - Electronic PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-596306 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202300636 SN - 2199-160X VL - 10 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag AN - OPUS4-59630 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stargardt, Patrick A1 - Bresch, Sophie A1 - Falkenberg, Rainer A1 - Mieller, Björn T1 - Effect of Reaction Layers on Internal Stresses in Co‐Fired Multilayers of Calcium Manganate and Calcium Cobaltite N2 - A widespread recovery of waste heat requires a cost‐effective production of thermoelectric generators. Thermoelectric oxides are predestined for use at high temperatures. For manufacturing reasons, a multilayer generator design will be easily scalable and cost‐effective. To evaluate the potential of ceramic multilayer technology for that purpose, a multilayer of the promising thermoelectric oxides calcium cobaltite (Ca3Co4O9), calcium manganate (CMO, CaMnO3), and glass–ceramic insulation layers is fabricated. Cracks and reaction layers at the interfaces are observed in the microstructure. The compositions of these reaction layers are identified by energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction. Mechanical and thermal properties of all layers are compiled from literature or determined by purposeful sample preparation and testing. Based on this data set, the internal stresses in the multilayer after co‐firing are calculated numerically. It is shown that tensile stresses in the range of 50 MPa occur in the CMO layers. The reaction layers have only a minor influence on the level of these residual stresses. Herein, it is proven that the material system is basically suitable for multilayer generator production, but that the co‐firing process and the layer structure must be adapted to improve densification and reduce the tensile stresses in the CMO. KW - Ceramic multilayers KW - Co-firings KW - Internal stresses PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-601626 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.202300956 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag AN - OPUS4-60162 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -