Engineering Commons^™

Creep Resistance And Microstructure In Binary Aluminum Cerium Alloy Produced By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Jillian Ann Stinehart

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Currently, the only commercially available aluminum alloy for additive manufacturing (AM) is AlSi10Mg, which is not suitable for high temperature applications. Al-Ce based alloys have been shown to be highly printable, cost-efficient alloys. Compared to cast Al-Ce alloys, the eutectic features are refined (<1μm), which give AM Al-10Ce favorable strength and ductility at room temperature. The low diffusivity and solubility of cerium in aluminum improve the retention of mechanical properties at high temperatures. In order to quantify the effect of cerium on the thermal stability of AM aluminum and show its suitability for high-temperature applications, Al-10Ce was creep tested between 60-77% of its absolute melting temperature. The creep performance of AM Al-10Ce was favorable compared to that of cast binary Al-Ce and AM AlSi10Mg and was comparable to that of cast ternary Al-Ce alloys. The stress exponent, n, was approximately 1 in the low stress regime and 5-7 in the high stress regime. The activation energy was 231kJ/mol. In comparison, both cast binary Al-Ce and AM AlSi10Mg have higher stress exponents and lower activation energies, showing AM Al-10Ce to be more creep resistant. After creep testing, slight grain coarsening was observed, while grain orientation remained unchanged. The melt pool boundaries (MPBs) faded in appearance after creep testing, and the number of columnar grains decreased.

Surface Corrosion Response Of Al Alloys A383 And Aural 2 With Ce Additions In Aqueous Nacl And Salt-Fog Environments, Michael James Thompson

Masters Theses

Copper is commonly used in aluminum alloys to increase its strength by solid solution and precipitation strengthening, however, the corrosion resistance is inversely related to the amount of copper in the alloy. Over 70 percent of material used to produce aluminum alloys in the US come from recycled (secondary) alloys, many of which have a copper content of more than one percent by weight. Alloys with tightly controlled tolerances, where copper is seen as an impurity, are unable to utilize many of the recycling feedstock without adding newly processed (primary) aluminum to dilute impurities to within specifications. Primary aluminum is …

Effects Of Titanium And Cerium Addition On Grain Size And Mechanical Properties Of Ductile Iron Castings, Shelton F. Fowler Iv

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the Hall-Petch equation, the refinement of grains in metals increases the yield strength of the material. Austenite grain size influences the fineness of microstructural constituents in the ferrous alloys. It is well studied that cerium and titanium refine the austenite in steels and some gray irons, but no studies have been done to systematically explore the effects of cerium and titanium additions on austenite in ductile iron. This study sought to determine the effects of selected levels of these elements on the grain size within ductile iron. A hypoeutectic iron was chosen for testing as the proeutectic phase …

Characterization Of The Spatial Distribution And Evolution Of Cerium And Calcium In Laser Produced Plasma, Michael G. Rynders

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding plasma plumes and the distribution of plasma species microseconds after their formation has a variety of applications in fields such as hypersonics, explosion and combustion dynamics, and nuclear fireball chemistry. In this work, Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) using double pulses of 532 nm light were used to analyze samples of cerium in atmospheres of air, vacuum, and argon. Cerium was used in this experiment to serve as a plutonium surrogate. CeO₂ powder was pressed with CaO at 90-10 ratio to produce calcium doped pellets for use as sputtering targets. Inclusion of calcium impurities allowed the identification of …

Development Of A Novel Casting Alloy Composed Of Aluminum And Cerium With Other Minor Additions, Zachary Cole Sims

Doctoral Dissertations

Eutectic casting alloys of aluminum and cerium are a recent discovery and early research describes an alloy with great potential to meet the growing demand for a lightweight, economical, high specific strength material for use in high-temperature or extremely corrosive environments. The broad application of aluminum alloys across industry sectors is driven by their collection of balanced properties including economical cost, high specific strength, and flexibility of their production pathways. Additionally, their high corrosion resistance makes them a good choice for structural materials. Despite this, the push to use aluminum alloys in ever more extreme environments with higher temperatures, stresses, …

Production And Characterization Of Uranium Sol Gel Surrogates Produced With Cerium Acetate And Cerium Nitrate, Matthew Brett Alford

All Dissertations

For the production of ceramic microspheres for future space travel, new methods of processing must be explored. The sol gel method proves promising for the production of uranium-based ceramic microspheres that are consistent enough in size and shape for such an application. A process for producing these microspheres has already been established, but there are avenues for improvement.

Handling of radioactive material like uranium is not always possible or warranted. As such, a non-radioactive surrogate that greatly resembles the processing of its actual radioactive counterpart. Herein this work a cerium-based surrogate is developed to closely resemble an already established process …

Rapid Analysis Of Plutonium Surrogate Material Via Hand-Held Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, Ashwin P. Rao

Theses and Dissertations

This work investigated the capability of a portable LIBS device to detect and quantify dopants in plutonium surrogate alloys, specifically gallium, which is a common stabilizer used in plutonium alloys. The SciAps Z500-ER was utilized to collect spectral data from cerium-gallium alloys of varying gallium concentrations. Calibration models were built to process spectra from the Ce-Ga alloys and calculate gallium concentration from spectral emission intensities. Univariate and multivariate analysis techniques were used to determine limits of detection of different emission line ratios. Spatial mapping measurements were conducted to determine the device's ability to detect variations in gallium concentration on the …

Development Of Flexible Photo-Mechanoluminescent Polymeric Based Systems, Carlos Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

The project focuses on the creation of nanofiber systems with enhanced photo-mechanoluminescent response and high mechanical flexibility to further enhance promising optical applications. Lanthanide-Polyvinyl Di-Fluoride fiber systems were created using centrifugal spinning and characterized using SEM, FTIR, XPS, DSC, XRD, and PL. Fibers luminescence response was gotten when induced by ultraviolet light and the application of an impact force.

Toxicological Inhalation Effects Of Metal-Based Nanoparticle Aerosols As Studied By A Portable In Vitro Exposure Cassette, Lynn E. Secondo

Theses and Dissertations

The toxicology of aerosols in occupational settings is often performed through particle collection on a filter followed by reconstitution into cell culture media which can alter the biological effects. Current in vitro exposure systems require additional instruments to control temperature and humidity, making the system bulky and difficult to take to the field. The Portable In Vitro Exposure Cassette (PIVEC) was designed for personal monitoring, characterized using copper nanoparticles, tested with alveolar cells, and set-up for real-time monitoring. Three differently sized copper nanoparticles, 40-800 nm, were dispersed as a dry aerosol and measured gravimetrically and on a number concentration basis …

An Investigation Of The Use Of Cerium And Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes For The Protection Of Polymeric Epoxy Compounds In The Low Earth Orbit Environment, Jessica Miriam Piness

Dissertations

Low Earth orbit presents many hazards for composites including atomic oxygen, UV radiation, thermal cycling, micrometeoroids, and high energy protons. Atomic oxygen and vacuum ultraviolet radiation are of concern for space-bound polymeric materials as they degrade the polymers used as matrices for carbon fiber composites, which are used in satellites and space vehicles due to their high strength to weight ratios. Epoxy-amine thermosets comprise a common class of matrix due to processability and good thermal attributes. Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) have shown the ability to reduce erosion in polyimides, polyurethanes, and other polymers when exposed to atomic oxygen. The POSS …

Thin Film Combinatorial Synthesis Of Advanced Scintillation Materials, Jonathan Daniel Peak

Doctoral Dissertations

The development and application of a combinatorial sputtering thin film technique to screen potential scintillation material systems was investigated. The technique was first benchmarked by exploring the binary lutetium oxide-silicon oxide material system, which successfully identified the luminescence phases of the system, Lu2SiO5 (LSO) and Lu2Si2O7 (LPS). The second application was to optimize the activator concentration in cerium doped LSO. The successfully optimized cerium concentration in the thin film LSO of 0.34 atomic percent was much greater than the standard cerium concentration in single crystal LSO. This lead to an intensive study based on temperature dependent steady-state and lifetime photoluminescence …

The Electrodeposition Of Cerium/Copper Prox Catalysts On Metal Foam, James Matthew Faubion

LSU Master's Theses

A cerium/copper (Ce/Cu) preferred carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation (PROX) catalyst has been synthesized via electrodeposition onto a metal foam monolith. The catalyst was characterized using ICP, TPRS, TPR and SEM/EDS. Preliminary PROX TPRS evidence in a reaction mixture of 1% CO, 0.5% O2, 40% H2 (bal. Ar.) indicated that the highest activity was seen in a sequential deposition, in which Cu was deposited first. The highest CO oxidation activity was obtained when the Ce concentration in the second step was 0.1 M (resulting in a bulk wt% loading of 0.24 Ce:Cu). SEM/EDS analysis indicated that an increase in ceria loading …