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Iron aluminides depict a sustainable and light-weight material class which could be employed in many applications requiring high strength at intermediate to high temperatures. According to first results, the alloy Fe-26Al-4Mo-0.5Ti-1B surpasses conventional materials in wet corrosion resistance and creep resistance up to 650 °C. For these reasons, the AiF research project “WAFEAL – Materials applications for iron aluminides” was initiated to transfer these findings into a standardised materials dataset and to derive best practices for processing. In the first place, a set of different microstructures adjusted by varying casting methods, wall thicknesses and heat treatments was investigated and correlated with hardness on macro and micro scale. Correlations were drawn between solidification rates and resulting grain sizes and hardness. The effect of vacancy hardening was only verified for wall thickness as low as 2.5 mm. Moreover, a common decrease of macrohardness after a heat treatment at 1000 °C for 100 h was observed irrespective of casting process or wall thickness. This effect was linked with an unexpected decrease of the complex boride phase fraction which acts as a hardening phase.
Due to the increasing scarcity of critical raw materials current high-temperature materials are sought to be replaced by alloys based on more abundant metals. One possibility within the class of intermetallics are iron aluminides, which combine sustainability and cost-efficiency with the prospect of mass savings. Iron aluminides show competitive specific strength up to 700 °C and excellent creep and wet corrosion resistance by small additions of Mo, Ti and B. Nevertheless, a Mo content of above 2 at.% which is needed for optimum corrosion resistance results in enhanced brittleness, especially at room temperature. This is why alloys with these Mo fractions were only mechanically tested under compressive loading so far. Still, testing of static and creep properties under tensile loading is required for reliable component design. Besides high standards for crack-free processing, data acquisition for tensile loads is especially complicated by environmental embrittling effects for iron aluminides. To cope with these challenges, the AiF research project “WAFEAL – Materials applications for iron aluminides” was initiated. The main goal is to collect standardised data on ambient and high-temperature tensile properties and creep properties. Samples with a nominal composition of Fe-26Al-4Mo-0.5Ti-1B [at.%] were manufactured via centrifugal casting in ceramic shell moulds followed by machining. Heat treatment for homogenisation and final polishing were carried out where appropriate. A summary of the achieved tensile and creep properties such as yield and tensile strength, maximum elongation, secondary creep rate and stress exponents will be given. Results will be also discussed regarding the influence of temperature, stress level and microstructure on the damage mechanisms. Furthermore, the effect of different alloy concentrations on the mechanical response at different temperatures will be outlined within a small experimental series.
With an increasing demand in more efficient fuel consumption to reduce CO2 emissions, weight reductions in high-temperature materials at affordable costs gain increasing attention. One potential candidate is the intermetallic material class of iron aluminides, combining the advantages in mass savings, high temperature performance and recyclability of resources. The alloy Fe-26Al-4Mo-0.5Ti-1B was selected to study the microstructural features evolving from two casting processes, five wall thicknesses and three final conditions. Conclusions are drawn upon the correlations of processing variables, grain sizes and hardness.
The increasing importance of resource availability and closed-loop material cycles are driving materials research to reduce alloying content in conventional materials or even substitute them with more sustainable alternatives. Intermetallic iron aluminide alloys (FeAl) present a potential alternative. Many alloy concepts for improved high-temperature properties or ductility have already been successfully implemented in casting technologies on a laboratory scale. However, successful testing of FeAl alloys on an industrial scale was still pending at the beginning of the project.
Therefore, the aim of the project was to develop simulation-based casting concepts for industrial casting processes using the base alloy Fe-26Al-4Mo-0.5Ti-1B and to narrow down process limits by means of hot cracking tests. Findings were transferred into practice-oriented guidelines for casting of iron aluminides, which is accessible to future applicants in SMEs. The focus was placed on centrifugal casting combined with investment casting or die casting. In addition to numerous design and casting process parameters, heat treatments and alloying additions (Al, Mo, B) were varied to determine the influence of alloying elements on castability, microstructure and mechanical properties. Data from microstructure analyses (microscopic imaging, determination of grain sizes as well as phase compositions and volume fractions, fractography), mechanical tests (hardness measurements, compression tests, ambient and high-temperature tensile tests, creep tests) as well as measurements of thermophysical properties could be generated on the base alloy. Correlations of materials data with process variables allowed conclusions to be drawn on strengthening mechanisms and ductility of the alloy and how they can be controlled in terms of processing and component design. Successful casting of highly complex components with thin wall thicknesses and optimised alloy compositions points out prospects for new fields of application.
Monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles as reference material candidate for particle size measurements
(2020)
In order to utilize and rationally design materials at the nanoscale the reliable characterization of their physico-chemical properties is highly important, especially with respect to the assessment of their environmental or biological impact. Furthermore, the European Commission’s REACH Regulations require the registration of nanomaterials traded in quantities of at least 1 ton. Powders or dispersions where 50% (number distribution) of the constituent particles have sizes ≤ 100 nm in at least one dimension are defined as nanomaterials. This creates a need for industrial manufacturers and research or analytical service facilities to reliably characterize potential nanomaterials. Currently, BAM is developing reference nanoparticles, which shall expand the scarce list of worldwide available nano reference materials certified for particle size distribution and will also target other key parameters like shape, structure, porosity or functional properties. In this respect, materials like iron oxide or titanium dioxide are considered as candidates to complement the already available silica, Au, Ag, and polystyrene reference nanoparticles.
The thermal decomposition of iron oleate precursors in high boiling organic solvents can provide large quantities of iron oxide nanoparticles that can be varied in size and shape.[1, 2] The presence of oleic acid or other hydrophobic ligands as capping agents ensures stable dispersion in nonpolar solvents. Such monodisperse, spherical particles were synthesized at BAM and pre-characterized by electron microscopy (TEM, SEM including the transmission mode STEM-in-SEM) and dynamic light scattering comparing cumulants analysis and frequency power spectrum.
1. REACH regulations and nanosafety concerns create a strong need for nano reference materials with diverse properties.
2. Iron oxide nanoparticles are under development as new candidate reference material at BAM.
3. Narrow particle size distribution confirmed by light scattering and electron microscopy.
The field of materials science is defined as “the study of the properties of solid materials and how those properties are determined by a material’s composition and structure.”. Many –if not most– of the materials that are produced nowadays owe their properties to structures engineered down to the nanoscopic level. This need has been partly realized thanks to the understanding of materials’ building blocks via characterization techniques that reach this level of resolution. Transmission electron microscopy, since its first implementation in the early 1930s (in Berlin), has been implemented to achieve imaging –and spectral– analysis at lateral resolutions down to the atomic level.
In this contribution, a series of practical examples will be presented, where applied materials are characterized by a range of transmission electron microscopy techniques to understand structural and functional properties of a wide range of materials. Among these materials examples will be presented on structural conventionally and additively manufactured metallic alloys, high entropy alloys, dissimilar aluminum-to-steel welds, magnetic nanoparticles, ceramic coatings, high temperature oxidation products. Addressed will be either the effect of processing route or that of the exposure to experimental conditions similar to those found in the respective intended applications.
Additive manufacturing (AM) of metallic alloys has gained momentum in the past decade for industrial applications. The microstructures of AM metallic alloys are complex and hierarchical from the macroscopic to the nanometer scale. When using laser-based powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process, two main microstructural features emerge at the nanoscale: the melt pool boundaries (MPB) and the solidification cellular substructure.
Here, details of the MPB are revealed to clearly show the three-dimensional nature of MPBs with changes of cell growth of direction and their relation to their surrounding cellular substructure, as investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for L-PBF 316L austenitic stainless steel (cf. Figure 1). A hitherto unknown modulated substructure with a period of 21 nm is further discovered within cells as the result of a partial Ga+-focused ion beam-induced ferritic transformation of the austenite. Cell cores and cell boundaries differ notably regarding the modulated substructure.
Dislocations are the carriers of plastic deformation. As such, their characterization offers important information on the properties they affect. In this contribution, a new tool is presented, which is incorporated in Amira ZIB Edition and allows for three-dimensional (3D) imaging and quantification of dislocations substructures from thick regions an electron-transparent specimen. In the tool, the dislocation segments are traced on diffraction contrast images that are obtained in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The uncertainties related to the experimental setup and to the proposed method are discussed on the base of a tilt series.
9-12% Cr ferritic-martensitic stainless steels are widely used as high temperature construction materials in fossil fueled power plants due to their excellent creep and oxidation resistance, but changes in electricity markets during the last two decades have considerably changed the typical working conditions of these facilities. The growing share of renewable energy sources in power generation forces most of these plants into flexible operation with frequent load shifts or shutdowns. These cyclic operation profiles constitute a major lifetime issue, raising the question which fundamental processes govern the reaction of ferritic-martensitic steels to cyclic load and temperature variations.
The present contribution reports on current findings obtained in a multidisciplinary project funded by German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) which combines cyclic mechanical and cyclic oxidation testing of different 9-12% Cr grades with detailed microstructural analyses and related micromechanical modeling.
In the present first part of our contribution, an overview will be given on the results obtained in the mechanical testing programme of the project. Mechanical analyses were carried out on P91 and (mainly) P92 steel grades, particularly looking at softening phenomena and lifetimes obtained in isothermal cyclic loading (low cycle fatigue, LCF), non-isothermal cyclic loading (thermo-mechanical fatigue, TMF), and service-like combinations of creep and fatigue periods. For this purpose, cylindrical specimens were extracted from thick-walled steam pipes, orthogonal to the pipe axis, and subjected to strain controlled cyclic loading (± 0.2 to ±0.5 % mechanical strain) to different degrees of softening at temperatures up to 620 °C.
The test results will be presented and discussed with a focus on the impact of hold periods (i.e. combined creep-fatigue conditions) on mechanical softening, lifetime and crack formation. Details on the microstructural evolution and their representation in a micromechanical model will be given in a second, complementary contribution to this conference.
Unlike conventional alloys, which typically consist of one main element, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) contain five or more principal elements, which broaden chemical complexity and with it a realm of synergistic mechanisms. The AlMo0.5NbTa0.5TiZr HEA initiated a subclass of Al-containing refractory (r)HEAs that has recently drawn attention [2]. The alloy has a superalloy-resembling B2/bcc nanostructure, which inspired its name refractory high entropy superalloy (RSA). With high-temperature (HT) compressive strengths beyond conventional Ni-based superalloys, this nanostructure could be used for improved HT structural applications. However, in the application-relevant HT regime the Al-Zr-rich B2 phase decomposes to form a hexagonal Al-Zr-based intermetallic (Al4-xZr5; x: 0..1) [3,4]. This work explores the fascinating yet fatal micromechanisms associated to this phase transformation, in the context of creep, annealing and oxidation experiments performed between 800 and 1200 °C.
The material was produced by arc-melting and heat treatment in argon, which lead to grain boundaries decorated with up to 7%. Interrupted constant-load creep tests were performed under vacuum (at 10-4 Pa), at 900–1100 °C with external tensile stresses of 30–120 MPa. Oxidation experiments were separately conducted for 24 hours at 800 and 1000 °C in both dry (21% O2 + 79% N2) and humid (8% O2 + 74% N2 + 18% H2O) air. After the experiments, the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy to reveal degradation mechanisms. Crystallographic texture, orientation relationships and stabilization of an oxygen-containing iso structure (Al4-xZr5(Ox-y); y: 0..x) of the Al-Zr-rich intermetallic are found and discussed.
The current trend towards cyclic, “flexible” operation of fossil-fueled power plants constitutes a major issue regarding lifetime and operational safety of the respective installations and their components, as was outlined in our complementary contribution (Part 1). The present contribution reports on the investigation of the microstructure evolution in cyclically loaded ferritic-martensitic steels and its representation in a physically-based micromechanical model.
For this purpose, specimens of P92 steel grade from the mechanical test programme outlined in our companion contribution (Part 1) were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), including backscattered diffraction (EBSD) mapping, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A novel method was implemented to improve angular resolution of EBSD scans. Additionally, a correlative microscopy approach was developed and used to correlate EBSD and TEM measurements on the same locations of thick regions of electron transparent specimens. By applying these techniques, a detailed quantitative microstructure description of the as-received material condition, namely in terms of subgrain morphology and dislocation density/distributions, was established. Comparisons of as-received and cyclically loaded conditions from tests interrupted at different stages of lifetime indicate a rapid redistribution of in-grain dislocations with a strong interaction between mobile dislocations and low angle grain boundaries (LABs).
The proposed micromechanical model is formulated in a viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) scheme, which is a mean-field approach that allows us to include the crystal details at the level of slip systems while avoiding the considerable computational costs of full-field approaches (such as the classical crystal plasticity finite element analysis). Being physically-based, the model uses dislocation densities and includes the interaction between dislocations, e.g. annihilation of mobile dislocations, and evolution of microstructure, e.g. the grain coarsening. Particularly, the constitutive laws for dislocation evolution and interaction between dislocations and low angle boundaries are calibrated based on two-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamic (2D DDD) simulations, which are performed at a micro-/meso-scale. The results of the beforementioned EBSD experiments are considered as a direct input, involving e.g. the amount of geometrically necessary dislocations, average misorientations and grain characteristics.
The project ProMoAM is presented. The goal of the project is to evaluate which NDT techniques or combination of techniques is suited for in-situ quality assurance in additive manufacturing of metals. To this end, also 3d-data fusion and visualization techniques are applied. Additional ex-situ NDT-techniques are used as references for defect detection and quantification. Feasability studies for NDT-techniques that are presently not applicable for in-situ use are performed as well.
The presentation gives a brief overview of the whole project and the different involved NDT-techniques.
This contribution presents the results of an experimental study on the LCF behavior of an austenitic 316L stainless steel produced by laser powder bed fusion featuring a low defect population, which allows for an improved understanding of the role of other typical aspects of a PBF‑LB microstructure. The LCF tests were performed between room temperature and 600 °C. A hot‑rolled 316L variant was tested as a reference. The mechanical response is characterized by strain-life curves, a Coffin‑Manson‑Basquin fitting, and cyclic deformation curves. The damage and deformation mechanisms are studied with X-ray computed tomography, optical and electron microscopy. The PBF‑LB/M/316L exhibits lower fatigue lives at lower strain amplitudes. The crack propagation is mainly transgranular. The solidification cellular structure seems to be the most relevant underlying microstructural feature determining the cyclic deformation behavior.
Despite of the significant advances in AM process optimization there is still a lack of experimental results and understanding regarding the mechanical behavior and microstructural evolution of AMparts, especially in loading conditions typical for safety-relevant applications e.g. in the aerospace or power engineering. Within the scope of the presented investigations, a characterization of the fatigue behavior of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V in the low cycle fatigue regime was carried out in the range of 0.3 to 1.0 % strain amplitude at room temperature, 250°C and 400°C. The Ti-6Al-4V specimens are machined out of lean cylindrical rods, which were fabricated using powder laser metal deposition (LMD) with an improved build-up strategy. The improved strategy incorporates variable track overlap ratios to achieve a constant growth in the shell and core area. The low-cycle-fatigue behavior is described based on cyclic deformation curves and strain-based fatigue life curves. The lifetimes are fitted based on the Manson-Coffin-Basquin relationship. A characterization of the microstructure and the Lack-of-Fusion (LoF)-defect-structure in the as-built state is performed using optical light microscopy and high-resolution computed tomography (CT) respectively. The failure mechanism under loading is described in terms of LoF-defects-evolution and crack growth mechanism based on an interrupted LCF test with selected test parameters. After failure, scanning electron microscopy, digital and optical light microscopy and CT are used to describe the failure mechanisms both in the longitudinal direction and in the cross section of the specimens. The fatigue lives obtained are comparable with results from previous related studies and are shorter than those of traditionally manufactured (wrought) Ti-6Al-4V. In this study new experimental data and understanding of the mechanical behavior under application-relevant loading conditions (high temperature, cyclic plasticity) is gained. Furthermore, a better understanding of the role of LoFdefects and AM-typical microstructural features on the failure mechanism of LMD Ti-6Al-4V is achieved.
Towards Interoperability: Digital Representation of a Material Specific Characterization Method
(2022)
Certain metallic materials gain better mechanical properties through controlled heat treatments. For example, in age-hardenable aluminum alloys, the strengthening mechanism is based on the controlled formation of nanometer sized precipitates, which represent obstacles to dislocation movement. Precise tuning of the material structure is critical for optimal mechanical behavior in the application. Therefore, analysis of the microstructure and especially the precipitates is essential to determine the ideal parameters for the interplay of material and heat treatment. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is utilized to identify precipitate types and orientations in a first step. Dark-field imaging (DF-TEM) is often used to image the precipitates and to quantify their relevant dimensions.
The present work aims at the digital representation of this material-specific characterization method. Instead of a time-consuming, manual image analysis, an automatable, digital approach is demonstrated. Based on DF-TEM images of different precipitation states of a wrought aluminum alloy, a modularizable digital workflow for quantitative precipitation analysis is presented. The integration of this workflow into a data pipeline concept will also be discussed. Thus, by using ontologies, the raw image data, their respective contextual information, and the resulting output data from the quantitative precipitation analysis can be linked in a triplestore. Publishing the digital workflow and the ontologies will ensure the reproducibility of the data. In addition, the semantic structure enables data sharing and reuse for other applications and purposes, demonstrating interoperability.
The presented work is part of two digitization initiatives, the Platform MaterialDigital (PMD, materialdigital.de) and Materials-open-Laboratory (Mat-o-Lab).
Towards interoperability: Digital representation of a material specific characterization method
(2023)
Certain metallic materials gain better mechanical properties through controlled heat treatments. In age-hardenable aluminum alloys, the strengthening mechanism is based on the controlled formation of nanometer sized precipitates, which hinder dislocation movement. Analysis of the microstructure and especially the precipitates by transmission electron microscopy allows identification of precipitate types and orientations. Dark-field imaging is often used to image the precipitates and quantify their relevant dimensions.
The present work aims at the digital representation of this material-specific characterization method. Instead of a time-consuming, manual image analysis, a digital approach is demonstrated. The integration of an exemplary digital workflow for quantitative precipitation analysis into a data pipeline concept is presented. Here ontologies enable linking of contextual information to the resulting output data in a triplestore. Publishing digital workflow and ontologies ensures the reproducibility of the data. The semantic structure enables data sharing and reuse for other applications and purposes, demonstrating interoperability.
Knowledge representation in the materials science and engineering (MSE) domain is a vast and multi-faceted challenge: Overlap, ambiguity, and inconsistency in terminology are common. Invariant and variant knowledge are difficult to align cross-domain. Generic top-level semantic terminology often is too abstract, while MSE domain terminology often is too specific.
The PMDco is designed in direct support of the FAIR principles to address immediate needs of the global experts community and their requirements. The illustrated findings show how the PMDco bridges semantic gaps between high-level, MSE-specific, and other science domain semantics, how the PMDco lowers development and integration thresholds, and how to fuel it from real-world data sources ranging from manually conducted experiments and simulations as well as continuously automated industrial applications.
This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments and the current status within the Semantic Interoperability work area, with a particular emphasis on the advancements related to the Platform MaterialDigital Core Ontology (PMDco). The presentation will delve into the collaborative and community-supported curation process that has been instrumental in shaping PMDco. Additionally, we will introduce the innovative Ontology Playground, showcasing its role in fostering experimentation and exploration within the realm of ontology development.
Many metallic materials gain better mechanical properties through controlled heat treatments. For example, in age-hardenable aluminium alloys, the strengthening mechanism is based on the controlled formation of nanometre-sized precipitates, which represent obstacles to dislocation movement and consequently increase the strength. Precise tuning of the material microstructure is thus crucial for optimal mechanical behaviour under service condition of a component. Therefore, analysis of the microstructure, especially the precipitates, is essential to determine the optimum parameters for the interplay of material and heat treatment. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is utilized to identify precipitate types and orientations in the first step. Dark-field imaging (DF-TEM) is often used to image the precipitates and thereafter quantify their relevant dimensions. Often, these evaluations are still performed by manual image analysis, which is very time-consuming and to some extent also poses reproducibility problems.
Our work aims at a semantic representation of an automatable digital approach for this material specific characterization method under adaption of FAIR data practices. Based on DF-TEM images of different precipitation states of a wrought aluminium alloy, the modularizable, digital workflow of quantitative analysis of precipitate dimensions is described. The integration of this workflow into a data pipeline concept will also be discussed. Using ontologies, the raw image data, their respective contextual information, and the resulting output data of the quantitative image analysis can be linked in a triplestore. Publishing the digital workflow and the ontologies will ensure data reproducibility. In addition, the semantic structure enables data sharing and reuse for other applications and purposes, demonstrating interoperability.
A large amount of publicly available data is reproduced every day in the field of materials science, while these kind of material data can have different formats and types like paper-type publications, standards, datasheets or isolated datasets in repositories. However, gathering a specific library from such extensive and diverse material data is always challenging for the materials scientists and engineers, since the time-related limitations are not allowed to fully access the large publicly available databases; search across these disparate databases, manage the large volumes of heterogeneous datasets, and integrate data from multiple sources. To address these challenges and make data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR), an efficient data management system is necessary to build comprehensive, documented, and connected data spaces in the future. A formal standardized knowledge representation through an ontology can address such problems and make data more available and interoperable between related domains. Ontology can also rich machine processable semantic descriptions that increases the performance of scientific searches. In this regard, the Platform MaterialDigital (PMD) is currently working on developing a high-level ontology for the materials and material related processes. For example, in one of the PMD projects of “KupferDigital”, we will try to develop a data ecosystem for digital materials research based on ontology-based digital representations of copper and copper alloys. As a case study, this paper describes the methodology for ontology development of Brinell hardness, based on PMD core ontology. The methodology we describe includes the following steps; gathering the required domain terminology from different resources like standards (DIN EN ISO 6506-1) and test reports, representing the performance of a standard-conformant hardness test and the treatment of the recorded values up to a “reportable” hardness value for a material, designing the process chain according to the semantic technologies, and developing a domain-level ontology of Brinell hardness based on PMD ontology semantic formalization. Apart the mentioned methodology, some interesting tools and methods were introduced and ontology design challenges and possible solutions for modelling materials and processes were discussed. Furthermore, a dataset from the Brinell hardness measurement of cast copper samples is prepared for testing the query process.
The materials mechanical testing ontology (MTO) was developed by collecting the mechanical testing vocabulary from ISO 23718 standard, as well as the standardized testing processes described for various mechanical testing of materials like tensile testing, Brinell hardness test, Vickers hardness test, stress relaxation test, and fatigue testing. Confirming the ISO/IEC 21838-2 standard, MTO utilizes the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO), Common Core Ontology (CCO), Industrial Ontologies Foundry (IOF), Quantities, Units, Dimensions, and data Types ontologies (QUDT), and Material Science and Engineering Ontology (MSEO) as the upper-level ontologies. Reusing these upper-level ontologies and materials testing standards not only makes MTO highly interoperable with other ontologies but also ensures its acceptance and applicability in the industry. MTO represents the mechanical testing entities in the 230 classes and four main parts: i) Mechanical testing experiments entities like tensile, hardness, creep, and fatigue tests as the subclasses of mseo:Experiment, ii) Mechanical testing quantity concepts such as toughness, elongation, and fatigue strength in the appropriate hierarchies of bfo:Disposition and bfo:Quality classes, iii) Mechanical testing artifacts like indenter as the subclasses of cco:Artifact, and iv) mechanical testing data like the stress-strain, S-N, or creep curves as the subclasses of cco:InformationContentEntity. MTO is publicly available via the KupferDigital GitLab repository.
This research deals with the development of the Vickers hardness knowledge graph, mapping the example dataset in them, and exporting the data-mapped knowledge graph as a machine-readable Resource Description Framework (RDF). Modeling the knowledge graph according to the standardized test procedure and using the appropriate upper-level ontologies were taken into consideration to develop the highly standardized, incorporable, and industrial applicable models. Furthermore, the Ontopanel approach was utilized for mapping the real experimental data in the developed knowledge graphs and the resulting RDF files were successfully evaluated through the SPARQL queries.
Nickel-based alloys have been widely used for gas turbine blades owing to their excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance at high temperatures. The operating temperatures of modern gas turbines have been increased in pursuit of increased thermal efficiency. Turbine blades are exposed to these high temperatures combined with mechanical stresses, resulting in material damage through creep, fatigue, and other mechanisms. These turbine blades must be regularly inspected and replaced as needed, to prevent the loss of efficiency, breakdown, and catastrophic failure. Repair of the damaged turbine blades is often a more practical and cost-effective option than replacement, as replacement is associated with high costs and loss of material resources. To this end, state-of-the-art repair technologies including different additive manufacturing and brazing processes are considered to ensure efficient repair and optimum properties of repaired components.
In any repaired part, materials property-mismatches and/or inner defects may facilitate the crack initiation and propagation and thus reduce the number of load cycles to failure. Therefore, a fundamental understanding of the fatigue crack growth and fracture mechanisms in joining zones is required to enable the prediction of the remaining life of repaired components and to further improve and adapt the repair technologies.
Fatigue crack growth experiments have been conducted on SEN (Single Edge Notch) specimens joined via brazing, and pre-sintered Preform (PSP) and multi-materials (casted/printed) specimens layered via additive manufacturing (AM). The experiments were performed at 950 °C and various stress ratios. The crack growth was measured using DCPD (Direct Current Potential Drop) method. The stress intensity factors for joined SEN specimens were calculated using the finite element method and then used to derive the fatigue crack growth curves. Metallographic and fractographic analyses were conducted to get insight into the fracture mechanism.
Results show that the experimental technique for fatigue crack growth was successfully adapted and applied for testing joined specimens. Furthermore, the initial tests indicate that the investigated braze filler material provides a lower resistance to crack growth, and bonding defects cause a crack to deviate to the interface of the base material and joining zone. In AM-sandwich specimens, the crack growth rates are significantly reduced when the crack reaches the interface of printed material and casted material. The obtained crack growth data can be used to calibrate a crack growth model, which will further be utilized to predict the remaining life of repaired components.
Gas turbine components, made of nickel-based alloys, undergo material damage due to high temperatures and mechanical stresses. These components need periodic replacement to avoid efficiency loss and failure. Repair of these parts is more cost-effective than replacement. State-of-the-art repair technologies, including different additive manufacturing (AM) and brazing processes, are considered for efficient restoration. Materials properties mismatches and/or internal defects in repaired parts may expedite crack initiation and propagation, reducing fatigue life. To understand the crack growth behavior in joining zones and predict the remaining life of repaired components, fatigue crack growth (FCG) tests were conducted on specimens of nickel-based alloys joined via brazing, pre-sintered preforms and AM. The FCG experimental technique was successfully adapted for joined specimens and results indicate that the investigated braze material provides a lower resistance to crack growth. In AM-sandwich specimens, the crack growth rates are significantly reduced at the interface of AM and cast material.
Knowledge representation in the materials science and engineering (MSE) domain is a vast and multi-faceted challenge: Overlap, ambiguity, and inconsistency in terminology are common. Invariant and variant knowledge are difficult to align cross-domain. Generic top-level semantic terminology often is too abstract, while MSE domain terminology often is too specific.
In this presentation, an approach how to maintain a comprehensive and intuitive MSE-centric terminology composing a mid-level ontology–the PMD core ontology (PMDco)–via MSE community-based curation procedures is shown.
The PMDco is designed in direct support of the FAIR principles to address immediate needs of the global experts community and their requirements. The illustrated findings show how the PMDco bridges semantic gaps between high-level, MSE-specific, and other science domain semantics, how the PMDco lowers development and integration thresholds, and how to fuel it from real-world data sources ranging from manually conducted experiments and simulations as well as continuously automated industrial applications.
Artificial bone replacement by individual customized three-dimensional resorbable bioactive glass has not yet been widely established in the clinical use. This is mainly due to the antagonism of sintering ability and suitable bioactivity. Competitive crystallization often prevents the generation of dense sintered bodies, especially for additive manufactured 3D structures. Previous studies of the fluoride-containing glass F3 have shown its potential to combine both sintering ability and suitable bioactivity. Furthermore, the occurring sintering blockade by surface crystallization of Na2CaSi2O6 was tunable by glass particle size.
In this study the glasses F3, F3-Cu with 1 mol% CuO added at the expense of CaO and the well-known 13-93 were chosen to determine the influence of surface crystallization on 3D printed sinter bodies. For this purpose, grain size fractions in range of smaller 32 µm to 315 µm in fraction size of 6-20 µm were sieved from jaw crushed glass frit as well as glass cubes were cut from casted blocks for all glasses. Sintering behavior of both pressed and printed powder compacts was observed via heating microscopy. Crystallization was determined by DTA and crystallization progress was monitored on fractured sinter bodies and polished cubes via electron and laser scanning microscopy as well as with diffractometry.
Depending on grain size the formation of crystalline support framework along former grain boundaries shows the capability to stabilize fully densified sinter bodies before softening. Beside of this, the generation of complex hierarchic porosity was possible as well.
The following work deals with the quantitative fracture surface evaluation in damage analysis. So far, fracture surfaces have almost exclusively been evaluated qualitatively, i.e. the presence of fracture features is documented and their surface proportions are estimated, if necessary. Many years of experience are required, as well as an intensive comparison with defined comparative images from the literature. The aim of this work is the development of classifiers which can recognize fracture mechanisms or fracture features in scanning electron microscope images (SEM). The basis is 46 SEM images, which have been evaluated by fractography experts with regard to fracture features. The existing data set of images is expanded using augmentation methods in order to increase the variability of the data and counteract overfitting. Only convolutional neural networks (CNN) are used to create the classifiers. Various network configurations are tested, with the SegNet achieving the best results.
The Global Exploration Strategy of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) describes a timeframe of 2020 and beyond with the ultimate aim to establish a human presence on Mars towards the 2040ies. The next steps lie on the Moon with a focus on the coming 10 years. Early lunar surface missions will establish a capability in support of lunar science and prepare and test mission operations for subsequent human exploration of Mars and long-duration human activities on the Moon.
Given the extreme costs involved in the shipping of material from Earth, a prerequisite for future human exploration is the manufacturing of elements directly on the Moon’s surface. Unlike the equipment, which at the beginning will have to be brought from Earth, raw materials and energy could be available following the concept of In-Situ Resource Utilization. The ESA OSIP PAVING THE ROAD (PAVER) study investigates the use of a laser to sinter regolith into paving elements for use as roadways and launch pads thus mitigating dust issues for transport and exploration vehicles.
The ESA-funded study examines the potential of using a laser (12 kW CO2 laser with spot beam up to 100 mm) for layer sintering of lunar and martian regolith powders to manufacture larger 3D elements and provide know-how for the automatic manufacture of paving elements in the lunar environment. The project contributes to the first step toward the establishment of a lunar base and will lead to the construction of equipment capable of paving areas and manufacturing 3D structures.
PAVER project sets the starting point for an examination of the larger context of lunar exploration. Mission scenarios will look at different phases of lunar exploration: Robotic Lunar Exploration, Survivability, Sustainability, and Operational Phase. A proposed Technology Roadmap investigates the mission scenario and analyses how, and to which extent, laser melting/sintering will play a role in the various phases of exploration. The paper contextualizes laser sintering within selected mission scenarios and discusses the different kinds of infrastructure that can be produced at each phase of the mission. The outcome of the study includes the detailing of the TRL steps in the project and an outline of a timeline for the different elements. Covered aspects include terrain modelling such as operation pads, roadways, or towers, non-pressurized building structures to protect machinery, and habitat envelopes, to protect and shield humans against dust, micrometeoroids, and radiation.
Low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) are used to fabricate multilayer circuits which are robust in harsh environments. Thick-film technology is well established for the metallization of circuit boards and microsystems. For specific sensor applications, the combination of LTCC and thin-film technology is advantageous to reach higher structure resolutions. Due to the high roughness of as-fired LTCC surfaces compared with silicon-wafers, the deposition of low-defect- films with narrowly specified properties is challenging. There is spare literature about thin films on commercial LTCC comparing different material systems or sintering techniques. For developing thin film sensors on multilayer circuits it is crucial to identify thin-film-compatible commercial LTCC material as well as the crucial surface properties. In this work we evaluate the thin-film capability of different LTCC surfaces.
The as-fired surfaces of free-sintered, constrained-sintered (sacrificial tape), and pressure-assisted sintered commercial LTCCs (DP951, CT708, CT800), as well as respective polished surfaces, were analyzed by tactile and optical roughness measurements and scanning electron microscopy. The thin-film capability of the LTCC surfaces was assessed by sheet resistance and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of deposited Ni thin-film layers. Contrary to the expectations, no correlation between roughness and thin-film capability was found. Ni thin films on constrained sintered DP951 show the lowest sheet resistance and highest TCR within the experimental framework of the as-fired surfaces. The influence of surface morphology on the film properties is discussed.
Thermoelectric generators can be used as energy harvesters for sensor applications. Multilayer thermoelectric generators (ML-TEGs) are a promising alternative to conventional π-type generators due to their high filling factor, high capability of automated production and the texturing potential during the production process. Calcium cobaltite is a promising thermoelectric oxide (p-type) with highly anisotropic properties. The following study shows the development of a textured unileg ML-TEG using ceramic multilayer technology.
Tape-casting and pressure assisted sintering are applied to fabricate textured calcium cobaltite. Compared to conventional sintering, pressure assisted sintering increases the strength by the factor 10. Thermoelectric properties can be tuned either towards maximum power factor or towards maximum figure of merit depending on the pressure level.
As electrical insulation material, a screen-printable glass-ceramic with high resistivity and adapted coefficient of thermal expansion is developed. From various commercial pastes a metallization with low contact resistance is chosen. The unileg ML-TEG is co-fired in one single step. The demonstrators reach 80% of the simulated output power and the power output is highly reproducible between the different demonstrators (99%). These results provide the first proof-of-concept for fabricating co-fired multilayer generators based on textured calcium cobaltite with high power factor, high density, and high strength.
Thermoelectric generators can be used for energy harvesting by directly transforming a temperature gradient into a voltage. Multilayer generators based on ceramic multilayer technology are an interesting alternative to conventional π-type generators. They exhibit several advantages like high filling factor, possibility of texturing, co-firing of all materials in one single-step, and reduction of production costs due to the high possible degree of automation. But, co-firing of promising oxide thermoelectric materials, Ca3Co4O9 (p-type) and CaMnO3 (n-type), is very challenging due to the large difference in sintering temperature (300 K).
In this work we show the material development of Ca3Co4O9, CaMnO3, and insulation for multilayer generators co-fired under uniaxial pressure at 900 °C. The materials are tailored regarding their sintering behavior, electrical performance and coefficients of thermal expansion. Tape-casting and pressure assisted sintering are applied to fabricate textured Ca3Co4O9. Compared to conventional sintering, pressure assisted sintering increases the strength by the factor 10 and the power factor by the factor of 20. The combination of sintering additives and uniaxial pressure is used to decrease the sintering temperature of CaMnO3 to 900 °C while maintaining acceptable thermoelectric properties.
Different generator designs (unileg and pn-type) were fabricated and analyzed regarding microstructure and thermoelectric performance. A lower level of complexity is beneficial for co-firing and performance. The unileg demonstrators reach 80% of the simulated output power and the power output is highly reproducible between the different demonstrators (99%).
Thermoelectric materials can convert waste heat directly into electrical power by using the Seebeck effect. Calcium cobaltite Ca3Co4O9 is a promising p-type oxide thermoelectric material for applications between 600 °C and 900 °C in air. The properties and morphology of Ca3Co4O9 are strongly anisotropic because of its crystal structure of alternating layers of CoO2 and Ca2CoO3. By aligning the plate-like grains, the anisotropic properties can be assigned to the component. Pressure-assisted sintering (PAS), as known from large-scale production of low temperature co-fired ceramics, was used to sinter multilayers of Ca3Co4O9 green tape at 900 °C with different pressures and dwell times. In-situ shrinkage measurements, microstructural investigations and electric measurements were performed. Pressure-less sintered multilayers have a 2.5 times higher electrical conductivity at room temperature than dry pressed test bars with randomly oriented particles. The combination of tape casting and PAS induces a pronounced alignment of the anisotropic grains. Relative density increases from 57 % after free sintering for 24 h to 94 % after 2 h of PAS with 10 MPa axial load. By applying a uniaxial pressure of 10 MPa during sintering, the electrical conductivity (at 25°C) improves by a factor of 15 compared to test bars with randomly oriented particles. The high temperature thermoelectric properties show the same dependencies. The smaller the applied axial load, the lower the relative densities, and the lower the electrical conductivity. Longer dwell times may increase the density and the electrical conductivity significantly if the microstructure is less densified as in the case of a small axial load like 2 MPa. At higher applied pressures the dwell time has no significant influence on the thermoelectric properties. This study shows that PAS is a proper technique to produce dense Ca3Co4O9 panels with good thermoelectric properties similar to hot-pressed tablets, even in large-scale production.
Lowering the sintering temperature of calcium manganate CaMnO3 for thermoelectric applications
(2018)
Thermoelectric materials can convert waste heat directly into electrical power by utilizing the Seebeck effect. Calcium cobaltite (p-type) and calcium manganate (n-type) are two of the most promising oxide thermoelectric materials. The development of cost-effective multilayer thermoelectric generators requires the co-firing of these materials and therefore the adjustment of sintering temperatures. Calcium manganate is conventionally sintered between 1200 °C and 1350 °C. Calcium cobaltite exhibits an undesired phase transition at 926 °C but can be sintered to high relative density of 95 % at 900 °C under axial pressure of 7.5 MPa. Hence, co-firing at 900 °C would be favourable. Therefore, strategies for lowering the sintering temperature of calcium manganate have been investigated. Basically, two approaches are common: i) addition of low melting additives like Bi2O3-ZnO-B2O3-SiO2 (BBSZ) glass or Bi2O3, and ii) addition of additives that form low-melting eutectics with the base material, for example CuO. In this study, several low melting additives including BBSZ glass and Bi2O3, as well as CuO were tested regarding their effect on calcium manganate densification. Bi2O3 did not improve the densification, whereas BBSZ glass led to 10 % higher relative density at 1200 °C. An addition of 4 wt% CuO decreases the temperature of maximum sinter rate from above 1200 °C to 1040 °C. By reducing the particle size of the raw materials from 2 μm to 0.7 μm the maximum sinter rate could be further shifted 20 K towards lower temperatures and the sinter begin decreased from 920 °C to 740 °C. It is shown that eutectic phase formation is more effective in lowering sintering temperature and accelerating densification than low-melting additives.
Reaction sintering and sintering additives for cost-effective production of thermoelectric oxides
(2020)
Thermoelectric oxides attract much interest recently. Although their thermoelectric properties are inferior to non-oxides, they exhibit distinct advantages. Thermoelectric oxides are stable in air at higher temperatures, their raw materials are less toxic, and more abundant. To enhance attractivity of these materials for industrial applications, production costs need to be reduced.
Conventionally, the legs of thermoelectric generators are sintered from green bodies of previously synthesized powder. Reaction-sintering is a fabrication method without a powder synthesis step, as the final phase is formed during the sintering from a raw material mixture. Moreover, the reduction of chemical potential during reaction-sintering is effective as an additional driving force for sintering. We show that reaction-sintering increases the densification of CaMnO3 (n-type, Sm doped). Consequently, the electrical conductivities improved by about 100 % leading to superior power factors (PF = 230 µW/mK² for CaMnO3).
Another approach to reduce the production costs is to lower the sintering temperature by adding sinter additives. The addition of 4 wt% CuO to CaMnO3 lowers the sinter temperature from 1250 °C to 1050 °C. The achieved power factor PF = 264 µW/mK is more than two times higher as reported in literature for the same dopant.
Thermoelectric materials can convert waste heat directly into electrical power by utilizing the Seebeck effect. Calcium cobaltite (Ca3Co4O9, p-type) and calcium manganate (CaMnO3, n-type) are two of the most promising oxide thermoelectric materials. The performance of these materials is evaluated by the power factor PF = S²∙σ and the figure of merit ZT = (PF ∙ T) / κ, demanding high Seebeck coefficient S, high electrical conductivity σ and low thermal conductivity κ. The latter two are increasing with increasing relative sinter density. According to theory, the relative density of ceramics can be improved by increasing the driving force for sintering. This study investigates different approaches to increase the driving force for sintering of Ca3Co4O9 and CaMnO3 to improve densities and thermoelectric properties.
The following approaches were applied: minimizing the energy input during powder synthesis by calcination, fine milling of the powder, using reaction-sintering without a powder synthesis step, and adding a transient liquid phase by sinter additives.
All different approaches led to an increased densification and thus higher electrical conductivity and higher PF. Thermal conductivity increased as well but not to the same extent. E.g. reaction-sintering increased the densification of Ca3Co4O9 (p-type) and CaMnO3 (n-type). Consequently, the electrical conductivities improved by about 100 % for both oxides leading to superior power factors (PF = 230 µW/mK² for CaMnO3). Although the thermal conductivity increased as well by 8 %, the figures of merit (ZT) were significantly higher compared to conventionally sintered bars. The addition of 4 wt% CuO as a sinter additive to CaMnO3 lowers the sinter temperature from above 1250 °C to below 1100 °C and increases the relative density. Due to the increased density, both electrical conductivity and PF increased by more than 200 % even though the sintering temperature was 150 K lower.
Thermoelectric generators can be used for energy harvesting by directly transforming a temperature gradient into a voltage. Multilayer generators based on low-temperature co-fired ceramics technology (LTCC) are an interesting alternative to conventional π-type generators. They exhibit several advantages like high filling factor, possibility of texturing, co-firing of all materials in one single-step, and reduction of production costs due to the high possible degree of automation. Pressure-assisted sintering enables the theoretical possibility of co-firing two promising oxide thermoelectric materials: Ca3Co4O9 (p-type) and CaMnO3 (n-type). Due to the large difference in sintering temperature (300 K) the process is very challenging.
In this work we show the material development of Ca3Co4O9, CaMnO3, insulation and metallization for multilayer generators co-fired under pressure at 900 °C. The materials are tailored regarding their sintering behavior, electrical performance and coefficients of thermal expansion. Different generator designs (unileg and pn-type) were fabricated and analyzed regarding crack formation, interaction layers and thermoelectric performance. Simulated stresses during cooling in the multilayers are compared with actual crack formation for different sintering conditions. This study shows that a lower pressure level and a lower level of complexity are beneficial for co-firing and performance.
Texturing of calcium cobaltite for thermoelectric applications by pressure assisted sintering
(2021)
Thermoelectric materials can convert waste heat directly into electrical power by using the Seebeck effect. Calcium cobaltite (CCO) is considered as a promising thermoelectric p-type oxide for energy harvesting applications at temperatures above 500 °C. The properties and morphology of single-crystal CCO are strongly anisotropic because of its crystal structure of alternating layers of CoO2 and Ca2CoO3. By aligning the plate-like grains, the anisotropic properties of the grains can be assigned to the poly-crystalline parts.
In this study, the combination of tape casting and pressure-assisted sintering is used to texture and densify large scale components (50 cm²). Thereby, the influence of powder preparation and applied pressure during sintering on texturing and thermoelectric properties is investigated.
The analysis of XRD pole figures revealed that tape casting already leads to highly textured CCO. By pressure variation during sintering, the microstructure of CCO can be tailored either toward maximum power factor as required for energy harvesting or toward maximum figure of merit as required for energy recovery. Low pressure lead to a porous microstructure and maximum figure of merit and higher pressure to full densification and maximum power factor. The electrical and thermal conductivity of CCO seem depending on both texture and sinter density.
Low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) are used to fabricate robust multilayer circuits. Typically, thick-film technology is applied for metallization. For specific sensor applications, thin films are deposited directly on the as-fired LTCC-surface. These deposited thin films are structured either by lift-off or by etching. The latter is less error-prone and thus preferred in industry provided the selected materials allow it.
200 nm Ni-thin films were deposited on three different commercial constrained-sintered LTCC (CT708, CT800 and DP951) by electron beam physical vapour deposition. The thin-films were structured by covering corresponding sections with a UV-curable photo resisn and subsequent etching of the uncovered surface, leaving behind the desired structure. The etched Ni-thin film showed high difference in failure rate and sheet resistance regarding the used LTCC-material. DP951 had the lowest sheet resistance and no failure, whereas the CT800 had a failure rate of 40 %. The LTCC with high failure rate showed a strong chemical attack by the used etching medium. To address this phenomenon, the chemical resistance of the three different commercial LTCC (CT708, CT800 and DP951) against four different commonly used etching media (sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, aqua regia, and hydrofluoric acid) is investigated. The dissolved ions are analyzed by ICP-OES to correlate the LTCC-composition and its chemical resistance.
Low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) are used to fabricate multilayer circuits which are robust in harsh environments. Thick-film technology is well established for the metallization of circuit boards and microsystems. For specific sensor applications, the combination of LTCC and thin-film technology is advantageous to reach higher structure resolutions. Due to the high roughness of as-fired LTCC surfaces compared with silicon-wafers, the deposition of low-defect- films with narrowly specified properties is challenging. The deposited thin-films are structured either by lift-off or by etching. The latter is less error-prone and thus preferred in industry provided the selected materials allow it. There is spare literature about thin films on commercial LTCC comparing different material systems or sintering techniques. For developing thin-film sensors on multilayer circuits it is crucial to identify thin-film-compatible commercial LTCC material as well as the crucial surface properties. In this work we evaluate the thin-film capability of different LTCC compositions and surface qualities.
To evaluate the influence of the material composition on the thin film capability, 200 nm Ni-thin films were deposited on three different constrained-sintered LTCC (CT708, CT800 and DP951) by electron beam physical vapour deposition. The effect of surface quality was assessed by thin-film deposition on free-sintered, pressure-assisted sintered, and polished DP951. The thin-films were structured by covering corresponding sections with a UV-curable photo resin and subsequent etching of the uncovered surface, leaving behind the desired structure.
The etched Ni-thin films showed high difference in failure rate and sheet resistance regarding the used LTCC-material. DP951 had the lowest sheet resistance and no failure, whereas CT800 had a high sheet resistance and a failure rate of 40 %. These results are correlated with surface roughness of the LTCC, scanning electron micrographs of the deposited thin-films, and the chemical resistance of the LTCC against commonly used etching media. Contrary to the expectations, no correlation between roughness and thin-film capability was found. The LTCC with high failure rate showed a strong chemical attack by the used etching medium. Additionally, the adhesion of thin-films on DP951 is better than on CT708 and CT800.
We report about a joint project aiming at the digitalization of a lab course in materials testing. The undergraduate students were asked to prepare samples of a precipitation hardened aluminum alloy and characterize them using hardness and tensile tests. In a first step, we developed the frames for the digital labor notebook using eLabFTW. The primary data and the relevant metadata of each run were saved in a central database and made available for analysis and report issues. The whole set of results produced in a course was made available in the database. This database can be improved and serve as an open repository for data on this specific alloy.
The logical frame for the joint project was provided by the PMD Core Ontology (PMDco), a mid-level ontology that enables the representation and description of processes and process chains in an MSE-specific manner, ensuring full traceability of generated data. For the digitalization of this lab course, the tensile test ontology (TTO) was applied which is designed as a module of the PMDco using strongly related semantic concepts.
This work examined the factors that influence the droplet corrosion of CO2 pipeline steels caused by oxyfuel flue gases in dense phase CO2 at 278 K, simulating the underground transport conditions. The wetting properties were studied by contact angle measurement, revealing pH and time dependency on the reactive wetting behaviors of carbon steel X70. Exposure tests with CO2 saturated water droplet on steel surface showed that the impurities (220 ppmv SO2 and 6700 ppmv O2) diffused into the droplet and then reacted with metal surfaces in dense phase condition, forming the corrosion products. The corrosion rate was confirmed strongly depending on the droplet volume as well as the SO2 concentration. Condensation experiments carried out on freshly polished coupons in CO2 with 200 ppmv H2O, 220 ppmv SO2 and 6700 ppmv O2, showed that the formation and aggregation of droplets is time and temperature dependent. At 278 K, condensation happened stronger and the corrosion products, mainly consisted of dense hydrated FeSO3/FeSO4. While at 288 K, more fluffy corrosion products consisting of iron oxide/hydroxide and hydrated FeSO3/FeSO4 were found. Further exposure tests on carbon steel coupons with different surface roughness did not reveal the difference in weight loss/gain and therefore the corrosion rate.
Study of Polyaniline/Silicon Dioxide based Coating on Carbon Steel in Artificial Geothermal Brine
(2021)
By using the available resources in Indonesia, such as silicon dioxide and marine coating base, the PANI/SiO2 modified alkyd coating was able to protect carbon steel in a deaerated artificial geothermal water. The screening of coatings shows that the modification by adding individual pigment was not sufficient to protect carbon steel even during a short-term exposure, indicated by the discoloration after only seven days of exposure. Electrochemical tests indicated that there was no significant change in the Ecorr between the coated and uncoated carbon steel at room temperature. At 150 °C, the coated carbon steel has a lower potential than that of carbon steel, indicating that the coating is protecting carbon steel cathodically or slowing down the corrosion reaction. Finally, a long-term exposure test confirmed that the PANI/SiO2 modified coating successfully protects the carbon steel in the Sibayak artificial geothermal water up to 150 °C for 6 months.
Commercially available carbon steels are suitable for compression and pipelines as long as moisture content and impurities are limited. (water 50 to 100 ppmv, SO2 and NO2 ca. 100 ppmv) Corrosion rates increase with increasing water content. (0.2 – 20 mm/a) Condensation of acids and therefore droplet formation is always possible, even at low water contents. A low SO2 content within the CO2-stream might be more important than a low water content. Cr13-steels showed a general susceptibility to shallow pitting and pitting. So, they seem to be not suitable for CCUS applications. Low alloyed steels showed better corrosion behavior (predictable uniform corrosion). For direct contact with saline aquifer fluids only high alloyed steels shall be used.
Commercially available carbon steels are suitable for compression and pipelines as long as moisture content and impurities are limited. (water 50 to 100 ppmv, SO2 and NO2 ca. 100 ppmv).
Corrosion rates increase with increasing water content.
(0.2 – 20 mm/a).
Condensation of acids and therefore droplet formation is always possible, even at low water contents.
A low SO2 content within the CO2-stream might be more important than a low water content.
Cr13-steels showed a general susceptibility to shallow pitting and pitting. So, they seem to be not suitable for CCUS applications.
Low alloyed steels showed better corrosion behavior. (predictable uniform corrosion)
For direct contact with saline aquifer fluids only high alloyed steels shall be used.
This contribution provides current findings regarding materials susceptibility for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) applications. Basing on results gathered in 2 German long-term projects (COORAL and CLUSTER) suitable materials are introduced as well as dominating impurities of the CO2-stream and corrosion mechanisms. Investigations cover the whole CCUS process chain and provide material recommendations for certain parts.
To reveal the corrosion resistance of casing steel/mortar interface in CO2 injection condition, sandwich samples were prepared and exposed up to 20 weeks in aquifer fluid under 10 MPa and 60 °C.
Cross section analysis revealed the crevice corrosion as main mechanism instead of pitting corrosion despite very high concentration of Cl in NGB.
EDS element line scan analysis of the 20-week-exposed metal/mortar coupon showed Chloride distribution, which still not reached the metal/mortar interface, explaining no pitting was observed.
It was confirmed that FeCO3 cannot protect the steel surface in CO2 saturated NGB.
To verify the protective possibility of passivation happened on casing steel/mortar interface, simulated pore solution was synthesized and used to passivate the steel for 42 days. OCP and EIS confirmed the formation of passive layer.
The 42 day passivated layer was broken during the first minute of exposure in CO2 saturated NGB.
However, due to high concentration of Ca2+, a new carbonate CaCO3 dense layer was formed, increased the corrosion resistance of steel surface.
CO2 quality specifications are not only a matter of CO2 purity (i.e. CO2 content).
The “rest” also matters, in particular contents of reactive impurities affecting material corrosion (and rock alteration).
Also chemical reactions in CO2 stream needs to be considered, in particular when combining CO2 streams of different compositions.
Al2O3 coatings are often used as protective layers on steels against electrochemical and high-temperature corrosion because they are chemically inert and stable at elevated temperatures. This study presents preliminary work on the possibilities of using Al2O3 sol-gel coatings for corrosion protection of martensitic stainless steels in geothermal environments. Al2O3 sol-gel coatings were applied on UNS S42000, which is known to be susceptible to uniform and localized corrosion. The coated steel specimens were then tested in two types of artificial geothermal water, which simulate the geothermal fluids found in Sibayak (SBY), Indonesia, and North German Basin (NGB), Germany, respectively. SBY has pH 4 and 1.5 g/L of chloride ions, whereas NGB has a pH of 6 and 166 g/L of chloride ions. All experiments were carried out in autoclaves at 150 °C and 1 MPa under the deaerated condition. Evaluations were performed by investigating the surface profiles of both uncoated and coated steels before and after the corrosion test using a Laser Scanning Microscope (LSM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Finally, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) was performed to compare the corrosion resistance of Al2O3 coated steels in SBY and NGB solutions. It was observed from the corrosion test that Al2O3 coatings are more suitable for use in the geothermal water with a higher pH.
This contribution provides current findings regarding materials susceptibility for CCUS applications. Basing on results gathered in 2 German long-term projects (COORAL and CLUSTER) suitable materials are introduced as well as dominating impurities of the CO2 stream and corrosion mechanisms. Investigations cover the whole CCUS process chain and provide the following recommendations for certain parts. Commercially available carbon steels are suitable for compression and pipelines as long as moisture content and impurities are limited (water 50 to 100 ppmv, SO2 and NO2 ca. 100 ppmv).
Corrosion rates increase with increasing water content (0.2 – 20 mm/a).
Condensation of acids and therefore droplet formation is always possible, even at low water contents.
A low SO2 content within the CO2-stream might be more important than a low water content.
Cr13-steels showed a general susceptibility to shallow pitting and pitting. So, they seem to be not suitable for CCUS applications.
Low alloyed steels showed better corrosion behavior (predictable uniform corrosion).
For direct contact with saline aquifer fluids only high alloyed steels shall be used.
Slow crack growth (SCG) under the influence of external fluid media, usually termed environmental stress cracking (ESC), is still one of the most frequent origins of severe damage and failure of polymeric materials. For polyethylene (PE) this is relevant for mass products, like bottles for consumer products, but also for high-performance materials for pipes or industrial packaging, including containers for chemicals and other dangerous goods. Especially for high-density polyethylene (PE-HD) the susceptibility to SGC and ESC is depending on the complex interplay between molecular weight and architecture and the resulting semicrystalline morphology, especially the formation of tie-molecules.
A reliable assessment of the resistance against this damage phenomenon is essential for demanding as well as safety-critical applications and has to take into account suitable testing methodologies and conditions in combination with environmental media reflecting the properties representative for typical fillings and relevant components causing ESC. In this context a better understanding of different influencing factors, such as sorption, swelling or surface activity is necessary together with a detailed characterization of different stages of crack propagation and underlying mechanisms. Therefor well-established testing methods, such as the Full Notch Creep Test (FNCT), were complemented by detailed fracture surface analysis using e.g. LSM and SEM in combination with a time-dependent optical monitoring of the progressing crack growth.
For the crack growth also the ratio of fibrillated craze zone to crack opening is important for the deeper understanding of crack propagation and related material parameters which can be additionally addressed by X-ray computed tomography.
The underlying cause of mechanical anisotropy in additively manufactured (AM) parts is not yet fully understood and has been attributed to several different factors like microstructural defects, residual stresses, melt pool boundaries, crystallographic and morphological textures.
To better understand the main contributing factor to the mechanical anisotropy of AM stainless steel 316L, bulk specimens were fabricated via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF).
Tensile specimens were machined from these AM bulk materials for three different inclinations relative to the build plate. Dynamic Young's modulus measurements and tensile tests were used to determine the mechanical anisotropy. Some tensile specimens were also subjected to residual stress measurement via neutron diffraction, porosity determination with X-ray micro-computed tomography, and texture analysis with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). A crystal plasticity model was used to analyze the elastic anisotropy and the anisotropic yield behavior of the AM specimens, and it was able to capture and predict the experimental behavior accurately. Overall, it was shown that the mechanical anisotropy of the tested specimens was mainly influenced by the crystallographic texture.
Virtual-lab-based determination of a macroscopic yield function for additively manufactured parts
(2019)
This work aims for an yield function description of additively manufactured (AM) parts of S316L steel at the continuum-mechanical macro-scale by means of so-called virtual experiments using a crystal plasticity (CP) model at meso-scale. Additively manufactured parts require the consideration of the specific process-related microstructure, which prevents this material to be macroscopically treated as isotropic, because of crystallographic as well as topological textures.
EBSD/CT-Scans from in-house additively manufactured specimen extract the unique microstructural topology which is converted to a representative volume element (RVE) with grain structure and crystal orientations.
Crystal plasticity model parameters on this RVE are calibrated and validated by means of mechanical testing under different texture angles. From virtual experiments on this RVE, yield loci under various loading conditions are simulated. The scale bridging from meso- to macro-scale is realised by the identification of the simulated yield loci as a modified anisotropic Barlat-type yield model representation.
Ontologies that represent a map of the concepts and relationships between them, are becoming an effective solution for data standardization and integration of different resources in the field of materials science, as efficient data storage and management is the building block of material digitization. However, building a domain ontology is not a simple task. It requires not only a collaborative effort between ontologists and domain experts, but also the modeling approaches and tools play a key role in the process. Among all approaches, graphical representation of domain ontologies based on standard conceptual modeling languages is widely used because of its intuitiveness and simplicity. Various tools have been developed to realize this approach in an intuitive way, such as Protégé plugins and web visualization tools.
The Materials-open-Lab (MatOLab) project, which aims to develop ontologies and workflows in accordance with testing standards for the materials science and engineering domains, adopted a UML (Unified Modeling Language) approach based on the diagrams.net. It is a powerful, popular, open-source graphical editor. In practical case studies, however, many users’ needs could not be met, such as reusing ontology, conversion, and data mapping. Users must switch between different tools to achieve a certain step, and thereby invariably increase learning cost. The lack of validation also leads to incorrect diagrams and results for users who are not familiar with the ontology rules. To address these issues, we designed Ontopanel, a diagrams.net-based plugin that includes a set of pipeline tools for semantic modeling: importing and displaying protégé-like ontologies, converting diagrams to OWL, validating diagrams by OWL rules, and mapping data. It uses diagrams.net as the front-end for method modeling and Django as the back-end for data processing. As a web-based tool, it is very easy to expand its functionality to meet changing practical needs.
An investigation of the dislocation substructure and mechanical properties of high-purity niobium single crystals with different initial crystal orientations deformed in tension at strain rates of 10^{-4} to 10^3 s^{-1} is presented. Specimens were cut from a large grain niobium disk used for the manufacturing of SRF cavities. Different crystallographic tensile directions exhibited significantly different softening and hardening behaviors and elongation at fracture. Such anisotropy is reduced at high strain rates. Also, different dislocation substructures were observed with TEM at low and high strain rates. At low strain rates, dislocation cells with a high density of long dislocations were observed. At high strain rates, homogeneously distributed dislocations with a higher dislocation dipole density were observed. The relationship between the differences in dislocation substructures and mechanical properties at low and high strain rates and the potential effects on the superconducting properties are discussed.
A constitutive model for the mechanical behaviour of single crystal Ni-base superalloys under high temperature conditions has been developed in the framework of a Cooretec project in cooperation with Siemens AG, MTU Aero Engines AG and University Bayreuth. In addition to the conventional material properties e.g. elastic constants, the model requires the parameters of the initial microstructure as an input. Thus, the γ’-precipitate size and the channel width of the γ-matrix were obtained from SEM micrographs. The model uses the slip system theory and describes the movement, multiplication and annihilation of dislocations in the channels. Furthermore, the cutting of precipitates is another mechanism contributing to the plastic flow. The evolution of the morphology due to rafting and its effects on the deformation have been implemented according to. The kinematic hardening is introduced as a stress tensor to realistically represent the strain hardening of arbitrary oriented single crystals.
The mechanical behaviour of single crystal specimens has been experimentally investigated in tension tests at different strain rates and in creep tests under various loads. The constitutive model has been calibrated based on the experimental data for temperatures of 950°C and 850°C and the [001] and [111] crystallographic orientations.
Finally, a micromechanical model was created to simulate the creep response of additive manufactured polycrystalline structures. An EBSD image is taken to obtain the grain geometry and their respective orientation. The grain boundaries are discretised using cohesive elements, whereas the single crystal model was applied to each grain in the representative volume. The polycrystal model is generated using Dream3D, NetGen and other software previously developed at the BAM.
A main source of current challenges in materials science and engineering is the ever-increasing complexity in materials chemistry and processing resulting in complex microstructures, making the assessment of process-microstructure-property-performance relations difficult, even unmanageable. Here the computational materials science is facing the same situation. In this talk, I share a viewpoint that the complexities in chemistry, processing and microstructures can be circumscribed by integrating existing knowledges of bulk thermodynamics and kinetics to the unknown thermodynamics and kinetics of microstructure elements. To this end, I discuss several successful examples on grain boundary segregation engineering how this scientific advance can be conducted. A roadmap is proposed, beginning to form on generalizing the concept of phase diagrams.
Engineering grain boundaries demands a quantitative description of both their segregation and specific phase behavior. Recently I have proposed a density-based model for grain boundary thermodynamics that enables CALPHAD integrated derivation of grain boundary phase diagrams, broadly applied now in studying various alloys. Combining this model with experimental investigations, in this talk, new aspects of interfacial segregation and phase transformation revealed in polycrystalline alloys are discussed. The effect of elastic interaction on grain boundary phase behavior is incorporated. We consider Al alloys and novel high-entropy alloys and discuss a general strategy for grain boundary engineering.
Interfacial Spinodals
(2021)
Despite their finite spatial extent, interfaces can have profound impacts on microstructure properties. This is because of their distinct phase-like properties distinguishing them from the adjacent homogeneous bulk structure. When noticed by solute atoms, interfaces can experience their own chemical phase changes. In this talk, we investigate the constrained states of chemically decomposed phases at interfaces. A density-based theory of interfaces is proposed to describe the confined chemical decomposition at general grain boundaries. Here the grain boundary is viewed as a lesser dense, defected structure with reference to the corresponding bulk structure. Using this picture, the thermodynamic origins of interfacial spinodal phenomena are revealed. We also show that transient interfacial spinodals can be activated over a large alloy composition range, enabling kinetic engineering of interfacial chemistry.
Several recent studies have revealed that the phase decomposition in medium- and high-entropy alloys is triggered by solute segregation at grain boundaries. The chemically complex nature of these alloys already clues that such segregation in materials should be something more than the interaction between solutes and grain boundary, but also affected by the solute-solute interactions during the segregation. In fact, experiments indicate the significance of such solute-solute interaction. Yet, the mechanisms of co-segregation in multi-component alloys are rather challenging to explore and rarely studied quantitatively. Recently, a CALPHAD-integrated density-based phase-field model has been proposed for studying grain boundary phenomena. Several applications of this model have shown its expansive capacity for investigating grain boundary segregation and phase behavior. In this talk, the applications of this model to studying co-segregation phenomena and grain boundary phase diagrams in multi-component alloys are presented ––the term ‘co-segregation’ here refers to co-evolution and any mutual interplay among the solutes and grain boundary during the segregation. In particular, the iron-based ternary and quaternary alloys are discussed. I show how a grain boundary may have its own miscibility gap and how this immiscibility can influence the co-segregation behavior. As an alternative to grain boundary phase diagrams, rather suited for binary and ternary alloys, a new concept of co-segregation maps for screening and segregation design in multi-component alloys is presented. Applying the co-segregation maps, the nonlinear Mn and Cr co-segregation in Fe-Co-Mn-Cr is discussed.
The Gibbs free energy of a grain boundary is a complex thermodynamic function of temperature, pressure, and composition. These complexities add to the intrinsic crystallographic and chemical constraints imposed by the adjacent bulk phase. Recently we have proposed a density-based model for assessing grain boundary thermodynamics that enables a CALPHAD-informed description of the grain boundary. As such, the Gibbs free energy of the grain boundary is directly linked with available CALPHAD thermodynamic data. In this talk, new aspects of interfacial segregation and phase transformation are revealed by benchmarking the current model for various experimental cases, including several steels, high-entropy alloys and aluminum alloys. The effects of elastic interactions on the grain boundary segregation and the application of the model to a nanocrystalline Pt-Au alloy, with numerous grain boundaries of various characters, will be discussed.
Efforts towards digitalization in the material science and technology community have enhanced in the last years. In 2019 the German digitalization initiative platform „MaterialDigital“1 (MD) has been started. Numerous projects concerning digitalization, including the copper related project „KupferDigital“ (copper digital) have been initiated under the umbrella of MD. The initiative strives to
address numerous issues concerning data access, exchange, security, provenance and sovereignty. Heterogeneous data origin, storage and evaluation often result in problems concerning comparability and reproducibility of scientific and technological results. In many cases material data are recorded, but the methods of testing are insufficiently described, or such information is not communicated along with the raw data. The material data can also have numerous different formats such as paper printouts, pdfs, excel sheets or csv-files. Hence, gathering and integrating material data from different sources is challenging for potential users like materials scientists and engineers, especially if there are contradictory data where the reasons for contradictions is not clear due their vague description. In order to address these problems, data should comply to the so called „FAIR“ principle which calls for data to be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR)2 and hence be accessible via so-called decentralized but interconnected data spaces. By using knowledge representation withontologies, data can be enriched with meaning and the methods of the testing procedures can be accurately provided. In this presentation we want to introduce our approach to such knowledge representation based on a high-throughput alloy development process for Cu-based alloys³ along with characterization techniques such as hardness testing and microstructural characterization (e.g. EBSD – Electron Backscattered Diffraction).
Recent advances in Deep Learning (DL) have significantly impacted the field of materials modelling. DL tools have been recently considered as promising tools to address the complex relationships among processing, microstructure and property of materials. The thermal stability of polycrystalline materials is a highly interesting and complex problem that could be addressed using DL techniques. The Multi-Phase-Field (MPF) method has emerged as a powerful tool for addressing grain growth phenomena from multiple perspectives. Unlike sharp-interface based methods, the MPF approach bypasses the need for detailed information on individual grains. In this work, we use DL to address issues related to MPF simulations of grain growth including numerical efficiency, computing speed, and resource consumption. This presents specific challenges for high-performance computing (HPC) due to the large datasets and complex computations required by both MPF and DL methods. We study various 3D microstructure settings with the goal of accelerating the simulation process while exploring different physical effects. In particular, the impact of grain boundary and triple junction energies on grain growth are to be investigated. The results will be presented in terms of the evolving size and shape distribution of the grains.
The first documentation of fuel biodeterioration dates back to the late 19th century. However, extensive studies concerning the microbial fuel contamination started in 1980’s. Polymeric fuel storage tanks containing diesel and biodiesel provide environmental conditions for microbial growth. Several studies demonstrated that bacteria, which were found in contaminated fuel systems, can use fuels as macronutrient; but such bacteria can also cause microbiologically influenced corrosion and fouling.
The aim of this study is to investigate the initial attachment behavior of bacteria, isolated from a diesel contamination, on neat and photooxidized high-density polyethylene (PE-HD). Two common PE-HD’s, less- and biodiesel-stabilized, were radiated to UV light representing a tank exposed to sunlight. The effect of photooxidiation on PE-HD’s surface were characterized chemically by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The attached bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis on the polymer surface were evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and colony-forming unit tests (CFU).
PE-HD as a polymeric fuel storage tank material: Photooxidation, fuel sorption and long-term storage
(2018)
High-density polyethylene (PE-HD) is a commodity thermoplastic polymer which is typically used for packing of dangerous goods. Its good resistance against photooxidation, fuels, chemicals and other environmental factors in addition to low production costs makes PE-HD attractive for fuel storage applications. Typical engine fuels stored in polymer tanks are petrol, diesel and biodiesel that receives increasing attention as proper alternative to fossil fuels. One of the major problems with biodiesel is its susceptibility to oxidize due to its chemical composition of unsaturated fatty acids which also can cause polymer degradation.
The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of different environmental factors, UV radiation and commonly stored fuels, on the mechanical, physical and chemical properties of two types of PE-HD polymers (stabilized and non-stabilized). The influence on the mechanical properties was tested by Charpy and tensile tests, chemical and physical properties were evaluated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and by dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA) tests. Samples were characterized after varying exposure time of UV radiation and after fully and partially immersion in biodiesel. In addition, similar experiments were conducted using diesel for comparison.
Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies such as Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) are characterized by layer wise construction, which enable advancements of component design, with associated potential gains in performance and efficiency. However, high magnitude residual stresses (RS) are often a product of the rapid thermal cycles typical of the layerwise process. Therefore, a deep understanding of the formation of RS, the influence of process parameters on their magnitude and the impact on mechanical performance is crucial for widespread application. The experimental characterisation of these RS is essential for safety related engineering application and supports the development of reliable numerical models. Diffraction-based methods for RS analysis using neutrons and high energy X-rays enable non-destructive spatially resolved characterisation of both surface and bulk residual stresses in complex components. This presentation will provide an overview of recent research by the BAM at large scale facilities for the characterization of residual stresses in LPBF metallic alloys as a function of process parameters. In addition, the challenges posed by the textured and hierarchical microstructures of LPBF materials on diffraction-based RS analysis in AM materials will be discussed. This will include the question of the d0 reference lattice spacing and the appropriate choice of the diffraction elastic constants (DECs) to calculate the level of RS in LPBF manufactured alloys.
An overview of the BAM funed Focus Area Materials Project "AGIL" will be presented. AGIL focussed on the stdiy of the ageing characteristics of additively manufactured austenitic stainless steel with a "powder to mechanical failure" Approach. Recent Highlights are presented and a perspective for future studies.
Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is an additive manufacturing process for materials which inherently tends to yield various degrees of metastable hierarchical microstructures, defects and high residual stresses in the as-built condition depending on the process parameters. The understanding of the evolution of these typical features during heat treatment and subsequent thermal and mechanical ageing is crucial for the wider acceptance for safety critical structures. A multi-disciplinary research project at BAM studying the development of the microstructure, defects, residual stresses typical of LPBF 316L and their evolution during thermal and mechanical ageing has led to insights into the stability of these inherent features. This presentation aims to give a broad overview of the project with a few specific cases of investigation. Firstly, the formation of residual stresses, the nature of the initial microstructure, the tensile properties and a modelling approach to understand the anisotropy will be presented. This will be followed by examples of studies of their evolution during heat treatment, long term thermal exposure, and room temperature and high temperature mechanical testing compared to a baseline of conventional wrought variant of the same alloy.
Sulfur and water have a fundamental impact on the corrosion rate and potential failure of materials. It is therefore necessary to understand the mechanisms, rates, and potential means of transport, as well as the reactions of these elements with an alloy. This work investigates the effect of water vapor in the initial stages of SO2 corrosion of an ferritic model alloy containing 9 wt% Cr and 0.5 wt% Mn.
The exposure experiments were studied at 650°C in situ under laboratory conditions using energy-dispersive x-ray diffraction analysis. Two separate experiments were run, one with a 99.5% Ar + 0.5% SO2 atmosphere and one with a 69.5% Ar + 0.5% SO2 + 30% H2O atmosphere. With a wet atmosphere, the alloy formed a scale with decreasing oxygen content towards the scale–alloy interface. Sulfides were identified above and below a (Fe, Cr)3O4 layer in the inner corrosion zone. In contrast to this, the overall scale growth was slower in a dry SO2 atmosphere.
Virtual-lab-based determination of a macroscopic yield function for additively manufactured parts
(2018)
This work presents a method for the yield function determination of additively manufactured parts of S316L steel. A crystal plasticity model is calibrated with test results and used afterwards to perform so-called virtual experiments, that account for the specific process-related microstructure including crystallographic and morphological textures. These simulations are undertaken on a representative volume element (RVE), that is generated from EBSD/CT-Scans on in-house additively manufactured specimen, considering grain structure and crystal orientations. The results of the virtual experiments are used to determine an anisotropic Barlat yield function, that can be used in a macroscopical continuum-sense afterwards. This scale-bridging approach enables the calculation of large-scale parts, that would be numerically too expensive to be simulated by a crystal plasticity model.
Single crystal superalloys usually contain pores of sizes 5-10 micro-m after casting and heat treatment. These pores can be reduced under compression by combined creep and diffusion in a subsequent treatment called Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP). The paper presents a methodology to simulate pore shrinkage under HIP conditions in two dimensions (2D).
At the scale of the pores, which is also the scale of the sub-grains (<50 micro-m) the dislocation sources cannot be assumed to be homogeneously distributed. Thus, the applicability of classical crystal plasticity is questionable. In this case, the transport of dislocations under an applied stress from the location where they are nucleated must be explicitly modelled. This is done by solving the transport equations for the dislocation densities and the elasticity equations in 2D. The dislocations are assumed to be nucleated at Low Angle Boundaries. They glide or climb through the sub-grains with a stress dependent velocity.
The transport equations are solved by the Flux-Corrected Transport method, which belongs to the predictor-corrector class of algorithms. In the first step, an artificial diffusion is introduced, which suppresses spurious oscillations of the solution. In a second step, the solution is corrected in such a way that no additional extremes appear and that the extremes do not grow. The algorithm is validated by simulating the transport of simple distributions with a constant velocity field.
With the dislocation velocities and the computed dislocation densities, the inelastic shear rate at the slip system level is computed by integrating the Orowan equation. In the 2D-setting, three slip systems are considered. The contributions of these slip systems are summed up to obtain the total inelastic strain rate. Dislocation glide and climb and the coupling of climb with vacancies diffusion are considered.
The resolution of the equilibrium equations from the inelastic strains turned out to be prone to numerical instabilities. As an alternative, the stresses are directly computed from the distribution of geometrically necessary dislocations following the method presented in. The resulting boundary value problem is solved by the Least-Square Finite Element method.
Examples of simulations are presented for a representative region under creep tension and for a pore shrinking under external pressure.
The creep behavior of single-crystals of the nickel-base superalloy CMSX-4 was investigated at 1288°C, which is the temperature of the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment applied to this superalloy in the industry. It was found that at this super-solvus temperature, where no Gamma’-strengthening occurs, the superalloy is very soft and rapidly deforms under stresses between 4 and 16 MPa. The creep resistance was found to be very anisotropic, e.g. the creep rate of [001] crystals was about 11 times higher than that of a [111] crystal. The specimens of different orientations also showed a very different necking behavior. The reduction of the cross-section area psi of [001] crystals reached nearly 100%, while for a [111] crystal psi=62%. The EBSD analysis of deformed specimens showed that despite such a large local strain the [001] crystals didn’t not recrystallize, while a less deformed [111] crystal totally recrystallized within the necking zone. From the shape of deformed specimens and TEM investigations it was concluded that the main strain contribution resulted from <011> {111} octahedral slip.
Turbine blades often contain cylindric holes used to generate an air film that protects the blade alloy from the hot gases. These cooling holes of diameter around one mm are drilled by laser through the thickness of the blades. Unfortunately, the resulting stress concentration and the drilling-induced damage are known to favor crack initiation from the holes. It is thus necessary to assess the impact of these cooling holes on the structural integrity of the blades. Since cracks initiate very readily, the fatigue life of the components is mainly controlled by the propagation of the cracks in the stress gradient induced by the holes.
For this purpose, displacement controlled high-temperature LCF (Low-Cycle-Fatigue) tests were performed with center hole specimens of a coarse-grained Nickel base Superalloy. The tests were stopped after a defined load drop. In addition, crack propagation tests with Double Edge Notch specimens were performed. Moreover, specimens with different hole surface finishes were investigated, which showed a detrimental effect of the hole surface roughness. In parallel, an evaluation of the LCF tests based on a fracture mechanics-based model (Madia et al., Eng. Fract. Mech., 2018) has been applied. Thereby, the specimen life is controlled by the crack propagation time until failure. Crack growth is controlled by a modified NASGRO equation accounting for large-scale yielding and a progressive build-up of crack closure. The initial crack size has been derived from the measurements of defects around the borehole. A reasonable agreement between predicted and measured lifetimes is observed if one keeps in mind the large uncertainty regarding the effective shape of the cracks.
The scatter of fatigue crack growth data can become significant for coarse grained materials. By using a probabilistic description of crack propagation as the foundation of a lifetime prediction model, lifetime scatter of laboratory specimens can be reproduced. However, the lifetime of real components is subjected to additional scattering factors such as surface condition or uncertainty regarding direction and shape of emerging cracks. These factors need to be addressed in order to exploit the advantages of probabilistic description, i.e. the reduction of unnecessary conservatisms.
High temperature LCF (Low-Cycle-Fatigue) tests were performed with center hole specimens of a coarse-grained Nickel base Superalloy. In addition, crack propagation tests with Double Edge Notch specimens were performed. A procedure to detect the shape of the starting crack that combines the potential drop method and induction thermography was developed. The geometry and the number of notches were varied. Moreover, specimen with different hole surface finishes were investigated, which showed a detrimental effect of the roughness of the hole surface.
The results have been compared to predictions of a probabilistic tool for the estimation of lcf lifetime that has been calibrated beforehand on laboratory specimens with and without notches. In parallel, a fracture mechanics-based lifetime model was developed, which includes the initial crack size as a critical parameter. Thereby, the influence of the large grain size (>1mm), and the shape of the starting crack at the notch were considered.
Acknowledgements
The investigations are conducted as part of the joint research program COOREFLEX-Turbo in the frame of AG Turbo. The work is supported by Siemens AG and the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie (BMWi) as per resolution of the German Federal Parliament under grant number 03ET7071E.
Inconel 718 (IN718) is a traditional age-hardenable nickel-based alloy that has been increasingly processed by additive manufacturing (AM) in recent years. In the as-solidified condition, IN718 exhibits chemical segregation and the undesired Laves phase, requiring a solution annealing (SA) prior to aging. The material produced by AM does not respond to the established thermal routines in the same way as conventionally produced IN718, and there is still no consensus on which routine yields optimal results. This work aims to provide a fundamental understanding of the heat treatment (HT) response by continuously monitoring the microstructural evolution during SA via time-resolved synchrotron x-ray diffraction, complemented by ex-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The samples were produced by laser powder bed fusion to a geometry of 10x20x90 mm³, from which Ø1x5 mm³ cylindric specimens were extracted. Two different scanning strategies – incremental 67° rotations, Rot, and alternating 0°/67° tracks, Alt – were used, leading to two different as-built conditions. 1-hour SAs were carried out in the beamline ID22 of the ESRF at 50 KeV. Two SA temperatures, SA1 = 1020 °C, and SA2 = 1080 °C were tested for each scanning strategy. Data were processed using the software PDIndexer. In the as-built state, all samples showed typical subgrain columnar cell structures with predominant Nb/Mo segregation and Laves phase at the cell walls, as seen by SEM. The Alt scan induced higher intensity on the Laves peaks than the Rot scan, suggesting a greater content of Laves. Chemical homogenization in the SA was largely achieved during the heating ramp (Fig. 1). SA2 eliminated the Laves peaks just before reaching 1080 °C, and mitigated differences between Rot and Alt samples. On the other hand, SA1 induced the precipitation of the generally detrimental δ phase, also observed by SEM. Furthermore, the Rot scan showed higher δ peak intensities than the Alt scan, indicating a higher content of δ in the latter. No signs of recrystallization were observed in any of the investigated SAs.
Common air-coupled transducers for non-destructive testing consist of a piezocomposite material and several matching layers. Better acoustical matching to air is achieved by transducers based on charged cellular polypropylene (PP). This material has about hundred times lower acoustic impedance than any piezocomposite, having about the same piezoelectric coefficient. The piezoelectric properties of cellular PP are caused by the polarization of air cells. Alternatively, a ferroelectret receiver can be understood as a capacitive microphone with internal polarization creating permanent internal voltage. The sensitivity of the receiver can be increased by applying additional bias voltage. We present an ultrasonic receiver based on cellular PP including a high-voltage module providing bias voltage up to 2 kV. The application of bias voltage increased the signal by 12 to 15 dB with only 1 dB increase of the noise.
This receiver was combined with a cellular PP transmitter in through transmission to inspect several test specimens consisting of glass-fiber-reinforced polymer face sheets and a porous closed-cell PVC core. These test specimens were inspected before and after load. Fatigue cracks in the porous PVC core and some fatigue damage in the face sheets were detected. These test specimens were originally developed to emulate a rotor blade segment of a wind power plant. Similar composite materials are used in lightweight aircrafts for the general aviation. The other inspected test specimen was a composite consisted of glass-fiber-reinforced polymer face sheets and a wooden core. The structure of the wooden core could be detected only with cellular PP transducers, while commercial air-coupled transducers lacked the necessary sensitivity. Measured on a 4-mm thick carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer plate, cellular PP transducers with additional bias voltage achieved a 32 dB higher signal-to-noise ratio than commercial air-coupled transducers.
The main deference between high entropy alloys and conventional alloys is the solid solution strengthening effect, which moves from a single element to a multi-element matrix. Little is known about the effectiveness of this effect at high temperatures. Investigation of temperature dependent solid solution strengthening in single phase multicomponent alloys with medium and high entropy using creep testing was performed. Creep tests carried out on single phase SX CrCoNi , CrMnFeCoNi and pure Ni from 700 to 1200 °C excluding oxidation, grain boundaries and multiphase effects. It was found that the influence of solid solution strengthening of CrCoNi and CrMnFeCoNi increases by decreasing temperature (1200 to 700 °C), and dislocation forests occur in CrCoNi and CrMnFeCoNi in comparison to pure Ni.
The cyclic crack tip opening displacement ΔCTOD is a promising loading Parameter to quantify the crack propagation under thermomechanical fatigue (TMF). In this work, suitable techniques are investigated and compared for an accurate calculation of ΔCTOD under TMF loading using a viscoplastic temperature dependent material model.
It turned out that collapsed special crack tip elements give the best results. An efficient FEM-technique is developed to simulate the incremental crack growth by successive remeshing, whereby the deformations and internal state variables are mapped from the old mesh onto the new one. The developed techniques are demonstrated and discussed for two-dimensional examples like TMF-specimens. Recommendations are made regarding important numerical control parameters like optimal size of crack tip elements, length of crack growth increment in relation to plastic zone size and ΔCTOD value.
The cyclic crack tip opening displacement ΔCTOD is a promising loading Parameter to quantify the crack propagation under thermomechanical fatigue (TMF). In this work, suitable techniques are investigated and compared for an accurate calculation of ΔCTOD under TMF loading using a viscoplastic temperature dependent material model.
It turned out that collapsed special crack tip elements give the best results. An efficient FEM-technique is developed to simulate the incremental crack growth by successive remeshing, whereby the deformations and internal state variables are mapped from the old mesh onto the new one. The developed techniques are demonstrated and discussed for two-dimensional examples like TMF-specimens. Recommendations are made regarding important numerical control parameters like optimal size of crack tip elements, length of crack growth increment in relation to plastic zone size and ΔCTOD value.
Due to combined cyclic mechanical and thermal loading during operation, the material of exhaust gas conducting components of combustion engines is exposed to thermomechanical fatigue (TMF). This leads to formation and growth of cracks, especially at the most highly stressed points of these components. In order to better predict the service life of cracked components before failure, it is necessary to identify a crack propagation law for the material used. Isothermal crack propagation tests have been carried out at several temperatures with a typical cast iron to identify such a law. The crack length is measured by the potential drop method. The compliance method, fractography and thermographic camera measurements have been used to validate and calibrate the potential drop measurements. Each of the isothermal tests has been simulated using a specially developed FEM-algorithm based on remeshing and remapping. This algorithm has been implemented in python and ABAQUS. Thereby, the crack tip region is modeled by collapsed Quad8 elements. From the individual simulations, the cyclic crack tip opening displacement (ΔCTOD) is extracted and regarded as a potential fracture mechanics parameter which controls the crack growth rate. By combining the data from the experiments and the simulations, the crack propagation law has been identified. Finally, anisothermal crack propagation tests have been performed for validation of the crack growth law.
Wind turbine rotor blades commonly fail before their projected 20-year lifespan largely due to defects that originate during manufacturing and are propagated by operational fatigue and environmental conditions. The cost-intensive replacement outcomes lead to a high loss of earnings, and are one of the inhibitors of wind turbine production. A potential repair alternative to restoring the mechanical properties of such lightweight fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) structures is to locally patch these areas with scarf joints. This type of repair allows for a smoother load distribution across the joint, and is favored especially on structures where minor aerodynamic contour changes are key. The effects of such repairs on the structural integrity, however, is still largely unknown. Building upon an understanding of the static load failure mechanism of GFRP scarf joints, presented at the ICCS23 Joint Event in 2020, the influence of the fiber orientation mismatch between parent and repair materials of 1:50 scarf joints on the failure mechanism of monolithic glass FRP specimens under cyclic fatigue load were examined in this study. Specimens with various layups were produced with the vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) process using biaxial E-glass non-crimp fabric (NCF). The patch layers were then joined directly to the parent structure with the VARI using biaxial E-glass NCF with half the areal weight of the parent side to allow for better drapability. This mimics the soft-to-hard patch style utilized in wind turbine blade shell field repairs. The specimens were tested under uniaxial fatigue load, during which they were periodically monitored for damage onset. A comparison of the +45/-45° and 0/90° layups allowed for an understanding of the role of a highly mismatching fiber orientation in the transition zone between parent and patch material on the failure mechanism of the scarf joint. In addition to the tensile strength and stiffness property recovery assessment, a grayscale analysis using in-situ camera images determined the damage state leading to failure in each region across the scarf joint, which varied in the parent material versus scarf joint region, providing insight to the critical regions in this composite structure under cyclic loading.
As a type of high-performance composite material, glass-fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) are favored for the construction of wind turbine rotor blades due to their high specific strength and stiffness properties (Grasse et al, 2010). During the blade manufacturing process, however, imperfections are often introduced, then further propagated due to harsh environmental conditions and a variety of loads (Caminero et al, 2013; Trappe et al, 2018). This leads to failure significantly before their designed lifespan. Since replacement of entire blades can be a costly potential outcome, localized repairs of the damaged region to restore structural integrity and thus lengthen its lifespan can executed in the field by technicians accessing the blades directly by suspended roping. These methods involve replacing the lost load path with a new material that is joined to the parent structure. In recent years, considerable studies have been conducted to investigate the influence of different repair parameters on the stress distribution, ultimate strength, impact behavior, and residual stresses of bonded repaired structures [Caminero et al, 2013; Trappe et al, 2018; Shufeng et al, 2014; Harman and Rider, 2011; Ahn and Springer, 2000; Lekou and Vionis, 2002). However, there currently do not exist any standardized repair procedures for wind turbine rotor blades. Namely, there is a lack of understanding about the effects of the layup of various repair methods, especially on the damage mechanism and fatigue life of the shells of rotor blades (Caminero et al, 2013; Trappe et al, 2018).
This work therefore aims to begin to enrich this knowledge gap by testing the influence of different variables among repair patches on the mechanical properties of sandwich composite structures. Manufactured with the vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) process, the test specimens are produced as a GFRP structure to represent the outer shell portion of a wind turbine blade, then repaired with a scarf joint. Scarf repairs are favored as the most efficient of the common structural joints, as the removal of the damaged area with angled walls leads to a nearly uniform shear stress distribution along the bond surface and no eccentricity in the load distribution (Caminero et al, 2013; Lekou and Vionis, 2002; Siener, 1992).
The performance of specific layup methods of repair patches, namely a large-to-small versus small-to-large scheme of repair layers, is studied with static and load-controlled fatigue testing, then compared to pristine test specimens as well as to each other in terms of mechanical property restoration. The transition layer between repair and parent material is especially of interest in the performance of the structure. Damage onset, crack development and eventual failure are monitored in-situ with non-destructive testing methods, including thermography with an infrared camera system and a 3D deformation analysis system, to develop a more robust understanding of the effects of these repair concept variables on wind turbine blade shell structures.
Fully-reversed fatigue behavior of scarf joint repairs for wind turbine blade shell applications
(2022)
Due to manufacturing imperfections which can propagate to damage under in-service loads, wind turbine rotor blades, made primarily of glass fiber reinforced polymers (GFRP), often fail significantly before their design life. To enable a quick and cost-effective return to service, localized repairs can be executed by technicians in the field, directly accessing the blades by suspended roping. Scarf joint repairs, shown to be highly efficient with a smooth load transition across angled joint walls and a restored aerodynamic profile, are the focus of this study. The damage mechanisms of these structures were examined under fully-reversed mechanical cyclic loading with a load ratio R = -1, which was made possible on the coupon scale by a custom designed anti-buckling support. The number of cycles to failure were compared across load levels. While the scarf joint ratio was held constant at 1:50, known from industry and literature to be a good compromise between restored mechanical properties and repair size, the layup sequence was varied between small-to-large and large-to-small. Hereby the effect of the presence of resin pockets and fiber orientation mismatch between the parent and repair structure on the failure mechanism as well as fatigue strength of ±45° GFRP scarf joint repair structures was studied. Strain development across the joint length was measured to assess stiffness degradation in addition to the fatigue strength recovery of scarf joint structures with respect to pristine reference specimens. Grayscale analysis was used to monitor the damage state leading to fracture across the specimens. Post-mortem fractography analysis with light microscopy described the global failure mechanisms as well as local damage distribution within the structure, all of which provided insight to critical variables in scarf joint GFRP structures under fully-reversed mechanical cyclic loading, allowing for the tailoring of such repairs on wind turbine blade shells for maximum restoration of service life.
Wind turbine rotor blades, made of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP), often fail before their projected 20-year lifespan, largely due to defects that originate during manufacturing and are propagated by operational fatigue and environmental conditions. The cost-intensive replacement outcomes lead to a high loss of earnings, and are one of the inhibitors of wind turbine production [1]. A potential repair alternative is to locally patch these areas of the blades with adhesively bonded structural repairs. However, the effects of such repair methods of the outer shell region on the structural integrity of the rotor blades are still largely unknown, and are thus investigated in this project.
The shell components of rotor blades are made of FRP composite material sandwiching a lightweight core, often a rigid foam or Balsa wood. The repair methods involve replacing the lost load path with a new material that is joined to the parent structure [2]. Repairs in this project focus on the scarf method, which allow for a smoother load distribution across the joint, aiming to study the damage mechanism of glass FRP scarf repairs for wind turbine blade shell applications. Namely, the source and path of the damage initiation and propagation, role of the interface between parent and patch material, and the role of the fiber orientation mismatch at this interface are examined. Biaxial ±45° and 0/90° FRP specimens are produced with the vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) process using E-glass non-crimp fabric. The patch layers are then joined using VARI with a scarf ratio of 1:50, using glass FRP fabric with half the areal weight of the parent side to allow for better drapability. The methods and practices in specimen production are based on common industry practice in rotor blade shell manufacturing and repairs.
The specimens are tested under uniaxial tensile load, during which they are periodically monitored for damage onset. A comparison of the ±45° and 0/90° specimens allows for an understanding of the role of a highly mismatching fiber orientation in the transition zone between parent and patch material on the failure mechanism of the scarf joint. Although failure in both orientations begins as delamination at the joint edge, the difference in the mechanisms at play in the two different specimen types leads ultimately to different fracture paths. Namely, in the inter fiber failure mechanism of the ±45° specimens, the higher interlaminar strength compared to the intralaminar strength of the laminate leads to intralaminar failure of the ±45° scarf joint specimens. Alternatively, the competition in the 0/90° specimens lies between the interlaminar strength and fiber failure strength, and here we experience failure primarily across the scarf joint length. The scarf joint in the 0/90° specimens disrupts the continuity of the load-carrying 0° layers, directing the failure path to remain primarily along the scarf joint. Experimental results are compared to finite element analyses of scarf patch repairs on glass FRP sandwich specimens with the same respective layup orientations, where the damage initiation regions are identified and correlated to fiber orientation, serving as a bridge to future work which will experimentally examine the scarf repair patches on sandwich shell specimens.
Wind turbine rotor blade shells are manufactured as sandwich structures with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) due to the material’s high specific stiffness and strength. With a growing renewable energy industry and thereby a spread of wind energy farms, especially in offshore applications, the need to fully utilize turbines through their designed lifespan is becoming increasingly essential. However, due to imperfections during manufacturing, which are then propagated by harsh environmental conditions and a variety of loads, blades often fail before their projected lifespan. Thus, the need for localized repair patch methods for the outer shell portions of the blades has become of greater interest in recent years, as it is crucial to the optimal compromise between continuation of wind energy production, cost efficiency, and restoration of structural performance. To increase the understanding of the effect on the fatigue life of the rotor blades, this study tests localized repair patch methods and compares them to each other as well as to reference, non-repaired specimens. Manufactured with the vacuum-assisted resin infusion process, the shell test specimens are produced as a curved structure with glass FRP sandwiching a polyvinyl chloride foam core to best represent a portion of a rotor blade shell. Patch repairs are then introduced with varying layup techniques, and material properties are examined with cyclic fatigue tests. The intermediate scale test specimens allow for the observation of material as well as structural variables, namely of interest being the stiffness and strength restoration due to the repair patches. Damage onset, crack development, and eventual failure are monitored with in-situ non-destructive testing methods to develop a robust understanding of the effects of repair concepts.
High-performance composites, including glass-fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) materials, are favored as a construction material for wind turbine rotor blades due to their high specific strength and stiffness properties. During the manufacturing process, however, imperfections are often introduced, then further propagated due to harsh environmental conditions and a variety of loads. This leads to failure significantly before their projected 20-year lifespan. As replacement of entire blades can be a costly potential outcome, localized repair of the damaged region to restore structural integrity and thus lengthen its lifespan has become an important issue in recent years. Rotor blades are often repaired using a common technique for composite laminates: adhesively bonded structural repair patches. These methods involve replacing the lost load path with a new material that is joined to the parent structure, and include scarf or plug repairs. However, there currently do not exist any standardized repair procedures for wind turbine rotor blades, as comparisons of blade properties repaired with the existing methods have not been studied in depth. Namely, there is a lack of understanding about the effects of various repair methods on the fatigue life of the shells of rotor blades. This study therefore aims to begin to fill this knowledge gap by testing the influence of different repair patches on the blades’ mechanical properties. Manufactured with the vacuum-assisted resin infusion process, the test specimens are produced as a curved structure with GFRP sandwiching a polyvinyl chloride foam core to best represent a portion of a rotor blade shell. Scarf repairs are then introduced with varying layup techniques, and material properties are examined with cyclical fatigue tests. Crack growth and development is monitored during fatigue testing by various non-destructive testing methods, including passive thermography with an infrared camera system, and a 3D deformation analysis system with ARAMIS. Large deformation fields and detection of in- and out-of-plane deformations is thus possible in-situ. The mechanical behavior and development of defects in the various repaired specimens is compared to each other as well as to reference test specimens with no repair patches. In-situ test data is combined with further non-destructive testing methods, including laminography, and active thermography, to develop a robust understanding of the effects of repair concepts.
The presence of large quantities of plastic waste and its fragmentation in various environmental compartments are an important subject of current research. In the environment, (photo ) oxidation processes and mechanical abrasion lead to the formation of microplastics. However, until now, there are no established quality assurance concepts for the analysis of microplastic (<5 mm) in environmental compartments, including sampling, processing and analysis.
The aim of the present work is the development of suitable examination methods and protocols (sampling, sample preparation and detection) to qualify and quantify microplastic in urbane water management systems. At first a fractional filtration system for sampling and the analytical tool, the so-called TED-GC-MS (thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry) were developed. The TED-GC-MS method is a two-step analytical procedure which consists of a thermal extraction where the sample is annealed and characteristic decomposition products of the polymers are collected on a solid phase. Afterwards these products are analysed using GC-MS. The developed fractional filtration for sampling and the TED-GC-MS for detection were used for quantitative analysis to screen the waste water influent and effluent of a Berlin waste water treatment plant for the most relevant polymers, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyamide (PA).
The results of the study revealed that the polymeres PE, PS and PP were detected in the effluent, and PE and PS were find in the raw waste water of the sewage treatment plant in Ruhleben, Berlin. Differences in polymer types and amounts were detected at different sampling dates and within different sieve fractions. Much higher amounts of polymers were observed in the raw waste water. The peak areas of the decomposition products, used for quantification of the polymers, were adjusted using so-called response factors since the TED-GC-MS method is more sensitive for PP and PS than for PE. It has been shown that PE is the most dominant polymer in the samples. Comparing the masses of polymers in the effluent and in the raw sewage, a removal of 99 % of the polymers in the water treatment plant can be assumed. These results are consistent with the literature where removal rates between 98-99 % were described.
At the Workshop "Neutron and Synchrotron Monitoring in Aerospace Advanced Manufacturing" at the Institute of Materials Physics in Space, German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, we presented on the opportunities and our experiences of using a powder based additive manufacturing process for in-space manufacturing applications in microgravity.
Many of the most successful and precise additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are based on the deposition layer-by-layer of a flowable powder. Since the first pioneering work at the end of the 1980th many developments have been introduced, greatly extending the use of different materials, improving the physical properties of the components built and enhancing the accuracy of the process. Still very important issues remain nowadays, hampering a completely autonomous production of parts and even restricting the freedom of design by means of these technologies. One of the major issues is the low density and stability of the parts during the building process, which implies the need of support structures: The powder bed surrounding the part has an essential role, since it should support the structure during building, until it’s ready for removal. Moreover, the microstructure of the powder bed is a template for the microstructure of the part produced. In this context, the use of submicron ceramic powders is still a challenge. Three approaches for the stabilization and densification of powder beds will be presented: The Layerwise Slurry Deposition process LSD, the gas flow assisted powder deposition and the Laser Induced Slipcasting (LIS) of ceramic powder compacts.
Are we ready for putting a human footprint on Mars? Obviously, it is possible to send technologically challenging missions to our earth neighbors with a high level of complexity, such as enabling autonomous planetary mobility. As humanity contemplates mounting manned missions to Mars, strategies need to be developed for the design and operation of hospitable environments safely working in space for years. Humans require water and air provided by complicated equipment. Its safe operation is a great challenge and implies being prepared for all eventualities. Instead of foreseeing and preparing for all possible scenarios of machine failures and accidents, it appears logic taking advantage of the flexibility of humans and providing essential equipment for the reaction on critical situations. The supply of spare parts for repair and replacement of lost equipment would be one key pillar of such a strategy. Bearing in mind the absolute distance and flight trajectories for manned missions to Mars, supplying spare parts from Earth is impossible. Thus, in space manufacturing remains the only option for a timely supply. With a high flexibility in design and the ability to manufacture ready to use components directly from a computer aided model, additive manufacturing technologies appear extremely attractive. For metal parts manufacturing the Laser Beam Melting process is the most widely used additive manufacturing process in industrial application. However, envisioning the handling of metal powders in the absence of gravitation is one prerequisite for its successful application in space. A gas flow throughout the powder bed has been successfully applied to compensate for missing gravitational forces in micro gravity experiments. The so-called Gas Flow Assisted Powder Deposition is based on a porous building platform acting as a filter for the fixation of metal particles in a gas flow driven by a pressure difference maintained by a vacuum pump.
Are we ready for putting a human footprint on Mars? Obviously, it is possible to send technologically challenging missions to our earth neighbors with a high level of complexity, such as enabling autonomous planetary mobility. As humanity contemplates mounting manned missions to Mars, strategies need to be developed for the design and operation of hospitable environments safely working in space for years. Humans require water and air provided by complicated equipment. Its safe operation is a great challenge and implies being prepared for all eventualities. Instead of foreseeing and preparing for all possible scenarios of machine failures and accidents, it appears logic taking advantage of the flexibility of humans and providing essential equipment for the reaction on critical situations. The supply of spare parts for repair and replacement of lost equipment would be one key pillar of such a strategy. Bearing in mind the absolute distance and flight trajectories for manned missions to Mars, supplying spare parts from Earth is impossible. Thus, in space manufacturing remains the only option for a timely supply. With a high flexibility in design and the ability to manufacture ready to use components directly from a computer aided model, additive manufacturing technologies appear extremely attractive. For metal parts manufacturing the Laser Beam Melting process is the most widely used additive manufacturing process in industrial application. However, envisioning the handling of metal powders in the absence of gravitation is one prerequisite for its successful application in space. A gas flow throughout the powder bed has been successfully applied to compensate for missing gravitational forces in micro gravity experiments. The so-called Gas Flow Assisted Powder Deposition is based on a porous building platform acting as a filter for the fixation of metal particles in a gas flow driven by a pressure difference maintained by a vacuum pump.
The Binder Jetting BJ process is one of the most versatile additive manufacturing technologies in use. In this process a binder is locally jetted into a powder bed for the consolidation of a 3D structure, layer by layer. Basically, all materials which can be provided as a flowable powder and, thus, spreadable to a thin layer, can be processed. Metals, ceramics and polymers are processable, but also materials from nature, such as sand, wood sawdust and insect frass. Moreover, the BJ technology is adapted to large building volumes of some cubic meters easily. Besides these striking advantages, the manufacture of ceramic parts by BJ is still challenging, as the packing density of the powder bed is generally too low and the particle size of a flowable powder too large for a successful densification of printed parts in a subsequent sintering step to an advanced ceramic product. After an introduction of binder jetting in general and highlighting some examples, strategies for obtaining dense ceramic parts by BJ will be introduced.