Sample records for electropolishing

  1. Calcium Phosphate Growth at Electropolished Titanium Surfaces

    PubMed Central

    Ajami, Elnaz; Aguey-Zinsou, Kondo-Francois

    2012-01-01

    This work investigated the ability of electropolished Ti surface to induce Hydroxyapatite (HA) nucleation and growth in vitro via a biomimetic method in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF). The HA induction ability of Ti surface upon electropolishing was compared to that of Ti substrates modified with common chemical methods including alkali, acidic and hydrogen peroxide treatments. Our results revealed the excellent ability of electropolished Ti surfaces in inducing the formation of bone-like HA at the Ti/SBF interface. The chemical composition, crystallinity and thickness of the HA coating obtained on the electropolished Ti surface was found to be comparable to that achieved on the surface of alkali treated Ti substrate, one of the most effective and popular chemical treatments. The surface characteristics of electropolished Ti contributing to HA growth were discussed thoroughly. PMID:24955535

  2. Improvement of Electropolishing of 1100 Al Alloy for Solar Thermal Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aguilar-Sierra, Sara María; Echeverría E, Félix

    2018-03-01

    Aluminum sheets-based mirrors are finding applicability in high-temperature solar concentrating technologies because they are cost-effective, lightweight and have high mechanical properties. Nonetheless, the reflectance percentages obtained by electropolishing are not close to the reflectance values of the currently used evaporated films. Therefore, controlling key factors affecting electropolishing processes became essential in order to achieve highly reflective aluminum surfaces. This study investigated the effect of both the electropolishing process and previous heat treatment on the total reflectance of the AA 1100 aluminum alloy. An acid electrolyte and a modified Brytal process were evaluated. Total reflectance was measured by means of UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Reflectance values higher than 80% at 600 nm were achieved for both electrolytes. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images showed uneven dissolution for the acid electropolished samples causing a reflectance drop in the 200-450 nm region. The influence of heat treatment, previously to electropolishing, was tested at two different temperatures and various holding times. It was found that reflectance increases around 15% for the heat-treated and electropolished samples versus the non-heat-treated ones. A heat treatment at low temperature combined with a short holding time was enough to improve the sample total reflectance.

  3. Electropolishing effect on roughness metrics of ground stainless steel: a length scale study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakar, Doron; Harel, David; Hirsch, Baruch

    2018-03-01

    Electropolishing is a widely-used electrochemical surface finishing process for metals. The electropolishing of stainless steel has vast commercial application, such as improving corrosion resistance, improving cleanness, and brightening. The surface topography characterization is performed using several techniques with different lateral resolutions and length scales, from atomic force microscopy in the nano-scale (<0.1 µm) to stylus and optical profilometry in the micro- and mesoscales (0.1 µm-1 mm). This paper presents an experimental length scale study of the surface texture of ground stainless steel followed by an electropolishing process in the micro and meso lateral scales. Both stylus and optical profilometers are used, and multiple cut-off lengths of the standard Gaussian filter are adopted. While the commonly used roughness amplitude parameters (Ra, Rq and Rz) fail to characterize electropolished textures, the root mean square slope (RΔq) is found to better describe the electropolished surfaces and to be insensitive to scale.

  4. Research and development for electropolishing of Nb for ILC accelerator cavities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kelley, Michael J.

    The objectives of this project are to 1, Expand the scientific and technological understanding of the effect of post-treatment (electropolish, buffered chemical polish, low-temperature baking) on the surface of niobium; 2, Relate the knowledge to the performance of niobium superconducting radiofrequency accelerator cavities; and, 3, Thereby design and demonstrate an electropolish process that can be applied to complete cavities.

  5. Optimization of Electropolishing on NiTi Alloy Stents and Its Influence on Corrosion Behavior.

    PubMed

    Kim, Jinwoo; Park, Jun-Kyu; Kim, Han Ki; Unnithan, Afeesh Rajan; Kim, Cheol Sang; Park, Chan Hee

    2017-04-01

    Nitinol or NiTi alloys are well-known as an attractive biomedical material due to their unique properties such as the shape memory effect, super-elasticity and biocompatibility. These characteristics enable them to be best candidates for implant materials such as stent. One of the major factors that strongly affect the performance of nitinol stent is its unique surface properties. In this study, the influence of electropolishing on nitinol stents and its corrosion behavior were observed. Electropolishing is an effective method for surface treatment, which not only controls the surface state but also helps to produce uniform surface layers. Therefore, to improve the surface quality of nitinol stents, we conducted an electropolishing under various conditions from 30–40 V and 10–30 s as a post heat treatment for nitinol stent manufacturing process. In order to find the optimal surface state of NiTi stents, various electropolished samples were explored using various characterization techniques. Furthermore, the potentiodynamic polarization tests were also performed to determine the corrosion resistance. The electropolished nitinol stents under the condition of 40 V for 10 s exhibited the best corrosion performance as well as surface quality.

  6. Removal of long-lived 222Rn daughters by electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schnee, R. W.; Bowles, M. A.; Bunker, R.; McCabe, K.; White, J.; Cushman, P.; Pepin, M.; Guiseppe, V. E.

    2013-08-01

    Long-lived alpha and beta emitters in the 222Rn decay chain on detector surfaces may be the limiting background in many experiments attempting to detect dark matter or neutrinoless double beta decay. Removal of tens of microns of material via electropolishing has been shown to be effective at removing radon daughters implanted into material surfaces. Some applications, however, require the removal of uniform and significantly smaller thicknesses. Here, we demonstrate that electropolishing < 1 μm from stainless-steel plates reduces the contamination efficiently, by a factor > 100. Examination of electropolished wires with a scanning electron microscope confirms that the thickness removed is reproducible and reasonably uniform. Together, these tests demonstrate the effectiveness of removal of radon daughters for a proposed low-radiation, multi-wire proportional chamber (the BetaCage), without compromising the screener's energy resolution. More generally, electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel may effectively remove radon daughters without compromising precision-machined parts.

  7. METHOD OF ELECTROPOLISHING URANIUM

    DOEpatents

    Walker, D.E.; Noland, R.A.

    1959-07-14

    A method of electropolishing the surface of uranium articles is presented. The process of this invention is carried out by immersing the uranium anticle into an electrolyte which contains from 35 to 65% by volume sulfuric acid, 1 to 20% by volume glycerine and 25 to 50% by volume of water. The article is made the anode in the cell and polished by electrolyzing at a voltage of from 10 to 15 volts. Discontinuing the electrolysis by intermittently withdrawing the anode from the electrolyte and removing any polarized film formed therein results in an especially bright surface.

  8. Removal of long-lived {sup 222}Rn daughters by electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schnee, R. W.; Bowles, M. A.; Bunker, R.

    Long-lived alpha and beta emitters in the {sup 222}Rn decay chain on detector surfaces may be the limiting background in many experiments attempting to detect dark matter or neutrinoless double beta decay. Removal of tens of microns of material via electropolishing has been shown to be effective at removing radon daughters implanted into material surfaces. Some applications, however, require the removal of uniform and significantly smaller thicknesses. Here, we demonstrate that electropolishing < 1 μm from stainless-steel plates reduces the contamination efficiently, by a factor > 100. Examination of electropolished wires with a scanning electron microscope confirms that the thicknessmore » removed is reproducible and reasonably uniform. Together, these tests demonstrate the effectiveness of removal of radon daughters for a proposed low-radiation, multi-wire proportional chamber (the BetaCage), without compromising the screener’s energy resolution. More generally, electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel may effectively remove radon daughters without compromising precision-machined parts.« less

  9. Surface characteristics of sterilized electropolished NiTi shape memory alloy as biomaterials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tabrizian, Maryam; Thierry, Benjamin; Savadogo, Omarou; Yahia, L'Hocine

    1999-05-01

    As a potential biomaterial for many medical applications, NiTi alloy derives its good biocompatibility and corrosion resistance from a homogeneous and protective oxide layer, mainly composed of TiO2, with little concentration of nickel. However, during corrosion testing at high potential, NiTi is susceptible to pitting corrosion, which may affect the amount of ions (nickel and titanium) released by the alloy and thus, may affect its biocompatibility. As a passivating treatment, electropolishing (EP) was demonstrated to decrease the amount of nickel on the surface and to remarkably improve the corrosion behavior of the alloy. After sterilization by ethylene oxide (EO), no modification of the promising corrosion behavior of electropolished NiTi were observed, although some surface modifications were reported. The corrosion resistance of ethylene oxide sterilized and electropolished samples ranked between that of the commonly used Ti6A14V and 316L (0.4 less than 1 less than 1.4 mV/SCE) implant alloys.

  10. Does electropolishing improve the low-cycle fatigue behavior of a nickel-titanium rotary instrument in hypochlorite?

    PubMed

    Cheung, Gary S P; Shen, Ya; Darvell, Brian W

    2007-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior of electropolished and nonelectropolished nickel-titanium (NiTi) instruments of the same design in hypochlorite. Forty-five electropolished and 62 nonelectropolished NiTi engine files were subjected to rotational bending at various curvatures in 1.2% hypochlorite solution. Number of revolutions to failure, crack-initiation sites, extent of slow crack extension into the fracture cross-section, and surface-strain amplitude were noted. A linear relationship was found between LCF life and surface-strain amplitude for both groups, with no discernible difference between the two (p > 0.05). No electropolished instrument showed more than one crack origin, significantly fewer than for the nonelectropolished instruments (p < 0.05). The square root of crack extension and strain amplitude were inversely related. Although surface smoothness is enhanced by electropolishing, this did not protect the instrument from LCF failure.

  11. Improving the oxidation resistance of 316L stainless steel in simulated pressurized water reactor primary water by electropolishing treatment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Guangdong; Lu, Zhanpeng; Ru, Xiangkun; Chen, Junjie; Xiao, Qian; Tian, Yongwu

    2015-12-01

    The oxidation behavior of 316L stainless steel specimens after emery paper grounding, mechanical polishing, and electropolishing were investigated in simulated pressurized water reactor primary water at 310 °C for 120 and 500 h. Electropolishing afforded improved oxidation resistance especially during the early immersion stages. Duplex oxide films comprising a coarse Fe-rich outer layer and a fine Cr-rich inner layer formed on all specimens after 500 h of immersion. Only a compact layer was observed on the electropolished specimen after 120 h of immersion. The enrichment of chromium in the electropolished layer contributed to the passivity and protectiveness of the specimen.

  12. Removal of Long-Lived Radon Daughters by Electropolishing Thin Layers of Stainless Steel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    White, James; Schnee, Richard; Bunker, Raymond; Bowles, Michael; Cushman, Priscilla; Epland, Matthew; Pepin, Mark; Guiseppe, Vince

    2012-10-01

    Long-lived alpha and beta emitters in the Radon decay chain on detector surfaces may be limiting background in many experiments attempting to detect dark matter or neutrinoless double beta decay. To screen detector surfaces for this radioactive contamination, a low-radiation, multi-wire proportional chamber (the BetaCage) is under construction. Removal of Pb-210 implanted on its 25-micron stainless steel wires without causing significant variation in the diameter of the wires is critical to the BetaCage's ultimate sensitivity. An apparatus to perform electropolishing trials to remove roughly a micron of material has been assembled. These trials have shown promising results. Stainless steel square samples implanted with Pb-210 have shown counts with a reduction factor greater than 10 after electropolishing according to gamma assay. Furthermore, alpha counting has produced similar results, with a reduction factor greater than 100. Lastly, the diameters of wires after electropolishing have remained sufficiently uniform, with reduction in thickness consistent with expectations.

  13. Extreme diffusion limited electropolishing of niobium radiofrequency cavities

    DOE PAGES

    Crawford, Anthony C.

    2017-01-04

    In this study, a deeply modulated, regular, continuous, oscillating current waveform is reliably and repeatably achieved during electropolishing of niobium single-cell elliptical radiofrequency cavities. Details of the technique and cavity test results are reported here. The method is applicable for cavity frequencies in the range 500 MHz to 3.9 GHz and can be extended to multicell structures.

  14. Human gingival fibroblast response to electropolished NiTi surfaces.

    PubMed

    Es-Souni, Martha; Fischer-Brandies, Helge; Es-Souni, Mohammed

    2007-01-01

    In the present study the in vitro biocompatibility of electropolished NiTi sheets is investigated. The assessment of cytotoxic effects due to potential Ni leaching from metal sheets was performed in direct contact with primary human fibroblast cultures using the 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine cell proliferation assay and morphologic studies via light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. To assess toxic effects related to Ni-ions release, cells cultured in the presence of increasing concentrations of Ni(2+) (NiSO(4).6H(2)O) served as positive controls. It is shown that while the addition of NiSO(4) caused severe proliferation decrease (approximately 80%) and morphologic damage at a concentration of 50 mg/L Ni(2+) no negative effects were observed in fibroblasts cultured in the presence of electropolished NiTi sheets. The results are discussed in terms of surface topography effects on the biocompatibility of NiTi shape memory alloys. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Transmission Kikuchi diffraction and transmission electron forescatter imaging of electropolished and FIB manufactured TEM specimens

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zieliński, W., E-mail: wiziel@inmat.pw.edu.pl; Płociński, T.; Kurzydłowski, K.J.

    2015-06-15

    We present a study of the efficiency of the utility of scanning electron microscope (SEM)-based transmission methods for characterizing grain structure in thinned bulk metals. Foils of type 316 stainless steel were prepared by two methods commonly used for transmission electron microscopy — double-jet electropolishing and focused ion beam milling. A customized holder allowed positioning of the foils in a configuration appropriate for both transmission electron forward scatter diffraction, and for transmission imaging by the use of a forescatter detector with two diodes. We found that both crystallographic orientation maps and dark-field transmitted images could be obtained for specimens preparedmore » by either method. However, for both methods, preparation-induced artifacts may affect the quality or accuracy of transmission SEM data, especially those acquired by the use of transmission Kikuchi diffraction. Generally, the quality of orientation data was better for specimens prepared by electropolishing, due to the absence of ion-induced damage. - Highlights: • The transmission imaging and diffraction techniques are emerging in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as promising new field of materials characterization. • The manuscript titled: “Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction and Transmission Electron Forescatter Imaging of Electropolished and FIB Manufactured TEM Specimens” documents how different specimen thinning procedures can effect efficiency of transmission Kikuchi diffraction and transmission electron forescatter imaging. • The abilities to make precision crystallographic orientation maps and dark-field images in transmission was studied on electropolished versus focus ion beam manufactured TEM specimens. • Depending on the need, electropolished and focused ion beam technique may produce suitable specimens for transmission imaging and diffraction in SEM.« less

  16. Corrosion behaviour of electropolished AISI 316L austenitic biomaterial in physiological solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zatkalíková, V.; Markovičová, L.; Škorvanová, M.

    2017-11-01

    Due to suitable mechanical properties, satisfactory corrosion resistance and relatively low cost, austenitic stainless steels are important biomaterials for manufacture of implants and various medical instruments and devices. Their corrosion properties and biocompatibility are significantly affected by protective passive surface film quality, which depends on used mechanical and chemical surface treatment. This article deals with corrosion resistance of AISI 316L stainless steel, which is the most widely used Cr-Ni-Mo austenitic biomaterial. Corrosion behaviour of five various surfaces (original, electropolished, three surfaces with combined treatment finished by electropolishing) is evaluated on the bases of cyclic potentiodynamic polarization tests performed in physiological solution at the temperature of 37± 0.5 °C.

  17. Method and apparatus for spatially uniform electropolishing and electrolytic etching

    DOEpatents

    Mayer, Steven T.; Contolini, Robert J.; Bernhardt, Anthony F.

    1992-01-01

    In an electropolishing or electrolytic etching apparatus the anode is separated from the cathode to prevent bubble transport to the anode and to produce a uniform current distribution at the anode by means of a solid nonconducting anode-cathode barrier. The anode extends into the top of the barrier and the cathode is outside the barrier. A virtual cathode hole formed in the bottom of the barrier below the level of the cathode permits current flow while preventing bubble transport. The anode is rotatable and oriented horizontally facing down. An extended anode is formed by mounting the workpiece in a holder which extends the electropolishing or etching area beyond the edge of the workpiece to reduce edge effects at the workpiece. A reference electrode controls cell voltage. Endpoint detection and current shut-off stop polishing. Spatially uniform polishing or etching can be rapidly performed.

  18. Method and apparatus for spatially uniform electropolishing and electrolytic etching

    DOEpatents

    Mayer, S.T.; Contolini, R.J.; Bernhardt, A.F.

    1992-03-17

    In an electropolishing or electrolytic etching apparatus the anode is separated from the cathode to prevent bubble transport to the anode and to produce a uniform current distribution at the anode by means of a solid nonconducting anode-cathode barrier. The anode extends into the top of the barrier and the cathode is outside the barrier. A virtual cathode hole formed in the bottom of the barrier below the level of the cathode permits current flow while preventing bubble transport. The anode is rotatable and oriented horizontally facing down. An extended anode is formed by mounting the workpiece in a holder which extends the electropolishing or etching area beyond the edge of the workpiece to reduce edge effects at the workpiece. A reference electrode controls cell voltage. Endpoint detection and current shut-off stop polishing. Spatially uniform polishing or etching can be rapidly performed. 6 figs.

  19. Effect of cathode shape on vertical buffered electropolishing for niobium SRF cavities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jin, S.; Wu, A. T.; Lu, X. Y.; Rimmer, R. A.; Lin, L.; Zhao, K.; Mammosser, J.; Gao, J.

    2013-09-01

    This paper reports the research results of the effect of cathode shape during vertical buffered electropolishing (BEP) by employing a demountable single cell niobium (Nb) superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavity. Several different cathode shapes such as, for instance, bar, ball, ellipsoid, and wheels of different diameters have been tested. Detailed electropolishing parameters including I-V characteristic, removal rate, surface roughness, and polishing uniformity at different locations inside the demountable cavity are measured. Similar studies are also done on conventional electropolishing (EP) for comparison. It is revealed that cathode shape has dominant effects for BEP especially on the obtaining of a suitable polishing condition and a uniform polishing rate in an Nb SRF single cell cavity. EP appears to have the same tendency. This paper demonstrates that a more homogeneous polishing result can be obtained by optimizing the electric field distribution inside the cavity through the modification of the cathode shape given the conditions that temperature and electrolyte flow are kept constant. Electric field distribution and electrolyte flow patterns inside the cavity are simulated via Poisson-Superfish and Solidworks respectively. With the optimal cathode shape, BEP shows a much faster polishing rate of ∼2.5 μm/min and is able to produce a smoother surface finish in the treatments of single cell cavities in comparison with EP.

  20. Electropolishing of Re-melted SLM Stainless Steel 316L Parts Using Deep Eutectic Solvents: 3 × 3 Full Factorial Design

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alrbaey, K.; Wimpenny, D. I.; Al-Barzinjy, A. A.; Moroz, A.

    2016-07-01

    This three-level three-factor full factorial study describes the effects of electropolishing using deep eutectic solvents on the surface roughness of re-melted 316L stainless steel samples produced by the selective laser melting (SLM) powder bed fusion additive manufacturing method. An improvement in the surface finish of re-melted stainless steel 316L parts was achieved by optimizing the processing parameters for a relatively environmentally friendly (`green') electropolishing process using a Choline Chloride ionic electrolyte. The results show that further improvement of the response value-average surface roughness ( Ra) can be obtained by electropolishing after re-melting to yield a 75% improvement compared to the as-built Ra. The best Ra value was less than 0.5 μm, obtained with a potential of 4 V, maintained for 30 min at 40 °C. Electropolishing has been shown to be effective at removing the residual oxide film formed during the re-melting process. The material dissolution during the process is not homogenous and is directed preferentially toward the iron and nickel, leaving the surface rich in chromium with potentially enhanced properties. The re-melted and polished surface of the samples gave an approximately 20% improvement in fatigue life at low stresses (approximately 570 MPa). The results of the study demonstrate that a combination of re-melting and electropolishing provides a flexible method for surface texture improvement which is capable of delivering a significant improvement in surface finish while holding the dimensional accuracy of parts within an acceptable range.

  1. Effects of electropolishing surface treatment on the cyclic fatigue resistance of BioRace nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

    PubMed

    Lopes, Hélio P; Elias, Carlos N; Vieira, Victor T L; Moreira, Edson J L; Marques, Raquel V L; de Oliveira, Julio C Machado; Debelian, Gilberto; Siqueira, José F

    2010-10-01

    This study evaluated the influence of electropolishing surface treatment on the number of cycles to fracture of BioRace rotary nickel-titanium endodontic instruments. BioRace size BR5C instruments with or without electropolishing surface treatment were used in an artificial curved canal under rotational speed of 300 rpm until fracture. Fractured surfaces and the helical shafts of fractured instruments were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Polished instruments displayed a significantly higher number of cycles to fracture when compared with nonpolished instruments (P < .001). Actually, the number of cycles to fracture of a polished BR5C instrument was 124% higher than that of a nonpolished instrument. SEM analysis showed that the fractured surface of both polished and nonpolished BR5C instruments had ductile morphologic characteristics. Evaluation of the separated fragments after cyclic fatigue testing showed the presence of microcracks near the fracture surface. Polished instruments exhibited fine cracks that assumed an irregular path (zigzag crack pattern), whereas nonpolished instruments showed cracks running along the machining grooves. Electropolishing surface treatment of BioRace endodontic instruments significantly increased the cyclic fatigue resistance. Copyright © 2010 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Evaluation of electropolished stainless steel electrodes for use in DC high voltage photoelectron guns

    DOE PAGES

    BastaniNejad, Mahzad; Elmustafa, Abdelmageed A.; Forman, Eric; ...

    2015-07-01

    DC high voltage photoelectron guns are used to produce polarized electron beams for accelerator-based nuclear and high-energy physics research. Low-level field emission (~nA) from the cathode electrode degrades the vacuum within the photogun and reduces the photoelectron yield of the delicate GaAs-based photocathode used to produce the electron beams. High-level field emission (>μA) can cause significant damage the photogun. To minimize field emission, stainless steel electrodes are typically diamond-paste polished, a labor-intensive process often yielding field emission performance with a high degree of variability, sample to sample. As an alternative approach and as comparative study, the performance of electrodes electropolishedmore » by conventional commercially available methods is presented. Our observations indicate the electropolished electrodes exhibited less field emission upon the initial application of high voltage, but showed less improvement with gas conditioning compared to the diamond-paste polished electrodes. In contrast, the diamond-paste polished electrodes responded favorably to gas conditioning, and ultimately reached higher voltages and field strengths without field emission, compared to electrodes that were only electropolished. The best performing electrode was one that was both diamond-paste polished and electropolished, reaching a field strength of 18.7 MV/m while generating less than 100 pA of field emission. The speculate that the combined processes were the most effective at reducing both large and small scale topography. However, surface science evaluation indicates topography cannot be the only relevant parameter when it comes to predicting field emission performance.« less

  3. Evaluation of electropolished stainless steel electrodes for use in DC high voltage photoelectron guns

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    BastaniNejad, Mahzad; Elmustafa, Abdelmageed A.; Forman, Eric

    DC high voltage photoelectron guns are used to produce polarized electron beams for accelerator-based nuclear and high-energy physics research. Low-level field emission (~nA) from the cathode electrode degrades the vacuum within the photogun and reduces the photoelectron yield of the delicate GaAs-based photocathode used to produce the electron beams. High-level field emission (>μA) can cause significant damage the photogun. To minimize field emission, stainless steel electrodes are typically diamond-paste polished, a labor-intensive process often yielding field emission performance with a high degree of variability, sample to sample. As an alternative approach and as comparative study, the performance of electrodes electropolishedmore » by conventional commercially available methods is presented. Our observations indicate the electropolished electrodes exhibited less field emission upon the initial application of high voltage, but showed less improvement with gas conditioning compared to the diamond-paste polished electrodes. In contrast, the diamond-paste polished electrodes responded favorably to gas conditioning, and ultimately reached higher voltages and field strengths without field emission, compared to electrodes that were only electropolished. The best performing electrode was one that was both diamond-paste polished and electropolished, reaching a field strength of 18.7 MV/m while generating less than 100 pA of field emission. The speculate that the combined processes were the most effective at reducing both large and small scale topography. However, surface science evaluation indicates topography cannot be the only relevant parameter when it comes to predicting field emission performance.« less

  4. Evaluation of electropolished stainless steel electrodes for use in DC high voltage photoelectron guns

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    BastaniNejad, Mahzad, E-mail: Mahhzad@gmail.com; Elmustafa, Abdelmageed A.; Forman, Eric

    DC high voltage photoelectron guns are used to produce polarized electron beams for accelerator-based nuclear and high-energy physics research. Low-level field emission (∼nA) from the cathode electrode degrades the vacuum within the photogun and reduces the photoelectron yield of the delicate GaAs-based photocathode used to produce the electron beams. High-level field emission (>μA) can cause significant damage the photogun. To minimize field emission, stainless steel electrodes are typically diamond-paste polished, a labor-intensive process often yielding field emission performance with a high degree of variability, sample to sample. As an alternative approach and as comparative study, the performance of electrodes electropolishedmore » by conventional commercially available methods is presented. Our observations indicate the electropolished electrodes exhibited less field emission upon the initial application of high voltage, but showed less improvement with gas conditioning compared to the diamond-paste polished electrodes. In contrast, the diamond-paste polished electrodes responded favorably to gas conditioning, and ultimately reached higher voltages and field strengths without field emission, compared to electrodes that were only electropolished. The best performing electrode was one that was both diamond-paste polished and electropolished, reaching a field strength of 18.7 MV/m while generating less than 100 pA of field emission. The authors speculate that the combined processes were the most effective at reducing both large and small scale topography. However, surface science evaluation indicates topography cannot be the only relevant parameter when it comes to predicting field emission performance.« less

  5. Electro and Magneto-Electropolished Surface Micro-Patterning on Binary and Ternary Nitinol

    PubMed Central

    Munroe, Norman; McGoron, Anthony

    2012-01-01

    In this study, an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) roughness analysis was performed on non-commercial Nitinol alloys with Electropolished (EP) and Magneto-Electropolished (MEP) surface treatments and commercially available stents by measuring Root-Mean-Square (RMS), Average Roughness (Ra), and Surface Area (SA) values at various dimensional areas on the alloy surfaces, ranging from (800 × 800 nm) to (115 × 115μm), and (800 × 800 nm) to (40 × 40 μm) on the commercial stents. Results showed that NiTi-Ta 10 wt% with an EP surface treatment yielded the highest overall roughness, while the NiTi-Cu 10 wt% alloy had the lowest roughness when analyzed over (115 × 115 μm). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis revealed unique surface morphologies for surface treated alloys, as well as an aggregation of ternary elements Cr and Cu at grain boundaries in MEP and EP surface treated alloys, and non-surface treated alloys. Such surface micro-patterning on ternary Nitinol alloys could increase cellular adhesion and accelerate surface endothelialization of endovascular stents, thus reducing the likelihood of in-stent restenosis and provide insight into hemodynamic flow regimes and the corrosion behavior of an implantable device influenced from such surface micro-patterns. PMID:22754200

  6. Simultaneous electropolishing and electrodeposition of aluminum in ionic liquid under ambient conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hou, Yuanyuan; Li, Ruiqian; Liang, Jun

    2018-03-01

    Electrodeposition and electropolishing of aluminum are achieved simultaneously in the ionic liquid composed of anhydrous aluminum chloride and trimethylamine hydrochloride. With the protection of a hydrocarbon layer, the process can be carried out under ambient atmosphere. As a result, a smooth mirror-like surface with the roughness only several nanometers is obtained on the anode Al and a uniform Al coating with the thickness about 5 μm is covered on the cathode. Importantly, this work presents the recycling of Al resource in a closed system.

  7. Study on Electro-Polishing Process by Niobium-Plate Sample With Artificial Pits

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    T. Saeki, H. Hayano, S. Kato, M. Nishiwaki, M. Sawabe, W.A. Clemens, R.L. Geng, R. Manus, P.V. Tyagi

    2011-07-01

    The Electro-polishing (EP) process is the best candidate of final surface-treatment for the production of ILC cavities. Nevertheless, the development of defects on the inner-surface of the Superconducting RF cavity during EP process has not been studied by experimental method. We made artificial pits on the surface of a Nb-plate sample and observed the development of the pit-shapes after each step of 30um-EP process where 120um was removed by EP in total. This article describes the results of this EP-test of Nb-sample with artificial pits.

  8. In situ X-ray nanotomography of metal surfaces during electropolishing

    DOE PAGES

    Nave, Maryana I.; Allen, Jason P.; Karen Chen-Wiegart, Yu-chen; ...

    2015-10-15

    A low voltage electropolishing of metal wires is attractive for nanotechnology because it provides centimeter long and micrometer thick probes with the tip radius of tens of nanometers. Using X-ray nanotomography we studied morphological transformations of the surface of tungsten wires in a specially designed electrochemical cell where the wire is vertically submersed into the KOH electrolyte. We show that stability and uniformity of the probe span is supported by a porous shell growing at the surface of tungsten oxide and shielding the wire surface from flowing electrolyte. We discovered that the kinetics of shell growth at the triple line,more » where meniscus meets the wire, is very different from that of the bulk of electrolyte. Many metals follow similar electrochemical transformations hence the discovered morphological transformations of metal surfaces are expected to play significant role in many natural and technological applications.« less

  9. In situ X-ray nanotomography of metal surfaces during electropolishing

    PubMed Central

    Nave, Maryana I.; Allen, Jason P.; Karen Chen-Wiegart, Yu-chen; Wang, Jun; Kalidindi, Surya R.; Kornev, Konstantin G.

    2015-01-01

    A low voltage electropolishing of metal wires is attractive for nanotechnology because it provides centimeter long and micrometer thick probes with the tip radius of tens of nanometers. Using X-ray nanotomography we studied morphological transformations of the surface of tungsten wires in a specially designed electrochemical cell where the wire is vertically submersed into the KOH electrolyte. It is shown that stability and uniformity of the probe span is supported by a porous shell growing at the surface of tungsten oxide and shielding the wire surface from flowing electrolyte. It is discovered that the kinetics of shell growth at the triple line, where meniscus meets the wire, is very different from that of the bulk of electrolyte. Many metals follow similar electrochemical transformations hence the discovered morphological transformations of metal surfaces are expected to play significant role in many natural and technological applications. PMID:26469184

  10. The effects of parametric changes in electropolishing process on surface properties of 316L stainless steel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    ur Rahman, Zia; Deen, K. M.; Cano, Lawrence; Haider, Waseem

    2017-07-01

    Corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of 316L stainless steel implants depend on the surface features and the nature of the passive film. The influence of electropolishing on the surface topography, surface free energy and surface chemistry was determined by atomic force microscopy, contact angle meter and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The electropolishing of 316L stainless steel was conducted at the oxygen evolution potential (EPO) and below the oxygen evolution potential (EPBO). Compared to mechanically polished (MP) and EPO, the EPBO sample depicted lower surface roughness (Ra = 6.07 nm) and smaller surface free energy (44.21 mJ/m2). The relatively lower corrosion rate (0.484 mpy) and smaller passive current density (0.619 μA/cm2) as determined from cyclic polarization scans was found to be related with the presence of OH, Cr(III), Fe(0), Fe(II) and Fe(III) species at the surface. These species assured the existence of relatively uniform passive oxide film over EPBO surface. Moreover, the relatively large charge transfer (Rct) and passive film resistance (Rf) registered by EPBO sample from impedance spectroscopy analysis confirmed its better electrochemical performance. The in vitro response of these polished samples toward MC3T3 pre-osteoblast cell proliferation was determined to be directly related with their surface and electrochemical properties.

  11. High current density electropolishing in the preparation of highly smooth substrate tapes for coated conductors

    DOEpatents

    Kreiskott, Sascha [Los Alamos, NM; Matias, Vladimir [Santa Fe, NM; Arendt, Paul N [Los Alamos, NM; Foltyn, Stephen R [Los Alamos, NM; Bronisz, Lawrence E [Los Alamos, NM

    2009-03-31

    A continuous process of forming a highly smooth surface on a metallic tape by passing a metallic tape having an initial roughness through an acid bath contained within a polishing section of an electropolishing unit over a pre-selected period of time, and, passing a mean surface current density of at least 0.18 amperes per square centimeter through the metallic tape during the period of time the metallic tape is in the acid bath whereby the roughness of the metallic tape is reduced. Such a highly smooth metallic tape can serve as a base substrate in subsequent formation of a superconductive coated conductor.

  12. Surface characterization of Nb samples electropolished together with real superconducting rf accelerator cavities

    DOE PAGES

    Xin Zhao; Geng, Rong -Li; Tyagi, P. V.; ...

    2010-12-30

    Here, we report the results of surface characterizations of niobium (Nb) samples electropolished together with a single cell superconducting radio-frequency accelerator cavity. These witness samples were located in three regions of the cavity, namely at the equator, the iris and the beam-pipe. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) was utilized to probe the chemical composition of the topmost four atomic layers. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray for elemental analysis (SEM/EDX) was used to observe the surface topography and chemical composition at the micrometer scale. A few atomic layers of sulfur (S) were found covering the samples non-uniformly. Niobium oxide granulesmore » with a sharp geometry were observed on every sample. Some Nb-O granules appeared to also contain sulfur.« less

  13. Microstructure, nickel suppression and mechanical characteristics of electropolished and photoelectrocatalytically oxidized biomedical nickel titanium shape memory alloy.

    PubMed

    Chu, C L; Guo, C; Sheng, X B; Dong, Y S; Lin, P H; Yeung, K W K; Chu, Paul K

    2009-07-01

    A new surface modification protocol encompassing an electropolishing pretreatment (EP) and subsequent photoelectrocatalytic oxidation (PEO) has been developed to improve the surface properties of biomedical nickel titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA). Electropolishing is a good way to improve the resistance to localized breakdown of NiTi SMA whereas PEO offers the synergistic effects of advanced oxidation and electrochemical oxidation. Our results indicate that PEO leads to the formation of a sturdy titania film on the EP NiTi substrate. There is an Ni-free zone near the top surface and a graded interface between the titania layer and NiTi substrate, which bodes well for both biocompatibility and mechanical stability. In addition, Ni ion release from the NiTi substrate is suppressed, as confirmed by the 10-week immersion test. The modulus and hardness of the modified NiTi surface increase with larger indentation depths, finally reaching plateau values of about 69 and 3.1GPa, respectively, which are slightly higher than those of the NiTi substrate but much lower than those of a dense amorphous titania film. In comparison, after undergoing only EP, the mechanical properties of NiTi exhibit an inverse change with depth. The deformation mechanism is proposed and discussed. Our results indicate that surface modification by dual EP and PEO can notably suppress Ni ion release and improve the biocompatibility of NiTi SMA while the surface mechanical properties are not compromised, making the treated materials suitable for hard tissue replacements.

  14. Effect of Electropolishing and Low-Temperature Baking on the Superconducting Properties of Large-Grain Niobium

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    A. S. Dhavale, G. Ciovati, G. R. Myneni

    Measurements of superconducting properties such as bulk and surface critical fields and thermal conductivity have been carried out in the temperature range from 2 K to 8 K on large-grain samples of different purity and on a high-purity fine-grain sample, for comparison. The samples were treated by electropolishing and low temperature baking (120° C, 48 h). While the residual resistivity ratio changed by a factor of ~3 among the samples, no significant variation was found in their superconducting properties. The onset field for flux penetration at 2 K, Hffp, measured within a ~30 µm depth from the surface, was ~160more » mT, close to the bulk value. The baking effect was mainly to increase the field range up to which a coherent superconducting phase persists on the surface, above the upper critical field.« less

  15. Influence of Electropolishing and Magnetoelectropolishing on Corrosion and Biocompatibility of Titanium Implants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rahman, Zia ur; Pompa, Luis; Haider, Waseem

    2014-11-01

    Titanium alloys are playing a vital role in the field of biomaterials due to their excellent corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. These alloys enhance the quality and longevity of human life by replacing or treating various parts of the body. However, as these materials are in constant contact with the aggressive body fluids, corrosion of these alloys leads to metal ions release. These ions leach to the adjacent tissues and result in adverse biological reactions and mechanical failure of implant. Surface modifications are used to improve corrosion resistance and biological activity without changing their bulk properties. In this investigation, electropolishing and magnetoelectropolishing were carried out on commercially pure titanium, Ti6Al4V, and Ti6Al4V-ELI. These surface modifications are known to effect surface charge, chemistry, morphology; wettability, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility of these materials. In vitro cyclic potentiodynamic polarization tests were conducted in phosphate buffer saline in compliance with ASTM standard F-2129-12. The surface morphology, roughness, and wettability of these alloys were studied using scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope, and contact angle meter, respectively. Moreover, biocompatibility of titanium alloys was assessed by growing MC3T3 pre-osteoblast cells on them.

  16. Effort towards symmetric removal and surface smoothening of 1.3-GHz niobium single-cell cavity in vertical electropolishing using a unique cathode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chouhan, Vijay; Kato, Shigeki; Nii, Keisuke; Yamaguchi, Takanori; Sawabe, Motoaki; Hayano, Hitoshi; Ida, Yoshiaki

    2017-08-01

    A detailed study on vertical electropolishing (VEP) of a 1.3-GHz single-cell niobium coupon cavity, which contains six coupons and four viewports at different positions, is reported. The cavity was vertically electropolished using a conventional rod and three types of unique cathodes named as Ninja cathodes, which were designed to have four retractable blades made of either an insulator or a metal or a combination of both. This study reveals the effect of the cathodes and their rotation speed on uniformity in removal thickness and surface morphology at different positions inside the cavity. Removal thickness was measured at several positions of the cavity using an ultrasonic thickness gauge and the surface features of the coupons were examined by an optical microscope and a surface profiler. The Ninja cathode with partial metallic blades was found to be effective not only in reducing asymmetric removal, which is one of the major problems in VEP and might be caused by the accumulation of hydrogen (H2 ) gas bubbles on the top iris of the cavity, but also in yielding a smooth surface of the entire cavity. A higher rotation speed of the Ninja cathode prevents bubble accumulation on the upper iris, and might result in a viscous layer of similar thickness in the cavity cell. Moreover, a higher electric field at the equator owing to the proximity of partial metallic blades to the equator surface resulted in a smooth surface. The effects of H2 gas bubbles and stirring were also observed in lab EP experiments.

  17. Simulation of nonlinear superconducting rf losses derived from characteristic topography of etched and electropolished niobium surfaces

    DOE PAGES

    Xu, Chen; Reece, Charles E.; Kelley, Michael J.

    2016-03-22

    A simplified numerical model has been developed to simulate nonlinear superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) losses on Nb surfaces. This study focuses exclusively on excessive surface resistance (R s) losses due to the microscopic topographical magnetic field enhancements. When the enhanced local surface magnetic field exceeds the superconducting critical transition magnetic field H c, small volumes of surface material may become normal conducting and increase the effective surface resistance without inducing a quench. We seek to build an improved quantitative characterization of this qualitative model. Using topographic data from typical buffered chemical polish (BCP)- and electropolish (EP)-treated fine grain niobium, we havemore » estimated the resulting field-dependent losses and extrapolated this model to the implications for cavity performance. The model predictions correspond well to the characteristic BCP versus EP high field Q 0 performance differences for fine grain niobium. Lastly, we describe the algorithm of the model, its limitations, and the effects of this nonlinear loss contribution on SRF cavity performance.« less

  18. Laser Peening for Mitigation of Stress Corrosion Cracking at Welds in Marine Aluminum

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-06-01

    therefore leaving the welded area and the HAZ in tension and the surround base metal in compression [ 6 ]. Figure 4 shows the residual stress of a MIG...either by electropolishing or vibratory polishing. The samples were electropolished in a Buehler Electromet 4 Electropolisher using a solution of...REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Master’s Thesis 4 . TITLE AND SUBTITLE Laser Peening for Mitigation of Stress Corrosion Cracking at Welds in Marine

  19. Systematic Review of Uit Parameters on Residual Stresses of Sensitized AA5456 and Field Based Residual Stress Measurements for Predicting and Mitigating Stress Corrosion Cracking

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-03-01

    power, 4 mm pin size) at a position in or near the HAZ and a position in the base metal. The areas were electropolished using the “L1” solution as...quality of polish was assessed for each instance of electropolishing . 48 6 . Electrolytic Polishing The Proto Electrolytic Polisher Model 8818-V3...finish, followed by 0.05 μm colloidal silica. After metallography, the samples were electropolished using the Buehler Electromet 4 Electrolytic

  20. CRADA Final Report, 2011S003, Faraday Technologies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Faraday Technologies

    2012-12-12

    This Phase I SBIR program addressed the need for an improved manufacturing process for electropolishing niobium RF superconducting cavities for the International Linear Collider (ILC). The ILC is a proposed particle accelerator that will be used to gain a deeper understanding of the forces of energy and matter by colliding beams of electrons and positrons at nearly the speed of light. The energy required for this to happen will be achieved through the use of advanced superconducting technology, specifically ~16,000 RF superconducting cavities operating at near absolute zero. The RF superconductor cavities will be fabricated from highly pure Nb, whichmore » has an extremely low surface resistance at 2 Kelvin when compared to other materials. To take full advantage of the superconducting properties of the Nb cavities, the inner surface must be a) polished to a microscale roughness < 0.1 µm with removal of at least 100 µm of material, and b) cleaned to be free of impurities that would degrade performance of the ILC. State-of-the-art polishing uses either chemical polishing or electropolishing, both of which require hydrofluoric acid to achieve breakdown of the strong passive film on the surface. In this Phase I program, Faraday worked with its collaborators at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) to demonstrate the feasibility of an electropolishing process for pure niobium, utilizing an environmentally benign alternative to chemical or electrochemical polishing electrolytes containing hydrofluoric acid. Faraday utilized a 31 wt% aqueous sulfuric acid solution (devoid of hydrofluoric acid) in conjunction with the FARADAYICSM Process, which uses pulse/pulse reverse fields for electropolishing, to demonstrate the ability to electropolish niobium to the desired surface finish. The anticipated benefits of the FARADAYICSM Electropolishing process will be a simpler, safer, and less expensive method capable of surface finishing high purity niobium

  1. Pitting corrosion resistance of nickel-titanium rotary instruments with different surface treatments in seventeen percent ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid and sodium chloride solutions.

    PubMed

    Bonaccorso, Antonio; Tripi, Teresa Roberta; Rondelli, Gianni; Condorelli, Guglielmo Guido; Cantatore, Giuseppe; Schäfer, Edgar

    2008-02-01

    This study evaluated the pitting corrosion resistance of nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments with different surface treatments in 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and NaCl solutions. Electropolished RaCe instruments were allocated to group A, non-electropolished RaCe instruments to group B, and physical vapor deposition (PVD)-coated Alpha files to group C (10 instruments per group). Electrochemical measurements were carried out by using a potentiostat for galvanic current measurements. On the basis of electrochemical tests, no localized corrosion problems are to be expected in EDTA. In NaCl, pitting potential occurred at higher values for the electropolished and PVD instruments, indicating an increased corrosion resistance. There appears to be a risk of corrosion for NiTi instruments without surface treatments in contact with NaCl. NiTi files with PVD and electropolishing surface treatments showed an increase corrosion resistance.

  2. 40 CFR 63.11508 - What are my compliance requirements?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... electroplating, electroforming, or electropolishing tank that contains one or more of the plating and polishing... electroplating, electroforming, or electropolishing tank that contains one or more of the plating and polishing...) If you own or operate an affected flash or short-term electroplating tank that contains one or more...

  3. Effect of polishing process on corrosion behavior of 308L stainless steel in high temperature water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, Cheng; Han, En-Hou; Peng, Qunjia; Ke, Wei

    2018-06-01

    Effect of change in surface composition and roughness by different polishing processes on corrosion of 308L stainless steel in high temperature water was investigated. The investigation was conducted by comparing the corrosion behavior of electropolished specimens with that of the 40 nm-colloidal silica slurry polished specimens. The result revealed that the electropolished specimens had a higher corrosion rate than the colloidal silica slurry polished specimens, which was attributed to formation of an amount of chromium hydroxide and higher roughness of the electropolished surface. Moreover, the ferrite in 308L stainless steel was found to have a higher resistance to corrosion than the austenite matrix.

  4. Electrochemical planarization

    DOEpatents

    Bernhardt, A.F.; Contolini, R.J.

    1993-10-26

    In a process for fabricating planarized thin film metal interconnects for integrated circuit structures, a planarized metal layer is etched back to the underlying dielectric layer by electropolishing, ion milling or other procedure. Electropolishing reduces processing time from hours to minutes and allows batch processing of multiple wafers. The etched back planarized thin film interconnect is flush with the dielectric layer. 12 figures.

  5. Synthesis of ceria based superhydrophobic coating on Ni20Cr substrate via cathodic electrodeposition.

    PubMed

    Pedraza, F; Mahadik, S A; Bouchaud, B

    2015-12-21

    In this work, superhydrophobic cerium oxide coating surface (111) with dual scale texture on Ni20Cr substrate is obtained by combination of electropolishing the substrate and subsequent cathodic electrodeposition and long-term UVH surface relaxation. To form hierarchical structures of CeO2 is controllable by varying the substrate roughness, and electropolishing period. The results indicated that at the optimal condition, the surface of the cerium oxide coating showed a superhydrophobicity with a great water contact angle (151.0 ± 1.4°) with Gecko state. An interface model for electropolishing of substrate surface in cerium nitrate medium is proposed. We expect that this facile process can be readily and widely adopted for the design of superhydrophobic coating on engineering materials.

  6. Development of AISI 316L stainless steel coronary stent

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    García-López, Erika; Siller, Héctor R.; Rodríguez, Ciro A.

    2018-02-01

    Coronary stents are manufactured through a sequence of processes and each step demands the process control to assure surface quality. This study is focused on the influence of laser cutting parameters and electropolishing on average surface roughness and back wall dross percentage for fiber laser cutting of AISI 316L coronary struts. A preliminary test and a design of experiments (DOE) were implemented to determine the limiting cutting conditions and the effect of these parameters on quality indicators. Preliminary results identify four cutting zones from a non-cut zone to a burned zone, in a frequency range between 1000 and 1500 Hz and a peak power between 160 to 180 W for clean cuts. From the DOE results, several interactions between factors were observed; however, a laser frequency of 1000 to 1500 Hz and a cutting speed of 250 mm/min minimize the backwall dross percentage and the surface roughness to values less than 2% and 0.9 μm, respectively. After the laser conditions selection, coronary stents were manufactured and electropolished to reduce the surface roughness on the strut edge. Electropolishing results indicate a surface roughness reduction from 0.9 μm to 0.3 μm after 300 s of electropolishing time.

  7. Effect of Surface Treatment on the Surface Characteristics of AISI 316L Stainless Steel

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Trigwell, Steve; Selvaduray, Guna

    2005-01-01

    The ability of 316L stainless steel to maintain biocompatibility, which is dependent upon the surface characteristics, is critical to its effectiveness as an implant material. The surfaces of mechanically polished (MP), electropolished (EP) and plasma treated 316L stainless steel coupons were characterized by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) for chemical composition, Atomic Force Microscopy for surface roughness, and contact angle measurements for critical surface tension. All surfaces had a Ni concentration that was significantly lower than the bulk concentration of -43%. The Cr content of the surface was increased significantly by electropolishing. The surface roughness was also improved significantly by electropolishing. Plasma treatment had the reverse effect - the surface Cr content was decreased. It was also found that the Cr and Fe in the surface exist in both the oxide and hydroxide states, with the ratios varying according to surface treatment.

  8. Long-term stability of self-assembled monolayers on 316L stainless steel.

    PubMed

    Kaufmann, C R; Mani, G; Marton, D; Johnson, D M; Agrawal, C M

    2010-04-01

    316L stainless steel (316L SS) has been extensively used for making orthopedic, dental and cardiovascular implants. The use of phosphonic acid self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on 316L SS has been previously explored for potential biomedical applications. In this study, we have investigated the long-term stability of methyl (-CH(3)) and carboxylic acid (-COOH)-terminated phosphonic acid SAMs on 316L under physiological conditions. The stability of SAMs on mechanically polished and electropolished 316L SS was also investigated as a part of this study. Well-ordered and uniform -CH(3)- and -COOH-terminated SAMs were coated on mechanically polished and electropolished 316L SS surfaces. The long-term stability of SAMs on 316L SS was investigated for up to 28 days in Tris-buffered saline (TBS) at 37 degrees C using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and contact angle goniometry. A significant amount of phosphonic acid molecules was desorbed from the 316L SS surfaces within 1 to 7 days of TBS immersion followed by a slow desorption of molecules over the remaining days. The -COOH-terminated SAM was found to be more stable than the -CH(3)-terminated SAM on both mechanically and electropolished surfaces. No significant differences in the desorption behavior of SAMs were observed between mechanically and electropolished 316L SS surfaces.

  9. Effect of surface treatment and sterilization processes on the corrosion behavior of NiTi shape memory alloy.

    PubMed

    Thierry, B; Tabrizian, M; Trepanier, C; Savadogo, O; Yahia, L

    2000-09-15

    Nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloy derives its biocompatibility and good corrosion resistance from a homogeneous oxide layer mainly composed of TiO(2), with a very low concentration of nickel. In this article, we described the corrosion behavior of NiTi alloys after mechanical polishing, electropolishing, and sterilization processes using cyclic polarization and atomic absorption. As a preparative surface treatment, electropolishing decreased the amount of nickel on the surface and remarkably improved the corrosion behavior of the alloy by increasing the mean breakdown potential value and the reproducibility of the results (0.99 +/- 0.05 V/SCE vs. 0.53 +/- 0. 42). Ethylene oxide and Sterrad(R) sterilization techniques did not modify the corrosion resistance of electropolished NiTi, whereas a steam autoclave and, to a lesser extent, peracetic acid sterilization produced scattered breakdown potential. In comparing the corrosion resistance of common biomaterials, NiTi ranked between 316L stainless steel and Ti6A14V even after sterilization. Electropolished NiTi and 316L stainless-steel alloys released similar amounts of nickel after a few days of immersion in Hank's solution. Measurements by atomic absorption have shown that the amount of released nickel from passive dissolution was below the expected toxic level in the human body. Auger electron spectroscopy analyses indicated surface contamination by Ca and P on NiTi during immersion, but no significant modification in oxide thickness was observed.

  10. Sodium Hypochlorite Treatment and Nitinol Performance for Medical Devices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weaver, J. D.; Gutierrez, E. J.; Nagaraja, S.; Stafford, P. R.; Sivan, S.; Di Prima, M.

    2017-09-01

    Processing of nitinol medical devices has evolved over the years as manufacturers have identified methods of reducing surface defects such as inclusions. One recent method proposes to soak nitinol medical devices in a 6% sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) solution as a means of identifying surface inclusions. Devices with surface inclusions could in theory then be removed from production because inclusions would interact with NaClO to form a visible black material on the nitinol surface. To understand the effects of an NaClO soak on performance, we compared as-received and NaClO-soaked nitinol wires with two different surface finishes (black oxide and electropolished). Pitting corrosion susceptibility was equivalent between the as-received and NaClO-soaked groups for both surface finishes. Nickel ion release increased in the NaClO-soaked group for black oxide nitinol, but was equivalent for electropolished nitinol. Fatigue testing revealed a lower fatigue life for NaClO-soaked black oxide nitinol at all alternating strains. With the exception of 0.83% alternating strain, NaClO-soaked and as-received electropolished nitinol had similar average fatigue life, but the NaClO-soaked group showed higher variability. NaClO-soaked electropolished nitinol had specimens with the lowest number of cycles to fracture for all alternating strains tested with the exception of the highest alternating strain 1.2%. The NaClO treatment identified only one specimen with surface inclusions and caused readily identifiable surface damage to the black oxide nitinol. Damage from the NaClO soak to electropolished nitinol surface also appears to have occurred and is likely the cause of the increased variability of the fatigue results. Overall, the NaClO soak appears to not lead to an improvement in nitinol performance and seems to be damaging to the nitinol surface in ways that may not be detectable with a simple visual inspection for black material on the nitinol surface.

  11. Spectral Emittance of Uncoated and Ceramic-Coated Inconel and Type 321 Stainless Steel

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Richmond, Joseph C.; Stewart, James E.

    1959-01-01

    The normal spectral emittance of Inconel and type 321 stainless steel with different surface treatments was measured at temperatures of 900, 1,200, 1,500, and 1,800 F over a wavelength range of 1.5 to 15 microns. The measurements involved comparison of the radiant energy emitted by the heated specimen with that emitted by a comparison standard at the same temperature by means of a recording double-beam infrared spectrophotometer. The silicon carbide comparison standard had previously been calibrated against a laboratory black-body furnace. Surface treatments included electropolishing, sandblasting, electro-polishing followed by oxidation in air for 1/2 hour at 1,800 F, sandblasting followed by oxidation in air for 1/2 hour at 1,800 F, application of National Bureau of Standards coating A-418, and application of NBS ceramic coating N-143. The normal spectral emittance of both alloys in the electropolished condition was low and decreased very slightly with increasing wavelength while in the sandblasted condition it was somewhat higher and did not vary appreciably with wavelength. The oxidation treatment greatly increased the normal spectral emittance of both the electropolished and sandblasted type 321 stainless steel specimens and of the electropolished Inconel specimens and introduced some spectral selectivity into the curves. The oxidation increased the normal spectral emittance of the sandblasted Inconel specimens only moderately. Of the specimens to which a coating about 0.002 inch thick was applied, those coated with A-418 had higher emittance at all wavelengths than did those coated with N-143, and the coated specimens of Inconel had higher spectral emittance at all wavelengths than did the corresponding specimens of type 321 stainless steel. Both coatings were found to be partially transparent to the emitted energy at this thickness but essentially opaque at a thickness of 0.005 inch. Coated specimens with 0.005 inch or more of coating did not show the effect

  12. 40 CFR 63.11505 - What parts of my plant does this subpart cover?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... electroplating; electroforming; electropolishing; electroless plating or other non-electrolytic metal coating... Chromium Electroplating and Chromium Anodizing Tanks). (2) Research and development process units, as...

  13. Sample preparation methods for scanning electron microscopy of homogenized Al-Mg-Si billets: A comparative study

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Österreicher, Johannes Albert; Kumar, Manoj

    Characterization of Mg-Si precipitates is crucial for optimizing the homogenization heat treatment of Al-Mg-Si alloys. Although sample preparation is key for high quality scanning electron microscopy imaging, most common methods lead to dealloying of Mg-Si precipitates. In this article we systematically evaluate different sample preparation methods: mechanical polishing, etching with various reagents, and electropolishing using different electrolytes. We demonstrate that the use of a nitric acid and methanol electrolyte for electropolishing a homogenized Al-Mg-Si alloy prevents the dissolution of Mg-Si precipitates, resulting in micrographs of higher quality. This preparation method is investigated in depth and the obtained scanning electron microscopymore » images are compared with transmission electron micrographs: the shape and size of Mg-Si precipitates appear very similar in either method. The scanning electron micrographs allow proper identification and measurement of the Mg-Si phases including needles with lengths of roughly 200 nm. These needles are β″ precipitates as confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. - Highlights: •Secondary precipitation in homogenized 6xxx Al alloys is crucial for extrudability. •Existing sample preparation methods for SEM are improvable. •Electropolishing with nitric acid/methanol yields superior quality in SEM. •The obtained micrographs are compared to TEM micrographs.« less

  14. On the measurement of austenite in supermartensitic stainless steel by X-ray diffraction

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tolchard, Julian Richard, E-mail: tolchard@material.ntnu.no; Sømme, Astri; Solberg, Jan Ketil

    2015-01-15

    Sections of a 13Cr supermartensitic stainless steel were investigated to determine the optimum sample preparation for measurement of the austenite content by X-ray diffraction. The surface of several samples was mechanically ground or polished using media of grit sizes in the range 1–120 μm. The strained surface layer was afterwards removed stepwise by electropolishing, and the austenite content measured at each step. It was found that any level of mechanical grinding or polishing results in a reduction of the measured austenite fraction relative to the true bulk value, and that coarser grinding media impart greater damage and greater reduction inmore » the measured austenite content. The results thus highlight the importance of the electropolishing step in preparation of such samples, but suggest that the American Society for Testing and Materials standard E975-03 substantially overestimates the amount of material which needs to be removed to recover the true “bulk” content. - Highlights: • Quantitative Rietveld analysis of austenite/martensite ratio in supermartensitic stainless steels • Critical evaluation of sample preparation for residual austenite measurements by X-ray diffraction • Highlighting of the importance of electropolishing as a final preparation step.« less

  15. Variably porous structures

    DOEpatents

    Braun, Paul V [Savoy, IL; Yu, Xindi [Urbana, IL

    2011-01-18

    A method of making a monolithic porous structure, comprises electrodepositing a material on a template; removing the template from the material to form a monolithic porous structure comprising the material; and electropolishing the monolithic porous structure.

  16. Nanostructural features degrading the performance of superconducting radio frequency niobium cavities revealed by transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Trenikhina, Y.; Romanenko, A.; Kwon, J.

    Nanoscale defect structure within the magnetic penetration depth of ~100 nm is key to the performance limitations of niobium superconducting radio frequency cavities. Using a unique combination of advanced thermometry during cavity RF measurements, and TEM structural and compositional characterization of the samples extracted from cavity walls, we discover the existence of nanoscale hydrides in electropolished cavities limited by the high field Q slope, and show the decreased hydride formation in the electropolished cavity after 120°C baking. Furthermore, we demonstrate that adding 800°C hydrogen degassing followed by light buffered chemical polishing restores the hydride formation to the pre-120°C bake level.more » We also show absence of niobium oxides along the grain boundaries and the modifications of the surface oxide upon 120°C bake.« less

  17. Nanostructural features degrading the performance of superconducting radio frequency niobium cavities revealed by transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy

    DOE PAGES

    Trenikhina, Y.; Romanenko, A.; Kwon, J.; ...

    2015-04-21

    Nanoscale defect structure within the magnetic penetration depth of ~100 nm is key to the performance limitations of niobium superconducting radio frequency cavities. Using a unique combination of advanced thermometry during cavity RF measurements, and TEM structural and compositional characterization of the samples extracted from cavity walls, we discover the existence of nanoscale hydrides in electropolished cavities limited by the high field Q slope, and show the decreased hydride formation in the electropolished cavity after 120°C baking. Furthermore, we demonstrate that adding 800°C hydrogen degassing followed by light buffered chemical polishing restores the hydride formation to the pre-120°C bake level.more » We also show absence of niobium oxides along the grain boundaries and the modifications of the surface oxide upon 120°C bake.« less

  18. Nanostructural features degrading the performance of superconducting radio frequency niobium cavities revealed by transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Trenikhina, Y., E-mail: yuliatr@fnal.gov; Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois 60510; Romanenko, A., E-mail: aroman@fnal.gov

    Nanoscale defect structure within the magnetic penetration depth of ∼100 nm is key to the performance limitations of niobium superconducting radio frequency cavities. Using a unique combination of advanced thermometry during cavity RF measurements, and TEM structural and compositional characterization of the samples extracted from cavity walls, we discover the existence of nanoscale hydrides in electropolished cavities limited by the high field Q slope, and show the decreased hydride formation in the electropolished cavity after 120 °C baking. Furthermore, we demonstrate that adding 800 °C hydrogen degassing followed by light buffered chemical polishing restores the hydride formation to the pre-120 °C bake level. Wemore » also show absence of niobium oxides along the grain boundaries and the modifications of the surface oxide upon 120 °C bake.« less

  19. Study made of corrosion resistance of stainless steel and nickel alloys in nuclear reactor superheaters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Greenberg, S.; Hart, R. K.; Lee, R. H.; Ruther, W. E.; Schlueter, R. R.

    1967-01-01

    Experiments performed under conditions found in nuclear reactor superheaters determine the corrosion rate of stainless steel and nickel alloys used in them. Electropolishing was the primary surface treatment before the corrosion test. Corrosion is determined by weight loss of specimens after defilming.

  20. Microstructure Instability in Cryogenically-Deformed Copper (Preprint)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-03-01

    prepared using conventional metallographic techniques followed by electropolishing in a solution of 70 pct. orthophosphoric acid in water at ambient...at room temperatu re on the microhardness profile across the sample diameter is shown in Fig. 1. After 15 minutes, the microhardness distribution was

  1. Metallography of Aluminum and Its Alloys : Use of Electrolytic Polishing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jacquet, Pierre A

    1955-01-01

    Recent methods are described for electropolishing aluminum and aluminum alloys. Numerous references are included of electrolytic micrographic investigations carried out during the period 1948 to 1952. A detailed description of a commercial electrolytic polishing unit, suitable for micrographic examination of aluminum and its alloys, is included.

  2. Removal of {sup 222}Rn daughters from metal surfaces

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zuzel, G.; Wojcik, M.; Majorovits, B.

    Removal of the long-lived {sup 222}Rn daughters ({sup 210}Pb, {sup 210}Bi and {sup 210}Po) from copper, stainless steel and germanium surfaces was investigated. As cleaning techniques etching and electro-polishing was applied to samples in a form of discs exposed earlier to a strong radon source. Reduction of the {sup 210}Pb activity was tested using a HPGe spectrometer, for {sup 210}Bi a beta spectrometer and for {sup 210}Po an alpha spectrometer was used. According to the conducted measurements electro-polishing was always more efficient compared to etching and in case of copper the activity reduction factors for {sup 210}Pb, {sup 210}Bi andmore » {sup 210}Po were between 200 and 400. Etching does not remove {sup 210}Po from copper but works very efficiently from germanium. Results obtained for {sup 210}Pb and {sup 210}Bi for etched stainless steel were worse but still slightly better than those achieved for copper.« less

  3. Artifacts introduced by ion milling in Al-Li-Cu alloys.

    PubMed

    Singh, A K; Imam, M A; Sadananda, K

    1988-04-01

    Ion milling is commonly used to prepare specimens for observation under transmission electron microscope (TEM). This technique sometimes introduces artifacts in specimens contributing to misleading interpretation of TEM results as observed in the present investigation of Al-Li-Cu alloys. This type of alloy, in general, contains several kinds of precipitates, namely delta', T1, and theta'. It is found that ion milling even for a short time produces drastic changes in the precipitate characteristics as compared to standard electropolishing methods of specimen preparation for TEM. Careful analysis of selected area diffraction patterns and micrographs shows that after ion milling delta' precipitates are very irregular, whereas other precipitates coarsen and they are surrounded by misfit dislocations. In situ hot-stage TEM experiments were performed to relate the microstructure to that observed in the ion-milled specimen. Results and causes of ion milling effects on the microstructure are discussed in relation to standard electropolishing techniques and in situ hot-stage experiment.

  4. Electroless Plated Nanodiamond Coating for Stainless Steel Passivation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, D.; Korinko, P.; Spencer, W.

    Tritium gas sample bottles and manifold components require passivation surface treatments to minimize the interaction of the hydrogen isotopes with surface contamination on the stainless steel containment materials. This document summarizes the effort to evaluate electroless plated nanodiamond coatings as a passivation layer for stainless steel. In this work, we developed an electroless nanodiamond (ND)-copper (Cu) coating process to deposit ND on stainless steel parts with the diamond loadings of 0%, 25% and 50% v/v in a Cu matrix. The coated Conflat Flanged Vessel Assemblies (CFVAs) were evaluated on surface morphology, composition, ND distribution, residual hydrogen release, and surface reactivitymore » with deuterium. For as-received Cu and ND-Cu coated CFVAs, hydrogen off-gassing is rapid, and the off-gas rates of H 2 was one to two orders of magnitude higher than that for both untreated and electropolished stainless steel CFVAs, and hydrogen and deuterium reacted to form HD as well. These results indicated that residual H 2 was entrapped in the Cu and ND-Cu coated CFVAs during the coating process, and moisture was adsorbed on the surface, and ND and/or Cu might facilitate catalytic isotope exchange reaction for HD formation. However, hydrocarbons (i.e., CH 3) did not form, and did not appear to be an issue for the Cu and ND-Cu coated CFVAs. After vacuum heating, residual H 2 and adsorbed H 2O in the Cu and ND-Cu coated CFVAs were dramatically reduced. The H 2 off-gassing rate after the vacuum treatment of Cu and 50% ND-Cu coated CFVAs was on the level of 10 -14 l mbar/s cm 2, while H 2O off-gas rate was on the level of 10 -15 l mbar/s cm 2, consistent with the untreated or electropolished stainless steel CFVA, but the HD formation remained. The Restek EP bottle was used as a reference for this work. The Restek Electro-Polished (EP) bottle and their SilTek coated bottles tested under a different research project exhibited very little hydrogen off-gassing and

  5. VOCS IN AMBIENT AIR NEAR WORLD TRADE CENTER SITE

    EPA Science Inventory

    Beginning on September 22, 2001 and continuing through February 2002, ambient air samples were collected at three sites within a block of ground zero and at a fourth site on the 16th floor of a building at 290 Broadway. Grab samples were collected in evacuated, electro-polished...

  6. VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS MEASUREMENTS IN NEW YORK CITY IN RESPONSE TO THE EVENTS OF 9/11

    EPA Science Inventory

    From September 22, 2001 through February 2002, ambient air was sampled in lower Manhattan, New York at three sites within a block of ground zero and at a fourth site 500-m northwest of the World Trade Center. Over 190 grab samples were collected in evacuated, electro-polished s...

  7. Nanoindentation of Electropolished FeCrAl Alloy Welds

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Weaver, Jordan; Aydogan, Eda; Mara, Nathan Allan

    The present report summarizes Berkovich nanoindentation modulus and hardness measurements on two candidate FeCrAl alloys (C35M and C37M) on as-received (AR) and welded samples. In addition, spherical nanoindentation stress-strain measurements were performed on individual grains to provide further information and demonstrate the applicability of these protocols to mechanically characterizing welds in FeCrAl alloys. The indentation results are compared against the reported tensile properties for these alloys to provide relationships between nanoindentation and tensile tests and insight into weldsoftening for these FeCrAl alloys. Hardness measurements revealed weld-softening for both alloys in good agreement with tensile test results. C35M showed a largermore » reduction in hardness at the weld center from the AR material compared to C37M; this is also consistent with tensile tests. In general, nanohardness was shown to be a good predictor of tensile yield strength and ultimate tensile stress for FeCrAl alloys. Spherical nanoindentation measurements revealed that the fusion zone (FZ) + heat affected zone (HAZ) has a very low defect density typical of well-annealed metals as indicated by the frequent pop-in events. Spherical nanoindentation yield strength, Berkovich hardness, and tensile yield strength measurements on the welded material all show that the C37M welded material has a higher strength than C35M welded material. From the comparison of nanoindentation and tensile tests, EBSD microstructure analysis, and information on the processing history, it can be deduced that the primary driver for weld-softening is a change in the defect structure at the grain-scale between the AR and welded material. These measurements serve as baseline data for utilizing nanoindentation for studying the effects of radiation damage on these alloys.« less

  8. Effect of surface roughness and stainless steel finish on Listeria monocytogenes attachment and biofilm formation.

    PubMed

    Rodriguez, Andres; Autio, Wesley R; McLandsborough, Lynne A

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of surface roughness (Ra) and finish of mechanically polished stainless steel (Ra = 0.26 +/- 0.05, 0.49 +/- 0.10, and 0.69 +/- 0.05 microm) and electropolished stainless steel (Ra = 0.16 +/- 0.06, 0.40 +/- 0.003, and 0.67 +/- 0.02 microm) on Listeria adhesion and biofilm formation. A four-strain cocktail of Listeria monocytogenes was used. Each strain (0.1%) was added to 200 ml of tryptic soy broth (TSB), and coupons were inserted to the mixture for 5 min. For biofilm formation, coupons with adhesive cells were incubated in 1:20 diluted TSB at 32 degrees C for 48 h. The experiment was performed by a randomized block design. Our results show that the level of Listeria present after 48 h of incubation (mean = 7 log CFU/cm2) was significantly higher than after 5 min (mean = 6.0 log CFU/cm2) (P < 0.01). No differences in initial adhesion were seen in mechanically finished (mean = 6.7 log CFU/cm2) when compared with electropolished stainless steel (mean = 6.7 log CFU/cm2) (P > 0.05). Listeria initial adhesion (values ranged from 5.9 to 6.1 log CFU/cm2) or biofilm formation (values ranged from 6.9 to 7.2 log CFU/cm2) was not significantly correlated with Ra values (P > 0.05). Image analysis with an atomic force microscope showed that bacteria did not colonize the complete surface after 48 h but were individual cells or grouped in microcolonies that ranged from 5 to 10 microm in diameter and one to three cell layers in thickness. Exopolymeric substances were observed to be associated with the colonies. According to our results, electropolishing stainless steel does not pose a significant advantage for food sanitation over mechanically finished stainless steel.

  9. Improved Interfacial Bonding in Magnesium/Aluminum Overcasting Systems by Aluminum Surface Treatments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Hui; Chen, Yiqing; Luo, Alan A.

    2014-12-01

    "Overcasting" technique is used to produce bimetallic magnesium/aluminum (Mg/Al) structures where lightweight Mg can be cast onto solid Al substrates. An inherent difficulty in creating strong Mg/Al interfacial bonding is the natural oxide film on the solid Al surfaces, which reduces the wettability between molten Mg and Al substrates during the casting process. In the paper, an "electropolishing + anodizing" surface treatment has been developed to disrupt the oxide film on a dilute Al-0.08 wt pct Ga alloy, improving the metallurgical bonding between molten Mg and Al substrates in the bimetallic experiments carried out in a high-vacuum test apparatus. The test results provided valuable information of the interfacial phenomena of the Mg/Al bimetallic samples. The results show significantly improved metallurgical bonding in the bimetallic samples with "electropolishing + anodizing" surface treatment and Ga alloying. It is recommended to adjust the pre-heating temperature and time of the Al substrates and the Mg melt temperature to control the interfacial reactions for optimum interfacial properties in the actual overcasting processes.

  10. The Influence of Microstructure on Deuterium Retention in Polycrystalline Tungsten

    DOE PAGES

    Garrison, Lauren M.; Meyer, Fred W.; Bannister, Mark E.

    2017-09-18

    The retention of hydrogen isotopes in the plasma-facing materials of a fusion reactor is dependent on the density of trapping sites in the material. One factor that can influence the trapping defects is the surface state of the material before exposure. Mechanically polished, electropolished, and recrystallized tungsten samples were compared by exposing them to 350 eV D + beams with peak fluences of ~1 × 10 24 D +/m 2 at 500 and 740 K at the Multicharged Ion Research Facility (MIRF). At the exposure temperature of 740 K, no significant retention was detected. For material exposed at 500 K,more » significant differences in retention were observed, and the order of increasing retention was recrystallized, electropolished, and mechanically polished. Lastly, the other variable besides surface treatment was the time delay between ion exposure and thermal desorption spectroscopy which also may have impacted the retention measurements if there was out-gassing of the D while samples were in storage before thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS).« less

  11. The Influence of Microstructure on Deuterium Retention in Polycrystalline Tungsten

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Garrison, Lauren M.; Meyer, Fred W.; Bannister, Mark E.

    The retention of hydrogen isotopes in the plasma-facing materials of a fusion reactor is dependent on the density of trapping sites in the material. One factor that can influence the trapping defects is the surface state of the material before exposure. Mechanically polished, electropolished, and recrystallized tungsten samples were compared by exposing them to 350 eV D + beams with peak fluences of ~1 × 10 24 D +/m 2 at 500 and 740 K at the Multicharged Ion Research Facility (MIRF). At the exposure temperature of 740 K, no significant retention was detected. For material exposed at 500 K,more » significant differences in retention were observed, and the order of increasing retention was recrystallized, electropolished, and mechanically polished. Lastly, the other variable besides surface treatment was the time delay between ion exposure and thermal desorption spectroscopy which also may have impacted the retention measurements if there was out-gassing of the D while samples were in storage before thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS).« less

  12. Electrochemical system and method for electropolishing hollow metal bodies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Taylor, E. Jennings; Inman, Maria E.; Hall, Timothy

    A method and system for electrochemically machining a hollow body of a metal or a metal alloy. An electrode is positioned within a hollow body including a metal or metal alloy, where the hollow body has a variable internal diameter. The hollow body is oriented vertically, with the electrode oriented vertically therein. The hollow body is at least partially filled with an aqueous, acidic electrolyte solution, the electrolyte solution being devoid of hydrofluoric acid and having a viscosity less than 15 cP. An electric current is passed between the hollow body and the electrode, where the electric current includes amore » plurality of anodic pulses and a plurality of cathodic pulses, and where the cathodic pulses are interposed between at least some of the anodic pulses.« less

  13. Analysis of Microstructure Refinement During Single-Pass and Multi-Pass Friction Stir Processing of Nial Propeller Bronze

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-09-01

    on an Optical Micrograph of the Transverse View of Single-Pass NAB. After [5]............................................... 6 Figure 4 . Vertical...deformed and 6 elongated but does not see the same refinement that is seen inside the SZ [ 4 ]. The grain structure right outside the TMAZ will also...including grinding, polishing, and electropolishing . The first step was to grind the surface using a Buehler ECOMET 4 Variable Speed Grinder

  14. A cochlear implant fabricated using a bulk silicon-surface micromachining process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bell, Tracy Elizabeth

    1999-11-01

    This dissertation presents the design and fabrication of two generations of a silicon microelectrode array for use in a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant is a device that is inserted into the inner ear and uses electrical stimulation to provide sound sensations to the profoundly deaf. The first-generation silicon cochlear implant is a passive device fabricated using silicon microprobe technology developed at the University of Michigan. It contains twenty-two iridium oxide (IrO) stimulating sites that are 250 mum in diameter and spaced at 750 mum intervals. In-vivo recordings were made in guinea pig auditory cortex in response to electrical stimulation with this device, verifying its ability to electrically evoke an auditory response. Auditory thresholds as low as 78 muA were recorded. The second-generation implant is a thirty-two site, four-channel device with on-chip CMOS site-selection circuitry and integrated position sensing. It was fabricated using a novel bulk silicon surface micromachining process which was developed as a part of this dissertation work. While the use of semiconductor technology offers many advantages in fabricating cochlear implants over the methods currently used, it was felt that even further advantages could be gained by developing a new micromachining process which would allow circuitry to be distributed along the full length of the cochlear implant substrate. The new process uses electropolishing of an n+ bulk silicon sacrificial layer to undercut and release n- epitaxial silicon structures from the wafer. An extremely abrupt etch-stop between the n+ and n- silicon is obtained, with no electropolishing taking place in the n-type silicon that is doped lower than 1 x 1017 cm-3 in concentration. Lateral electropolishing rates of up to 50 mum/min were measured using this technique, allowing one millimeter-wide structures to be fully undercut in as little as 10 minutes. The new micromachining process was integrated with a standard p

  15. Electrochemical system and method for electropolishing superconductive radio frequency cavities

    DOEpatents

    Taylor, E. Jennings; Inman, Maria E.; Hall, Timothy

    2015-04-14

    An electrochemical finishing system for super conducting radio frequency (SCRF) cavities including a low viscosity electrolyte solution that is free of hydrofluoric acid, an electrode in contact with the electrolyte solution, the SCRF cavity being spaced apart from the electrode and in contact with the electrolyte solution and a power source including a first electrical lead electrically coupled to the electrode and a second electrical lead electrically coupled to the cavity, the power source being configured to pass an electric current between the electrode and the workpiece, wherein the electric current includes anodic pulses and cathodic pulses, and wherein the cathodic pulses are interposed between at least some of the anodic pulses. The SCRF cavity may be vertically oriented during the finishing process.

  16. Influence of the post-weld surface treatment on the corrosion resistance of the duplex stainless steel 1.4062

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rosemann, P.; Müller, C.; Baumann, O.; Modersohn, W.; Halle, T.

    2017-03-01

    The duplex stainless steel 1.4062 (X2CrNiN22-2) is used as alternative material to austenitic stainless steels in the construction industry. The corrosion resistance of welded seams is influenced by the base material, the weld filler material, the welding process and also by the final surface treatment. The scale layer next to the weld seam can be removed by grinding, pickling, electro-polished or blasting depending on the application and the requested corrosion resistance. Blasted surfaces are often used in industrial practice due to the easier and cheaper manufacturing process compared to pickled or electro-polished surfaces. Furthermore blasting with corundum-grain is more effective than blasting with glass-beads which also lower the process costs. In recent years, stainless steel surfaces showed an unusually high susceptibility to pitting corrosion after grinding with corundum. For this reason, it is now also questioned critically whether the corrosion resistance is influenced by the applied blasting agent. This question was specifically investigated by comparing grinded, pickled, corundum-grain- and glass-bead-blasted welding seams. Results of the SEM analyses of the blasting agents and the blasted surfaces will be presented and correlated with the different performed corrosion tests (potential measurement, KorroPad-test and pitting potential) on welding seams with different surface treatments.

  17. Influence of Surface Roughness on the Fatigue Life of Nickel-Titanium Rotary Endodontic Instruments.

    PubMed

    Lopes, Hélio P; Elias, Carlos N; Vieira, Márcia V B; Vieira, Victor T L; de Souza, Letícia Chaves; Dos Santos, Alexander Lopes

    2016-06-01

    The goal of the present study was to evaluate the influence of surface grooves (peaks and valleys) resulting from machining during the manufacturing process of polished and unpolished nickel-titanium BR4C endodontic files on the fatigue life of the instruments. Ten electropolished and 10 unpolished endodontic files were provided by the manufacturer. Specimens were from the same batch, but the unpolished instruments were removed from the production line before surface treatment. The instruments were evaluated with a profilometer to quantify the surface roughness on the working part of the instruments. Then the files were subjected to rotating bending fatigue tests. Analysis with the profilometer showed that surface grooves were deeper on the unpolished instruments compared with their electropolished counterparts. In the rotating bending fatigue test, the mean and standard deviation for the number of cycles until fracture (NCF) were greater for instruments with less pronounced grooves. Student t test revealed significant differences in all tests (P < .05). The results from the present study showed that the depth of the surface grooves on the working part affected the NCF of the instruments tested; the smaller the groove depth, the greater the NCF. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Susceptibility of nitinol to localized corrosion.

    PubMed

    Pound, Bruce G

    2006-04-01

    The effect of different conditions on the susceptibility of nitinol to localized corrosion was examined using the cyclic potentiodynamic polarization technique. Tests were performed on mechanically polished (MP) and electropolished (EP) nitinol wire in 0.9 wt % NaCl and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). A polarization curve was also obtained for an EP stent in the NaCl. Differences between the breakdown potential and the corrosion potential (E(corr)) and between the protection potential and E(corr) were used to evaluate the susceptibility to pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion, respectively. The type of solution and, particularly, the surface condition affected the resistance of nitinol to pitting corrosion. Both EP and MP nitinol were more susceptible to breakdown in the NaCl than in PBS, indicating that the NaCl provides a more severe test environment than does PBS. Electropolishing increased the breakdown resistance of nitinol in PBS and the NaCl, as found in previous studies with Hank's solution. Surface condition, however, did not have a significant effect on the repassivation behavior of nitinol, as is also the case with titanium. The EP wire and stent showed similar breakdown and repassivation behavior in the NaCl, suggesting that the nature of the EP surface was similar in both cases. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. New Methods of Sample Preparation for Atom Probe Specimens

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kuhlman, Kimberly, R.; Kowalczyk, Robert S.; Ward, Jennifer R.; Wishard, James L.; Martens, Richard L.; Kelly, Thomas F.

    2003-01-01

    Magnetite is a common conductive mineral found on Earth and Mars. Disk-shaped precipitates approximately 40 nm in diameter have been shown to have manganese and aluminum concentrations. Atom-probe field-ion microscopy (APFIM) is the only technique that can potentially quantify the composition of these precipitates. APFIM will be used to characterize geological and planetary materials, analyze samples of interest for geomicrobiology; and, for the metrology of nanoscale instrumentation. Prior to APFIM sample preparation was conducted by electropolishing, the method of sharp shards (MSS), or Bosch process (deep reactive ion etching) with focused ion beam (FIB) milling as a final step. However, new methods are required for difficult samples. Many materials are not easily fabricated using electropolishing, MSS, or the Bosch process, FIB milling is slow and expensive, and wet chemistry and the reactive ion etching are typically limited to Si and other semiconductors. APFIM sample preparation using the dicing saw is commonly used to section semiconductor wafers into individual devices following manufacture. The dicing saw is a time-effective method for preparing high aspect ratio posts of poorly conducting materials. Femtosecond laser micromachining is also suitable for preparation of posts. FIB time required is reduced by about a factor of 10 and multi-tip specimens can easily be fabricated using the dicing saw.

  20. Effect of Inclusion Size and Distribution on the Corrosion Behavior of Medical-Device Grade Nitinol Tubing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wohlschlögel, Markus; Steegmüller, Rainer; Schüßler, Andreas

    2014-07-01

    Nonmetallic inclusions in Nitinol, such as carbides (TiC) and intermetallic oxides (Ti4Ni2O x ), are known to be triggers for fatigue failure of Nitinol medical devices. These mechanically brittle inclusions are introduced during the melting process. As a result of hot and cold working in the production of Nitinol tubing inclusions are fractionalized due to the mechanical deformation imposed. While the role of inclusions regarding Nitinol fatigue performance has been studied extensively in the past, their effect on Nitinol corrosion behavior was investigated in only a limited number of studies. The focus of the present work was to understand the effect of inclusion size and distribution on the corrosion behavior of medical-device grade Nitinol tubing made from three different ingot sources during different manufacturing stages: (i) for the initial stage (hollow: round bar with centric hole), (ii) after hot drawing, and (iii) after the final drawing step (final tubing dimensions: outer diameter 0.3 mm, wall thickness 0.1 mm). For one ingot source, two different material qualities were investigated. Potentiodynamic polarization tests were performed for electropolished samples of the above-mentioned stages. Results indicate that inclusion size rather than inclusion quantity affects the susceptibility of electropolished Nitinol to pitting corrosion.

  1. Pit initiation on nitinol in simulated physiological solutions.

    PubMed

    Pound, Bruce G

    2018-05-01

    Inclusions appear to play a crucial role in the initiation of pitting on nitinol, but the reason remains unclear. Furthermore, it has not been established whether the type of inclusion is a central factor. In this study, potentiodynamic polarization together with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to provide more insight into the initiation of pits on electropolished nitinol wire. Corrosion was limited to a single primary pit on each of the few wire samples that exhibited breakdown. The pit contained numerous Ti 2 NiO x inclusions, but secondary pits that developed within the primary pit provided evidence that these inclusions were the sites of pit initiation. Although several theories have been proposed to account for pit initiation at inclusions in mechanically polished and electropolished nitinol, titanium depletion in the adjacent alloy matrix appears to provide the most viable explanation. The key factor appears to be the size of the inclusion and therefore the extent of titanium depletion in the alloy matrix. The type of inclusion evidently plays a secondary role at most. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 1605-1610, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Structural characterization of oxidized titanium surfaces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jobin, M.; Taborelli, M.; Descouts, P.

    1995-05-01

    Oxidized titanium surfaces resulting from various processes have been structurally characterized by means of scanning force microscopy, x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), x-ray diffraction, and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) with losses in the 0-100 eV range. It has been found that the surface morphology has a granular structure for electropolished titanium and for titanium evaporated on mica at low substrate temperature (570 K), but changes to flat terraces for the films evaporated at higher temperature (770 K). Angular-dependent XPS has revealed the presence of a Ti2O3 suboxide at the Ti/TiO2 interface for electropolished titanium. Dry oxidation has been performed at 770 and 970 K on both weakly and highly crystallized evaporated titanium films oriented along (0001). In the case of underlying crystallized metallic titanium, the resulting TiO2 films are crystallized with the anatase (004) orientation for oxidation at 770 K and with rutile (200) orientation for oxidation at 970 K. EELS spectra interpreted in terms of the molecular orbitals of a (TiO6)8- cluster show that the local octahedral environment of titanium atoms is preserved on native oxides, even if these oxides are not crystallized.

  3. A Coupled EBSD/EDS Method to Determine the Primary- and Secondary-Alpha Textures in Titanium Alloys With Duplex Microstructures (Preprint)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-07-01

    primary and secondary alpha in micrographs and thus to correlate microstructural features and texture data [3- 6 ]. For instance, Germain, et al. [3, 4 ...Following electropolishing , the sample was mounted 7/3/2007 6 on the tilting stage inside an XL30 field-emission-gun scanning-electron-microscope (FEG...AFRL-RX-WP-TP-2008-4338 A COUPLED EBSD/EDS METHOD TO DETERMINE THE PRIMARY–AND SECONDARY–ALPHA TEXTURES IN TITANIUM ALLOYS WITH DUPLEX

  4. Fine-Scale Mechanical Properties of Sliding Solids.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-02-28

    experiments to be described, the tip was prepared by chemical polishing or electropolishing and welded to a loop of wire that could be resistively heated in...attach the sample to a wire mesh that could be resistively heated itself to high temperatures. Where neither of these methods were appropriate...section welded to the tip wire . The reflected beam is focussed onto an optical detector (also outside the chamber) which is sensitive to small changes

  5. Reducing Uncertainty in Fatigue Life Limits of Turbine Engine Alloys (Preprint)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-08-01

    materials and components designs Conclusions This paper used electropolished specimens of the high-strength titanium alloy Ti-6Al- 2Sn-4Zr-6Mo to...From - To) August 2012 Technical Paper 1 July 2012 – 1 August 2012 4 . TITLE AND SUBTITLE REDUCING UNCERTAINTY IN FATIGUE LIFE LIMITS OF TURBINE...ENGINE ALLOYS (PREPRINT) 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER In-house 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 62102F 6 . AUTHOR(S) J.M. Larsen, C.J

  6. On the Shock Stress, Substructure Evolution, and Spall Response of Commercially Pure 1100-O Aluminum

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-12-01

    recovery experiments were conducted at shock stresses of approxi- mately 4 , 6 , and 9 GPa to study the substructure evolution, while spall recovery...experiments were conducted at shock stresses of approximately 6 and 9 GPa to study the spall fracture surfaces. As shown in Fig. 3, a 4 mm thick by 30 mm...different voltages ranging from 6 –60 V in a TenuPol-3 digitally controlled automatic electropolisher . The hardness of the recovered samples was measured

  7. Surface modification to waveguides

    DOEpatents

    Timberlake, John R.; Ruzic, David N.; Moore, Richard L.; Cohen, Samuel A.; Manos, Dennis M.

    1983-01-01

    A method of treating the interior surfaces of a waveguide to improve power transmission comprising the steps of mechanically polishing to remove surface protrusions; electropolishing to remove embedded particles; ultrasonically cleaning to remove any residue; coating the interior waveguide surfaces with an alkyd resin solution or electrophoretically depositing carbon lamp black suspended in an alkyd resin solution to form a 1.mu. to 5.mu. thick film; vacuum pyrolyzing the film to form a uniform adherent carbon coating.

  8. Topography evolution of rough-surface metallic substrates by solution deposition planarization method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chu, Jingyuan; Zhao, Yue; Liu, Linfei; Wu, Wei; Zhang, Zhiwei; Hong, Zhiyong; Li, Yijie; Jin, Zhijian

    2018-01-01

    As an emerging technique for surface smoothing, solution deposition planarization (SDP) has recently drawn more attention on the fabrication of the second generation high temperature superconducting (2G-HTS) tapes. In our work, a number of amorphous oxide layers were deposited on electro-polished or mirror-rolled metallic substrates by chemical solution route. Topography evolution of surface defects on these two types of metallic substrates was thoroughly investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was showed that root mean square roughness values (at 50 × 50 μm2 scanning scale) on both rough substrates reduced to ∼5 nm after coating with SDP-layer. The smoothing effect was mainly attributed to decrease of the depth at grain boundary grooving on the electro-polished metallic substrate. On the mirror-rolled metallic substrates, the amplitude and frequency of the height fluctuation perpendicular to the rolling direction were gradually reduced as depositing more numbers of SDP-layer. A high Jc value of 4.17 MA cm-2 (at 77 K, s.f.) was achieved on a full stack of YBCO/CeO2/IBAD-MgO/SDP-layer/C276 sample. This study enhanced understanding of the topography evolution on the surface defects covered by the SDP-layer, and demonstrated a low-cost route for fabricating IBAD-MgO based YBCO templates with a simplified architecture.

  9. Nitinol: Tubing versus sputtered film - microcleanliness and corrosion behavior.

    PubMed

    Wohlschlögel, Markus; Lima de Miranda, Rodrigo; Schüßler, Andreas; Quandt, Eckhard

    2016-08-01

    Corrosion behavior and microcleanliness of medical-device grade Nitinol tubing (Nix Ti1- x , x = 0.51; outer diameter 7 mm, wall thickness 0.5 mm), drawn from various ingot qualities, are compared to the characteristics of sputtered Nitinol film material (Nix Ti1- x , x = 0.51; thickness 50 µm). Electropolished tubing half-shell samples are tested versus as-received sputtered film samples. Inclusion size distributions are assessed using quantitative metallography and corrosion behavior is investigated by potentiodynamic polarization testing in phosphate-buffered saline at body temperature. For the sputtered film samples, the surface chemistry is additionally analyzed employing Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) composition-depth profiling. Results show that the fraction of breakdowns in the potentiodynamic polarization test correlates with number and size of the inclusions in the material. For the sputtered Nitinol film material no inclusions were detectable by light microscopy on the one hand and no breakdowns were found in the potentiodynamic polarization test on the other hand. As for electropolished Nitinol, the sputtered Nitinol film material reveals Nickel depletion and an Oxygen-to-Titanium intensity ratio of ∼2:1 in the surface oxide layer, as measured by AES. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 104B: 1176-1181, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Technological capabilities of surface layers formation on implant made of Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy.

    PubMed

    Kiel-Jamrozik, Marta; Szewczenko, Janusz; Basiaga, Marcin; Nowińska, Katarzyna

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the presented research was to find a combination of surface modification methods of implants made of the Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy, that lead to formation of effective barrier for metallic ions that may infiltrate into solution. To this end, the following tests were carried out: roughness measurement, the voltamperometric tests (potentiodynamic and potentiostatic), and the ion infiltration test. The electropolishing process resulted in the lowering of surface roughness in comparison with mechanical treatment of the surface layer. The anodization process and steam sterilization increased corrosion resistance regardless of the mechanical treatment or electropolishing. The crevice corrosion tests revealed that independent of the modification method applied, the Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy has excellent crevice corrosion resistance. The smallest quantity of ions infiltrated to the solution was observed for surface modification consisting in the mechanical treatment and anodization with the potential of 97 V. Electric parameters deter- mined during studies were the basis for effectiveness estimation of particular surface treatment methods. The research has shown that the anodization process significantly influences the pitting corrosion resistance of the Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy independent of the previous surface treatment methods (mechanical and electrochemical). The surface layer after such modification is a protective barrier for metallic ions infiltrated to solution and protects titanium alloy against corrosive environment influence.

  11. Corrosion Mechanisms in Brazed Al-Base Alloy Sandwich Structures as a Function of Braze Alloy and Process Variables

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-02-01

    aeration solution for 8 hours. A concentrated Nitric acid (HNO3) dip for 15 seconds removed corrosion products prior to post-exposure SEM imaging [25...32 to -37°C under a liquid nitrogen chill at 11.2 V for one minute [10]. The electropolishing solution was a mixture of 1/3 concentrated Nitric acid ...DATES COVERED (From - To) 03/27/06-12/31/12 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Corrosion Mechanisms in Brazed Al-Base Alloy Sandwich Structures as a Function

  12. Porous Alumina Films with Width-Controllable Alumina Stripes

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Porous alumina films had been fabricated by anodizing from aluminum films after an electropolishing procedure. Alumina stripes without pores can be distinguished on the surface of the porous alumina films. The width of the alumina stripes increases proportionally with the anodizing voltage. And the pores tend to be initiated close to the alumina stripes. These phenomena can be ascribed to the electric field distribution in the alumina barrier layer caused by the geometric structure of the aluminum surface. PMID:21170406

  13. Some Topics in Applied Electrochemical Kinetics,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-07-01

    AD-A097 405- DEFENE RESEARCH ESTABLiSHMENT OTTAWA (6NTARID3 F/G 7/ 4 SOME TOPICS IN APP LIED ELECTROCHEMICAL K INETICS.(U) JUL go E J CASEY, J R...electroplating, for a trans- port masurement, for electropolishing ; or it may be a battery of cells for storage of electrical energy; ar it may be a cell for the...product, or some other. Sometimes, although not always, the UNCLASSIFIED 4 UNCLASSIFIED slopes of these different steps are unique and permit

  14. Reducing Uncertainty in Fatigue Life Limits of Turbine Engine Alloys

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-03-01

    and components designs. 5. Conclusions This paper used electropolished specimens of the high-strength a + b titanium alloy Ti–6Al–2Sn–4Zr–6Mo to...competing mechanisms in the fatigue-life variability of a titanium and gamma-TiAl alloy. JOM 2005;57:50– 4 . [49] Jha SK, Larsen JM, Rosenberger AH. The role...February 2014 4 . TITLE AND SUBTITLE REDUCING UNCERTAINTY IN FATIGUE LIFE LIMITS OF TURBINE ENGINE ALLOYS (POSTPRINT) 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER In-house 5b

  15. Surface modification to waveguides

    DOEpatents

    Timberlake, J.R.; Ruzic, D.N.; Moore, R.L.; Cohen, S.A.; Manos, D.M.

    1982-06-16

    A method is described for treating the interior surfaces of a waveguide to improve power transmission comprising the steps of mechanically polishing to remove surface protrusions; electropolishing to remove embedded particles; ultrasonically cleaning to remove any residue; coating the interior waveguide surfaces with an alkyd resin solution or electrophoretically depositing carbon lamp black suspended in an alkyd resin solution to form a 1..mu.. to 5..mu.. thick film; vacuum pyrolyzing the film to form a uniform adherent carbon coating.

  16. Effect of Applied Potential on Fatigue Life of Electropolished Nitinol Wires

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sivan, Shiril; Di Prima, Matthew; Weaver, Jason D.

    2017-09-01

    Nitinol is used as a metallic biomaterial in medical devices due to its shape memory and pseudoelastic properties. The clinical performance of nitinol depends on factors which include the surface finish, the local environment, and the mechanical loads to which the device is subjected. Preclinical evaluations of device durability are performed with fatigue tests while electrochemical characterization methods such as ASTM F2129 are employed to evaluate corrosion susceptibility by determining the rest potential and breakdown potential. However, it is well established that the rest potential of a metal surface can vary with the local environment. Very little is known regarding the influence of voltage on fatigue life of nitinol. In this study, we developed a fatigue testing method in which an electrochemical system was integrated with a rotary bend wire fatigue tester. Samples were fatigued at various strain levels at electropotentials anodic and cathodic to the rest potential to determine if it could influence fatigue life. Wires at potentials negative to the rest potential had a significantly higher number of cycles to fracture than wires held at potentials above the breakdown potential. For wires for which no potential was applied, they had fatigue life similar to wires at negative potentials.

  17. Variability in Room Temperature Fatigue Life of Alpha+Beta Processed Ti-6Al-4V (Preprint)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-10-01

    approaches proposed by Magnusen et al. [ 4 ], Chan et al. [5], Tryon et al. [ 6 ], Laz et al. [7], and Jha et al. [8-9]. Based on extensive...stresses at several depths into the surface of the gauge section of the specimens. Layer removal was accomplished by electropolishing a   2c a 6 ...replicas taken including 6 at 675 MPa and 1 at 635 MPa. The number of crack measurements per test ranged from 1 to 9, but 4 was the most common. The

  18. Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station recirc pipe dose rates with zinc injection and condenser replacement

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    DiCello, D.C.; Odell, A.D.; Jackson, T.J.

    1995-03-01

    Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (PBAPS) is located near the town of Delta, Pennsylvania, on the west bank of the Susquehanna River. It is situated approximately 20 miles south of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The site contains two boiling water reactors of General Electric design and each rated at 3,293 megawatts thermal. The units are BWR 4s and went commercial in 1977. There is also a decommissioned high temperature gas-cooled reactor on site, Unit 1. PBAPS Unit 2 recirc pipe was replaced in 1985 and Unit 3 recirc pipes replaced in 1988 with 326 NGSS. The Unit 2 replacement pipe was electropolished,more » and the Unit 3 pipe was electropolished and passivated. The Unit 2 brass condenser was replaced with a Titanium condenser in the first quarter of 1991, and the Unit 3 condenser was replaced in the fourth quarter of 1991. The admiralty brass condensers were the source of natural zinc in both units. Zinc injection was initiated in Unit 2 in May 1991, and in Unit 3 in May 1992. Contact dose rate measurements were made in standard locations on the 28-inch recirc suction and discharge lines to determine the effectiveness of zinc injection and to monitor radiation build-up in the pipe. Additionally, HPGe gamma scans were performed to determine the isotopic composition of the oxide layer inside the pipe. In particular, the specific ({mu}Ci/cm{sup 2}) of Co-60 and Zn-65 were analyzed.« less

  19. A Review of the Various Surface Treatments of NiTi Instruments

    PubMed Central

    Mohammadi, Zahed; Soltani, Mohammad Karim; Shalavi, Sousan; Asgary, Saeed

    2014-01-01

    Since the introduction of engine-driven nickel-titanium (NiTi) instruments, attempts have been made to minimize or eliminate their inherent defects, increase their surface hardness/flexibility and also improve their resistance to cyclic fatigue and cutting efficiency. The various strategies of enhancing instrument surface include ion implantation, thermal nitridation, cryogenic treatment and electropolishing. The purpose of this paper was to review the metallurgy and crystal characteristics of NiTi alloy and to present a general over review of the published articles on surface treatment of NiTi endodontic instruments. PMID:25386201

  20. An Investigation of Electrodeposited Alloys and Pure Metals as Substitutes for Zinc and Cadmium for Protective Finishes for Steel Parts of Aircraft

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1947-11-30

    t » 35 Electropolishing Bath . .... 4 ... • »»«.»•» 35 Operating Conditions . ... ....«.»«•» 4 » . 35 Operating Details...electrodeposited or cast (Figure 6 , Appendix II, Table 4 , Appendix III). =trr 11. ’i. "•i Zinc - Tin Alloys The static potentials of the zinc - tin alloys...UJ Ul 8 J o < X-4130 ALLOY S2 ’I -O -o 4 O- o- 6 POTENTI- OMETER Q UJ CO UJ < o A FIGURE 2 ~ SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF

  1. Gold ink coating of thermocouple sheaths

    DOEpatents

    Ruhl, H. Kenneth

    1992-01-01

    A method is provided for applying a gold ink coating to a thermocouple sheath which includes the steps of electropolishing and oxidizing the surface of the thermocouple sheath, then dipping the sheath into liquid gold ink, and finally heat curing the coating. The gold coating applied in this manner is highly reflective and does not degrade when used for an extended period of time in an environment having a temperature over 1000.degree. F. Depending on the application, a portion of the gold coating covering the tip of the thermocouple sheath is removed by abrasion.

  2. Cavity Preparation/assembly Techniques and Impact on Q, Realistic Q - Factors in a Module, Review of Modules

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Peter Kneisel

    2005-03-19

    This contribution summarizes the surface preparation procedures for niobium cavities presently used both in laboratory experiments and for modules, such as buffered chemical polishing (BCP), electropolishing (EP), high pressure ultrapure water rinsing (HPR), CO{sub 2} snow cleaning and high temperature heat treatments for hydrogen degassing or postpurification. The impact of surface treatments and the degree of cleanliness during assembly procedures on cavity performance (Q - value and accelerating gradient E{sub acc}) will be discussed. In addition, an attempt will be made to summarize the experiences made in module assemblies in different labs/projects such as DESY(TTF), Jlab (Upgrade) and SNS.

  3. In situ hydride formation in titanium during focused ion milling.

    PubMed

    Ding, Rengen; Jones, Ian P

    2011-01-01

    It is well known that titanium and its alloys are sensitive to electrolytes and thus hydrides are commonly observed in electropolished foils. In this study, focused ion beam (FIB) milling was used to prepare thin foils of titanium and its alloys for transmission electron microscopy. The results show the following: (i) titanium hydrides were observed in pure titanium, (ii) the preparation of a bulk sample in water or acid solution resulted in the formation of more hydrides and (iii) FIB milling aids the precipitation of hydrides, but there were never any hydrides in Ti64 and Ti5553.

  4. Dependence of the residual surface resistance of superconducting radio frequency cavities on the cooling dynamics around T{sub c}

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Romanenko, A., E-mail: aroman@fnal.gov; Grassellino, A., E-mail: annag@fnal.gov; Melnychuk, O.

    We report a strong effect of the cooling dynamics through T{sub c} on the amount of trapped external magnetic flux in superconducting niobium cavities. The effect is similar for fine grain and single crystal niobium and all surface treatments including electropolishing with and without 120 °C baking and nitrogen doping. Direct magnetic field measurements on the cavity walls show that the effect stems from changes in the flux trapping efficiency: slow cooling leads to almost complete flux trapping and higher residual resistance, while fast cooling leads to the much more efficient flux expulsion and lower residual resistance.

  5. Metallic wire grid behavior and testing in a low pressure gaseous noble elements detector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ji, W.

    2018-05-01

    High voltage performance has been a challenge for noble element detectors. One piece of this challenge is the emission of electrons from metal electrodes when applying high voltage. This has become a major concern for low-background detectors such as LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ). LZ is a liquid xenon Time Projection Chamber (TPC) searching for Weakly Interactive Massive Particles (WIMPs). In this work, we demonstrate a method to measure electron emission from metallic electrode grids via detection of proportional scintillation light. We find consistency with Fowler-Nordheim emission with a surface parameter β = 1988 after electro-polishing treatment of a stainless steel grid.

  6. Morphology and electronic properties of silicon carbide surfaces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nie, Shu

    2007-12-01

    Several issues related to SiC surfaces are studied in the thesis using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Specific surfaces examined include electropolished SiC, epitaxial graphene on SiC, and vicinal (i.e. slightly miscut from a low-index direction) SiC that have been subjected to high temperature hydrogen-etching. The electropolished surfaces are meant to mimic electrochemically etched SiC, which forms a porous network. The chemical treatment of the surface is similar between electropolishing and electrochemical etching, but the etching conditions are slightly different such that the former produces a flat surface (that is amenable to STM study) whereas the latter produces a complex 3-dimensional porous network. We have used these porous SiC layers as semi-permeable membranes in a biosensor, and we find that the material is quite biocompatible. The purpose of the STM/STS study is to investigate the surface properties of the SiC on the atomic scale in an effort to explain this biocompatibility. The observed tunneling spectra are found to be very asymmetric, with a usual amount of current at positive voltages but no observable current at negative voltages. We propose that this behavior is due to surface charge accumulating on an incompletely passivated surface. Measurements on SiC surfaces prepared by various amounts of hydrogen-etching are used to support this interpretation. Comparison with tunneling computations reveals a density of about 10 13 cm-2 fixed charges on both the electro-polished and the H-etched surfaces. The relatively insulating nature observed on the electro-polished SiC surface may provide an explanation for the biocompatibility of the surface. Graphene, a monolayer of carbon, is a new material for electronic devices. Epitaxial graphene on SiC is fabricated by the Si sublimation method in which a substrate is heated up to about 1350°C in ultra-high vacuum (UHV). The formation of the graphene is

  7. The effects of Nitinol phases on corrosion and fatigue behavior

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Denton, Melissa

    The purpose of these studies was to provide a detailed understanding of Nitinol phases and their effects on corrosion and fatigue life. The two primary phases, austenite and martensite, were carefully evaluated with respect to material geometry, corrosion behavior, wear, and fatigue life. Material characterization was performed using several techniques that include metallography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Uniaxial tensile tests were conducted to determine the mechanical properties such as elongation, ultimate tensile strength, modulus, transformation strain, and plateau stress. In addition, accelerated wear testing and four point bend fatigue testing were completed to study the fatigue life and durability of the material. The corrosion of Nitinol was found to be dependent on various surface conditions. Electrochemical corrosion behavior of each phase was investigated using cyclic potentiodyamic polarization testing. The corrosion response of electropolished Nitinol was found to be acceptable, even after durability testing. Stress-induced martensite had a lower breakdown potential due to a rougher surface morphology, while thermally induced martensite and austenite performed similarly well. The surface conditioning also had a significant effect on Nitinol mechanical properties. Electropolishing provided a smooth mirror finish that reduced localized texture and enhanced the ductility of the material. Quasi-static mechanical properties can be good indicators of fatigue life, but further fatigue testing revealed that phase transformations had an important role as well. The governing mechanisms for the fatigue life of Nitinol were determined to be both martesitic phase transformations and surface defects. A new ultimate dislocation strain model was proposed based on specific accelerated step-strain testing.

  8. Recycling stainless steel orthodontic brackets with Er:YAG laser - An environmental scanning electron microscope and shear bond strength study.

    PubMed

    Chacko, Prince K; Kodoth, Jithesh; John, Jacob; Kumar, Kishore

    2013-07-01

    TO DETERMINE THE EFFICIENCY OF ERBIUM: Yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) laser with Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) and shear bond strength analysis as a method of recycling stainless steel orthodontic brackets and compare with other methods of recycling. Eighty samples of extracted premolar teeth bonded to SS brackets were tested for rebonded shear bond strength after recycling by four methods and compared with a control group of 20 samples. These 80 samples were randomized into four groups which were recycled by four methods, namely, sandblasting, thermal method, adhesive grinding by tungsten carbide bur, and Er: YAG laser method. After recycling, ESEM and shear bond strength analysis were used to analyze the efficiency of the recycling methods. ER: YAG laser group was found to be having the greatest bond strength among the recycled brackets (8.33±2.51 followed by the sandblasting at 6.12±1.12 MPa, thermal and electropolishing at 4.44±0.95 MPa, and lastly the adhesive grinding method at 3.08±1.07 MPa. The shear bond strength of Er: YAG laser group was found to be having no statistically significant difference with that of the control group (P>0.05 and had statistical signifance with sandblasting, thermal and electropolishing and adhesive grinding groups at P>0.001. ESEM analysis showed complete removal of adhesive from the brackets recycled with Er: YAG laser which mimicked that of the control group. ER: YAG laser (2940 nm) was found to be the most efficient method for recycling, followed by the sandblasting, thermal, and the tungsten carbide methods, which had the least shear bond strength value and is not fit for clinical usage.

  9. Comparative study of the corrosion behavior of peripheral stents in an accelerated corrosion model: experimental in vitro study of 28 metallic vascular endoprostheses

    PubMed Central

    Paprottka, Karolin J.; Paprottka, Philipp M.; Reiser, Maximilian F.; Waggershauser, Tobias

    2015-01-01

    PURPOSE Clinical cases of stent-fractures show that corrosion behavior might play a role in these fractures. Implanted in vivo, especially in combination with other implanted foreign materials, these metallic products are exposed to special conditions, which can cause a process of corrosion. Here, we aimed to test the corrosion potential of stents made of different materials in an in vitro setting. METHODS A total of 28 peripheral stents of different materials (nitinol, cobalt-chromium-nickel, tantalum, V4A) and surface treatments (electropolish, mechanical polish, no polish) were tested in vitro. Corrosion was accelerated by applying a constant voltage of 3.5 V and amperage of 1.16 mA in 0.9% NaCl. RESULTS Nitinol stents showed the lowest susceptibility to corrosion and the longest period without damage. The Memotherm II® (BARD Angiomed®) was the only stent that showed neither macroscopic nor microscopic damages. The worst performing material was cobalt-chromium-nickel, which showed corrosion damages about ten times earlier compared to nitinol. Considering the reasons for termination of the test, nitinol stents primarily showed length deficits, while V4A and tantalum stents showed fractures. Cobalt-chromium-nickel stents had multiple fractures or a complete lysis in equal proportions. When placed in direct contact, nitinol stents showed best corrosion resistance, regardless of what material they were combined with. In terms of polishing treatments, electropolished stents performed the best, mechanical-polished stents and those without polishing treatment followed. CONCLUSION The analysis of corrosion behavior may be useful to select the right stent fulfilling the individual needs of the patient within a large number of different stents. PMID:26268301

  10. Dependence of the residual surface resistance of superconducting radio frequency cavities on the cooling dynamics around T c

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Romanenko, A.; Grassellino, A.; Melnychuk, O.

    We report a strong effect of the cooling dynamics throughmore » $$T_\\mathrm{c}$$ on the amount of trapped external magnetic flux in superconducting niobium cavities. The effect is similar for fine grain and single crystal niobium and all surface treatments including electropolishing with and without 120$$^\\circ$$C baking and nitrogen doping. Direct magnetic field measurements on the cavity walls show that the effect stems from changes in the flux trapping efficiency: slow cooling leads to almost complete flux trapping and higher residual resistance while fast cooling leads to the much more efficient flux expulsion and lower residual resistance.« less

  11. Influence of the height of the external hexagon and surface treatment on fatigue life of commercially pure titanium dental implants.

    PubMed

    Gil, Francisco Javier; Aparicio, Conrado; Manero, Jose M; Padros, Alejandro

    2009-01-01

    This study evaluated the effect of external hexagon height and commonly applied surface treatments on the fatigue life of titanium dental implants. Electropolished commercially pure titanium dental implants (seven implants per group) with three different external hexagon heights (0.6, 1.2, and 1.8 mm) and implants with the highest external hexagon height (1.8 mm) and different surface treatments (electropolishing, grit blasting with aluminium oxide, and acid etching with sulfuric acid) were tested to evaluate their mechanical fatigue life. To do so, 10-Hz triangular flexural load cycles were applied at 37 degrees C in artificial saliva, and the number of load cycles until implant fracture was determined. Tolerances of the hexagon/abutment fit and implant surface roughness were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and light interferometry. Transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction analyses of titanium hydrides were performed. First, the fatigue life of implants with the highest hexagon (8,683 +/- 978 load cycles) was more than double that of the implants with the shortest hexagons (3,654 +/- 789 load cycles) (P < .02). Second, the grit-blasted implants had the longest fatigue life of the tested materials (21,393 +/- 2,356 load cycles), which was significantly greater than that of the other surfaces (P < .001). The compressive surface residual stresses induced when blasting titanium are responsible for this superior mechanical response. Third, precipitation of titanium hydrides in grain boundaries of titanium caused by hydrogen adsorption from the acid solution deteriorates the fatigue life of acid-etched titanium dental implants. These implants had the shortest fatigue life (P < .05). The fatigue life of threaded root-form dental implants varies with the height of the external hexagon and/or the surface treatment of the implant. An external hexagon height of 1.8 mm and/or a blasting treatment appear to significantly increase fatigue life of

  12. Estimation of fatigue strength enhancement for carburized and shot-peened gears

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Inoue, Katsumi; Kato, Masana

    1994-05-01

    An experimental formula has been proposed to estimate the bending fatigue strength of carburized gears from the hardness and the residual stress. The derivation of the formula is briefly reviewed, and the effectiveness of the formula is demonstrated in this article. The comparison with many test results for carburized and shot-peened gears verifies that the formula is effective for the approximate estimation of the fatigue strength. The formula quantitatively shows a way of enhancing fatigue strength, i.e., the increase of hardness and residual stress at the fillet. The strength is enhanced about 300 MPa by an appropriate shot peening, and it can be improved still more by the surface removal by electropolishing.

  13. MEASUREMENT OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN EXHALED BREATH AS COLLECTED IN EVACUATED ELECTROPOLISHED CANISTERS

    EPA Science Inventory

    A set of three complementary analytical methods were developed specifically for exhaled breath as collected in evacuated stainless steel canisters using gas chromatography - mass spectrometry detection. The first is a screening method to quantify the carbon dioxide component (gen...

  14. Biocorrosion investigation of two shape memory nickel based alloys: Ni-Mn-Ga and thin film NiTi.

    PubMed

    Stepan, L L; Levi, D S; Gans, E; Mohanchandra, K P; Ujihara, M; Carman, G P

    2007-09-01

    Thin film nitinol and single crystal Ni-Mn-Ga represent two new shape memory materials with potential to be used as percutaneously placed implant devices. However, the biocompatibility of these materials has not been adequately assessed. Immersion tests were conducted on both thin film nitinol and single crystal Ni-Mn-Ga in Hank's balanced salt solution at 37 degrees C and pH 7.4. After 12 h, large pits were found on the Ni-Mn-Ga samples while thin film nitinol displayed no signs of corrosion. Further electrochemical tests on thin film nitinol samples revealed breakdown potentials superior to a mechanically polished nitinol disc. These results suggest that passivation or electropolishing of thin film nitinol maybe unnecessary to promote corrosion resistance.

  15. Composition effects on mechanical properties of tungsten-rhenium-hafnium-carbon alloys

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Witzke, W. R.

    1973-01-01

    The mechanical properties of rod and sheet fabricated from arc melted W-4Re-Hf-C alloys containing up to about 0.8 mol percent hafnium carbide (HfC) were evaluated in the as-worked condition. The DBTT's of electropolished bend and tensile specimens were independent of HfC content in this range but dependent on excess Hf or C above that required for stoichiometric HfC. Low temperature ductility was a maximum at Hf contents slightly in excess of stoichiometric. Variations in high temperature strength were also dependent on excess Hf and C. Maximum creep strengthening also occurred at Hf contents in excess of stoichiometric. Analysis of extracted second phase particles indicated that creep strength was reduced by increasing WC content in the HfC particles.

  16. Tunneling study of cavity grade Nb : possible magnetic scattering at the surface.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Prolier, T.; Zasadzinski, J. F.; Cooley, L.

    Tunneling spectroscopy was performed on Nb pieces prepared by the same processes used to etch and clean superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. Air exposed, electropolished Nb exhibited a surface superconducting gap {Delta} = 1.55 meV, which is characteristic of a clean, bulk Nb. However, the tunneling density of states (DOS) was significantly broadened. The Nb pieces, which were treated with the same mild baking used to improve the Q slope in SRF cavities, reveal a sharper DOS. Good fits to the DOS were obtained by using the Shiba theory, suggesting that magnetic scattering of quasiparticles is the origin of themore » gapless surface superconductivity and a heretofore unrecognized contributor to the Q-slope problem of Nb SRF cavities.« less

  17. Flux pinning characteristics in cylindrical ingot niobium used in superconducting radio frequency cavity fabrication

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dhavale Ashavai, Pashupati Dhakal, Anatolii A Polyanskii, Gianluigi Ciovati

    We present the results of from DC magnetization and penetration depth measurements of cylindrical bulk large-grain (LG) and fine-grain (FG) niobium samples used for the fabrication of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. The surface treatment consisted of electropolishing and low temperature baking as they are typically applied to SRF cavities. The magnetization data were fitted using a modified critical state model. The critical current density Jc and pinning force Fp are calculated from the magnetization data and their temperature dependence and field dependence are presented. The LG samples have lower critical current density and pinning force density compared to FGmore » samples which implies a lower flux trapping efficiency. This effect may explain the lower values of residual resistance often observed in LG cavities than FG cavities.« less

  18. Electrolytic decontamination of conductive materials for hazardous waste management

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wedman, D.E.; Martinez, H.E.; Nelson, T.O.

    1996-12-31

    Electrolytic removal of plutonium and americium from stainless steel and uranium surfaces has been demonstrated. Preliminary experiments were performed on the electrochemically based decontamination of type 304L stainless steel in sodium nitrate solutions to better understand the metal removal effects of varying cur-rent density, pH, and nitrate concentration parameters. Material removal rates and changes in surface morphology under these varying conditions are reported. Experimental results indicate that an electropolishing step before contamination removes surface roughness, thereby simplifying later electrolytic decontamination. Sodium nitrate based electrolytic decontamination produced the most uniform stripping of material at low to intermediate pH and at sodiummore » nitrate concentrations of 200 g L{sup -1} and higher. Stirring was also observed to increase the uniformity of the stripping process.« less

  19. Use of Nanostructures in Fabrication of Large Scale Electrochemical Film

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Chien Chon; Chen, Shih Hsun; Shyu, Sheang Wen; Hsieh, Sheng Jen

    Control of electrochemical parameters when preparing small-scale samples for academic research is not difficult. In mass production environments, however, maintenance of constant current density and temperature become a critical issue. This article describes the design of several molds for large work pieces. These molds were designed to maintain constant current density and to facilitate the occurrence of electrochemical reactions in designated areas. Large-area thin films with fine nanostructure were successfully prepared using the designed electrochemical molds and containers. In addition, current density and temperature could be controlled well. This electrochemical system has been verified in many experimental operations, including etching of Al surfaces; electro-polishing of Al, Ti and stainless steel; and fabrication of anodic alumina oxide (AAO), Ti-TiO2 interference membrane, TiO2 nanotubes, AAO-TiO2 nanotubes, Ni nanowires and porous tungsten

  20. Magnetization of small iron-nickel spheres

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wasilewski, P.

    1981-01-01

    Magnetic properties of small iron-nickel alloy spheres, having compositions which cover the entire Fe-Ni binary, are presented. The spheres were formed during solidification in free fall following the melting of electropolished wires of appropriate composition. The spheres with Ni not greater than 25% acquired a martensitic thermal remanence while those with Ni not less than 30% acquired a thermoremanent magnetization. A magnetic remanence-composition diagram and a coercive force-composition diagram are constructed. Magnetic hysteresis loops and derived parameters demonstrate the difference between metal-bearing and oxide-bearing natural samples. The magnetic remanence varies as the sphere size in conjunction with the microstructure. These results help to explain why coercive force is generally low, remanent coercive force is generally high, and their ratio (R/C) is always large in fine metal dispersions, such as lunar samples and chondrite meteorites.

  1. A facile method to form highly-ordered TiO2 nanotubes at a stable growth rate of 1000 nm min-1 under 60 V using an organic electrolyte for improved photovoltaic properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Asgari, Vajihe; Noormohammadi, Mohammad; Ramazani, Abdolali; Almasi Kashi, Mohammad

    2017-09-01

    An effective method has been developed for the preparation of highly ordered TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) at a rapid growth rate. The idea is based on increasing the backside temperature of Ti foil during the anodization process, thereby enhancing the chemical reaction and ion mobility at the barrier layer. A combination of electropolishing pretreatment with the backside temperature increase showed a significant growth rate and hexagonal ordering improvement of TNTs. The most rapid growth rate obtained was approximately 1000 nm min-1 under 60 V and at a backside temperature of 70 °C with an almost constant rate. The resulting TNTs were used as a photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells in which the corresponding efficiency improved up to about 40% compared with TNTs fabricated using a backside temperature of 20 °C.

  2. Electromagnetic needles with submicron pole tip radii for nanomanipulation of biomolecules and living cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matthews, Benjamin D.; LaVan, David A.; Overby, Darryl R.; Karavitis, John; Ingber, Donald E.

    2004-10-01

    We describe the design and fabrication of a temperature-controlled electromagnetic microneedle (EMN) to generate custom magnetic field gradients for biomedical and biophysical applications. An electropolishing technique was developed to sharpen the EMN pole tip to any desired radius between 100 nm and 20 μm. The EMN can be used to apply strong static or dynamic forces (>50nN) to micrometer- or nanometer-sized magnetic beads without producing significant heating or needle movement. Large tip radii (20 μm) allow magnetic force application to multiple magnetic beads over a large area, while small radii (0.1-6 μm) can be used to selectively pull or capture single magnetic beads from within a large population of similar particles. The customizable EMN is thus well suited for micro- and nanomanipulation of magnetic particles linked to biomolecules or living cells.

  3. Insights to Superconducting Radio-Frequency Cavity Processing from First Principles Calculations and Spectroscopic Techniques

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ford, Denise Christine

    Insights to the fundamental processes that occur during the manufacturing of niobium superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities are provided via analyses of density functional theory calculations and Raman, infrared, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. I show that during electropolishing fluorine is bound and released by the reaction of the acid components in the solution: HF + H2SO4 <-> HFSO3 + H2O. This result implies that new recipes can possibly be developed on the principle of controlled release of fluorine by a chemical reaction. I also show that NMR or Raman spectroscopy can be used to monitor the free fluorine when polishing with the standard electropolishing recipe. Density functional theory was applied to calculate the properties of common processing impurities---hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon---in the niobium. These impurities lower the superconducting transition temperature of niobium, and hydride precipitates are at best weakly superconducting. I modeled several of the niobium hydride phases relevant to SRF cavities, and explain the phase changes in the niobium hydrogen system based on the charge transfer between niobium and hydrogen and the strain field inside of the niobium. I also present evidence for a niobium lattice vacancy serving as a nucleation center for hydride phase formation. In considering the other chemical impurities in niobium, I show that the absorption of oxygen into a niobium lattice vacancy is preferred over the absorption of hydrogen, which indicates that oxygen can block these phase nucleation centers. I also show that dissolved oxygen atoms can trap dissolved hydrogen atoms to prevent niobium hydride phase formation. Nitrogen and carbon were studied in less depth, but behaved similarly to oxygen. Based on these results and a literature survey, I propose a mechanism for the success of the low-temperature anneal applied to niobium SRF cavities. Finally, I present the beginning of a model to describe magnetic

  4. Insights to Superconducting Radio-Frequency Cavity Processing from First Principles Calculations and Spectroscopic Techniques

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ford, Denise Christine

    Insights to the fundamental processes that occur during the manufacturing of niobium superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities are provided via analyses of density functional theory calculations and Raman, infrared, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. I show that during electropolishing fluorine is bound and released by the reaction of the acid components in the solution: HF + H 2SO 4 <-> HFSO 3 + H 2O. This result implies that new recipes can possibly be developed on the principle of controlled release of fluorine by a chemical reaction. I also show that NMR or Raman spectroscopy can be used to monitormore » the free fluorine when polishing with the standard electropolishing recipe. Density functional theory was applied to calculate the properties of common processing impurities – hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon – in the niobium. These impurities lower the superconducting transition temperature of niobium, and hydride precipitates are at best weakly superconducting. I modeled several of the niobium hydride phases relevant to SRF cavities, and explain the phase changes in the niobium hydrogen system based on the charge transfer between niobium and hydrogen and the strain field inside of the niobium. I also present evidence for a niobium lattice vacancy serving as a nucleation center for hydride phase formation. In considering the other chemical impurities in niobium, I show that the absorption of oxygen into a niobium lattice vacancy is preferred over the absorption of hydrogen, which indicates that oxygen can block these phase nucleation centers. I also show that dissolved oxygen atoms can trap dissolved hydrogen atoms to prevent niobium hydride phase formation. Nitrogen and carbon were studied in less depth, but behaved similarly to oxygen. Based on these results and a literature survey, I propose a mechanism for the success of the low-temperature anneal applied to niobium SRF cavities. Finally, I present the beginning of a model to

  5. Towards a Better Corrosion Resistance and Biocompatibility Improvement of Nitinol Medical Devices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rokicki, Ryszard; Hryniewicz, Tadeusz; Pulletikurthi, Chandan; Rokosz, Krzysztof; Munroe, Norman

    2015-04-01

    Haemocompatibility of Nitinol implantable devices and their corrosion resistance as well as resistance to fracture are very important features of advanced medical implants. The authors of the paper present some novel methods capable to improve Nitinol implantable devices to some marked degree beyond currently used electropolishing (EP) processes. Instead, a magnetoelectropolishing process should be advised. The polarization study shows that magnetoelectropolished Nitinol surface is more corrosion resistant than that obtained after a standard EP and has a unique ability to repassivate the surface. Currently used sterilization processes of Nitinol implantable devices can dramatically change physicochemical properties of medical device and by this influence its biocompatibility. The Authors' experimental results clearly show the way to improve biocompatibility of NiTi alloy surface. The final sodium hypochlorite treatment should replace currently used Nitinol implantable devices sterilization methods which rationale was also given in our previous study.

  6. A new, bright and hard aluminum surface produced by anodization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hou, Fengyan; Hu, Bo; Tay, See Leng; Wang, Yuxin; Xiong, Chao; Gao, Wei

    2017-07-01

    Anodized aluminum (Al) and Al alloys have a wide range of applications. However, certain anodized finishings have relatively low hardness, dull appearance and/or poor corrosion resistance, which limited their applications. In this research, Al was first electropolished in a phosphoric acid-based solution, then anodized in a sulfuric acid-based solution under controlled processing parameters. The anodized specimen was then sealed by two-step sealing method. A systematic study including microstructure, surface morphology, hardness and corrosion resistance of these anodized films has been conducted. Results show that the hardness of this new anodized film was increased by a factor of 10 compared with the pure Al metal. Salt spray corrosion testing also demonstrated the greatly improved corrosion resistance. Unlike the traditional hard anodized Al which presents a dull-colored surface, this newly developed anodized Al alloy possesses a very bright and shiny surface with good hardness and corrosion resistance.

  7. Growth behavior of anodic porous alumina formed in malic acid solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kikuchi, Tatsuya; Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi; Suzuki, Ryosuke O.

    2013-11-01

    The growth behavior of anodic porous alumina formed on aluminum by anodizing in malic acid solutions was investigated. High-purity aluminum plates were electropolished in CH3COOH/HClO4 solutions and then anodized in 0.5 M malic acid solutions at 293 K and constant cell voltages of 200-350 V. The anodic porous alumina grew on the aluminum substrate at voltages of 200-250 V, and a black, burned oxide film was formed at higher voltages. The nanopores of the anodic oxide were only formed at grain boundaries of the aluminum substrate during the initial stage of anodizing, and then the growth region extended to the entire aluminum surface as the anodizing time increased. The anodic porous alumina with several defects was formed by anodizing in malic acid solution at 250 V, and oxide cells were approximately 300-800 nm in diameter.

  8. Superhydrophilicity of a nanofiber-covered aluminum surface fabricated via pyrophosphoric acid anodizing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakajima, Daiki; Kikuchi, Tatsuya; Natsui, Shungo; Suzuki, Ryosuke O.

    2016-12-01

    A superhydrophilic aluminum surface covered by numerous alumina nanofibers was fabricated via pyrophosphoric acid anodizing. High-density anodic alumina nanofibers grow on the bottom of a honeycomb oxide via anodizing in concentrated pyrophosphoric acid. The water contact angle on the nanofiber-covered aluminum surface decreased with time after a 4 μL droplet was placed on the surface, and a superhydrophilic behavior with a contact angle measuring 2.2° was observed within 2 s; this contact angle is considerably lower than those observed for electropolished and porous alumina-covered aluminum surfaces. There was no dependence of the superhydrophilicity on the density of alumina nanofibers fabricated via different constant voltage anodizing conditions. The superhydrophilic property of the surface covered by anodic alumina nanofibers was maintained during an exposure test for 359 h. The quick-drying and snow-sliding behaviors of the superhydrophilic aluminum covered with anodic alumina nanofibers were demonstrated.

  9. Mach 1 oxidation of thoriated nickel chromium at 1204 C /2200 F/.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lowell, C. E.; Sanders, W. A.

    1972-01-01

    Electropolished and ground samples of TD-NiCr were exposed to a 1-atm, Mach 1 gas stream at 1204 C for times up to 50 hr. The samples were subjected to both cyclic and isothermal exposure. Weight change, metal loss, X-ray diffraction, metallographic, and electron microprobe analyses were performed. Neither surface preparation nor cyclic-against-isothermal-exposure conditions had a strong effect on the oxidation behavior of the alloy. Initially, a Cr2O3 layer was formed whose volatilization resulted in a very rapid loss of metal - more than 40 microns in the first hour. At about 1 hr, the Cr2O3 layer broke down and NiO began to cover the surface. By 5 hr, the NiO had covered the surface and the rate of loss slowed. The rate-controlling step was diffusion of Cr through NiO.

  10. Thermodynamic Evaluation of Hydrogen Absorption by Niobium During SRF Fabrication

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ricker, R. E.; Myneni, G. R.

    2011-03-01

    The properties and performance of the ultra high purity Nb used to fabricate superconducting radio frequency (SRF) particle accelerator cavities have been found to vary with processing conditions. One hypothesis for these variations is that hydrogen, absorbed during processing, is responsible for this behavior. The key assumption behind this hypothesis is that niobium can absorb hydrogen from one or more of the processing environments. This paper reviews work examining the validity of this assumption. It was determined that Nb will spontaneously react with water producing adsorbed atomic hydrogen that is readily absorbed into the metal. The passivating oxide film normally prevents this reaction, but this film is frequently removed during processing and it is attacked by the fluoride ion used in the polishing solutions for SRF cavities. However, during electropolishing that cathodic reduction of hydrogen is transferred to the auxiliary electrode and this should suppress hydrogen absorption.

  11. Progress of MICE RFCC Module

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, D.; Bowring, D.; DeMello, A.

    2012-05-20

    Recent progress on the design and fabrication of the RFCC (RF and superconducting Coupling Coil) module for the international MICE (Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment) are reported. The MICE ionization cooling channel has two RFCC modules, each having four 201- MHz normal conducting RF cavities surrounded by one superconducting coupling coil (solenoid) magnet. The magnet is designed to be cooled by three cryocoolers. Fabrication of the RF cavities is complete; preparation for the cavity electro-polishing, low power RF measurements, and tuning are in progress at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Fabrication of the cold mass of the first coupling coil magnetmore » has been completed in China and the cold mass arrived at LBNL in late 2011. Preparations for testing the cold mass are currently under way at Fermilab. Plans for the RFCC module assembly and integration are being developed and are described.« less

  12. Adventitious Carbon on Primary Sample Containment Metal Surfaces

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Calaway, M. J.; Fries, M. D.

    2015-01-01

    Future missions that return astromaterials with trace carbonaceous signatures will require strict protocols for reducing and controlling terrestrial carbon contamination. Adventitious carbon (AC) on primary sample containers and related hardware is an important source of that contamination. AC is a thin film layer or heterogeneously dispersed carbonaceous material that naturally accrues from the environment on the surface of atmospheric exposed metal parts. To test basic cleaning techniques for AC control, metal surfaces commonly used for flight hardware and curating astromaterials at JSC were cleaned using a basic cleaning protocol and characterized for AC residue. Two electropolished stainless steel 316L (SS- 316L) and two Al 6061 (Al-6061) test coupons (2.5 cm diameter by 0.3 cm thick) were subjected to precision cleaning in the JSC Genesis ISO class 4 cleanroom Precision Cleaning Laboratory. Afterwards, the samples were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy.

  13. XPS studies of nitrogen doping niobium used for accelerator applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Ziqin; Lu, Xiangyang; Tan, Weiwei; Zhao, Jifei; Yang, Deyu; Yang, Yujia; He, Yuan; Zhou, Kui

    2018-05-01

    Nitrogen doping study on niobium (Nb) samples used for the fabrication of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities was carried out. The samples' surface treatment was attempted to replicate that of the Nb SRF cavities, which includes heavy electropolishing (EP), nitrogen doping and the subsequent EP with different amounts of material removal. The surface chemical composition of Nb samples with different post treatments has been studied by XPS. The chemical composition of Nb, O, C and N was presented before and after Gas Cluster Ion Beam (GCIB) etching. No signals of poorly superconducting nitrides NbNx was found on the surface of any doped Nb sample with the 2/6 recipe before GCIB etching. However, in the depth range greater than 30 nm, the content of N element is below the XPS detection precision scope even for the Nb sample directly after nitrogen doping treatment with the 2/6 recipe.

  14. High field Q slope and the effect of low-temperature baking at 3 GHz

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ciovati, G.; Eremeev, G.; Hannon, F.

    2018-01-01

    A strong degradation of the unloaded quality factor with field, called high field Q slope, is commonly observed above Bp ≅100 mT in elliptical superconducting niobium cavities at 1.3 and 1.5 GHz. In the present experiments several 3 GHz niobium cavities were measured up to and above Bp ≅100 mT . The measurements show that a high field Q slope phenomenon limits the field reach at this frequency, that the high field Q slope onset field depends weakly on the frequency, and that the high field Q slope can be removed by the typical empirical solution of electropolishing followed by heating to 120°C for 48 hrs. In addition, one of the cavities reached a quench field of 174 mT and its field dependence of the quality factor was compared against global heating predicted by a thermal feedback model.

  15. (Project 13-5292) Correlating thermal and mechanical coupling based multiphysics behavior of nuclear materials through in-situ measurements

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tomar, Vikas

    Irradiations and post characterization experiments were performed first on Zr samples. This step will help understand the effect of the 2.5% alloying elements on the behavior of Zircaloy-4 (PWR cladding material) when compared to pure Zr. Irradiation flux measurements and sample temperature calibrations were performed at different energies prior to the irradiation experiments. Irradiations were performed with two different energy regimes1: non-displacment energies and displacement energies. Time was also dedicated to optimize transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation conditions via electropolishing technique. This step is crucial to prepare TEM samples for the in-situ TEM/irradiation experiments (Year 2). In addition, Zircaloy-4more » samples are being prepared for irradiation, and a setup is built by one of our collaborators (Dr. Mert Efe) to prepare ultrafine (UF) and nanocrystalline (NC) Zircaloy-4 samples for comparison with the commercial Zircaloy-4 samples.« less

  16. Purity of food cooked in stainless steel utensils.

    PubMed

    Flint, G N; Packirisamy, S

    1997-01-01

    An extensive programme of cooking operations, using household recipes, has shown that, apart from aberrant values associated with new pans on first use, the contribution made by 19% Cr/9% Ni stainless steel cooking utensils to chromium and nickel in the diet is negligible. New pans, if first used with acid fruits, showed a greater pick-up of chromium and nickel, ranging from approximately 1/20 to 1/3 and 1/20 to 1/2 of the normal daily intake of chromium and nickel respectively. This situation did not recur in subsequent usage, even after the pan had been cleaned by abrasion. A higher rate of chromium and nickel release in new pans on first use was observed on products from four manufactures and appears to be related to surface finish, since treatment of the surface of a new pan was partly, and in the case of electropolishing, wholly effective in eliminating their initial high release.

  17. A comparison of nickel-titanium rotary instruments manufactured using different methods and cross-sectional areas: ability to resist cyclic fatigue.

    PubMed

    Oh, So-Ram; Chang, Seok-Woo; Lee, Yoon; Gu, Yu; Son, Won-Jun; Lee, Woocheol; Baek, Seung-Ho; Bae, Kwang-Shik; Choi, Gi-Woon; Lim, Sang-Min; Kum, Kee-Yeon

    2010-04-01

    This study examined the effect of the manufacturing methods (ground, electropolished, and twisted) and the cross-sectional area (CSA) of nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments on their cyclic fatigue resistance. A total of 80 NiTi rotary instruments (ISO 25/.06 taper) from 4 brands (K3, ProFile, RaCe, and TF) were rotated in a simulated root canal with pecking motion until fracture. The number of cycles to failure (NCF) was calculated. The CSA at 3 mm from the tip of new instruments of each brand was calculated. The correlation between the CSA and NCF was evaluated. All fractured surfaces were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope to determine the fracture mode. The TF instruments were the most resistant to fatigue failure. The resistance to cyclic failure increased with decreasing CSA. All fractured surfaces showed the coexistence of ductile and brittle properties. The CSA had a significant effect on the fatigue resistance of NiTi rotary instruments. Copyright 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Process of prototyping coronary stents from biodegradable Fe-Mn alloys.

    PubMed

    Hermawan, Hendra; Mantovani, Diego

    2013-11-01

    Biodegradable stents are considered to be a recent innovation, and their feasibility and applicability have been proven in recent years. Research in this area has focused on materials development and biological studies, rather than on how to transform the developed biodegradable materials into the stent itself. Currently available stent technology, the laser cutting-based process, might be adapted to fabricate biodegradable stents. In this work, the fabrication, characterization and testing of biodegradable Fe-Mn stents are described. A standard process for fabricating and testing stainless steel 316L stents was referred to. The influence of process parameters on the physical, metallurgical and mechanical properties of the stents, and the quality of the produced stents, were investigated. It was found that some steps of the standard process such as laser cutting can be directly applied, but changes to parameters are needed for annealing, and alternatives are needed to replace electropolishing. Copyright © 2013 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. High field Q slope and the effect of low-temperature baking at 3 GHz

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ciovati, G.; Eremeev, G.; Hannon, F.

    Here, a strong degradation of the unloaded quality factor with field, called high field Q-slope, is commonly observed above Bmore » $$_{p}$$ $$\\cong$$ 100 mT in elliptical superconducting niobium cavities at 1.3 GHz and 1.5 GHz. In the present experiments several 3 GHz niobium cavities were measured up to and above B$$_{p}$$ $$\\cong$$100 mT. The measurements show that a high field Q-slope phenomenon limits the field reach at this frequency, that the high field Q-slope onset field depends weakly on the frequency, and that the high field Q-slope can be removed by the typical empirical solution of electropolishing followed by heating to 120 $$^{\\circ}$$C for 48 hrs. In addition, one of the cavities reached a quench field of 174~mT and its field dependence of the quality factor was compared against global heating predicted by a thermal feedback model.« less

  20. High field Q slope and the effect of low-temperature baking at 3 GHz

    DOE PAGES

    Ciovati, G.; Eremeev, G.; Hannon, F.

    2018-01-29

    Here, a strong degradation of the unloaded quality factor with field, called high field Q-slope, is commonly observed above Bmore » $$_{p}$$ $$\\cong$$ 100 mT in elliptical superconducting niobium cavities at 1.3 GHz and 1.5 GHz. In the present experiments several 3 GHz niobium cavities were measured up to and above B$$_{p}$$ $$\\cong$$100 mT. The measurements show that a high field Q-slope phenomenon limits the field reach at this frequency, that the high field Q-slope onset field depends weakly on the frequency, and that the high field Q-slope can be removed by the typical empirical solution of electropolishing followed by heating to 120 $$^{\\circ}$$C for 48 hrs. In addition, one of the cavities reached a quench field of 174~mT and its field dependence of the quality factor was compared against global heating predicted by a thermal feedback model.« less

  1. Optimization of Uranium Molecular Deposition for Alpha-Counting Sources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Monzo, Ellen; Parsons-Moss, Tashi; Genetti, Victoria

    2016-12-12

    Method development for molecular deposition of uranium onto aluminum 1100 plates was conducted with custom plating cells at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The method development focused primarily on variation of electrode type, which was expected to directly influence plated sample homogeneity. Solid disc platinum and mesh platinum anodes were compared and data revealed that solid disc platinum anodes produced more homogenous uranium oxide films. However, the activity distribution also depended on the orientation of the platinum electrode relative to the aluminum cathode, starting current, and material composition of the plating cell. Experiments demonstrated these variables were difficult to control undermore » the conditions available. Variation of plating parameters among a series of ten deposited plates yielded variations up to 30% in deposition efficiency. Teflon particles were observed on samples plated in Teflon cells, which poses a problem for alpha activity measurements of the plates. Preliminary electropolishing and chemical polishing studies were also conducted on the aluminum 1100 cathode plates.« less

  2. In situ TEM and synchrotron characterization of U–10Mo thin specimen annealed at the fast reactor temperature regime

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yun, Di, E-mail: diyun1979@xjtu.edu.cn; Xi'an Jiao Tong University, 28 Xian Ning West Road, Xi'an 710049; Mo, Kun

    2015-12-15

    U–Mo metallic alloys have been extensively used for the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) program, which is now known as the Office of Material Management and Minimization under the Conversion Program. This fuel form has also recently been proposed as fast reactor metallic fuels in the recent DOE Ultra-high Burnup Fast Reactor project. In order to better understand the behavior of U–10Mo fuels within the fast reactor temperature regime, a series of annealing and characterization experiments have been performed. Annealing experiments were performed in situ at the Intermediate Voltage Electron Microscope (IVEM-Tandem) facility at Argonne National Laboratorymore » (ANL). An electro-polished U–10Mo alloy fuel specimen was annealed in situ up to 700 °C. At an elevated temperature of about 540 °C, the U–10Mo specimen underwent a relatively slow microstructure transition. Nano-sized grains were observed to emerge near the surface. At the end temperature of 700 °C, the near-surface microstructure had evolved to a nano-crystalline state. In order to clarify the nature of the observed microstructure, Laue diffraction and powder diffraction experiments were carried out at beam line 34-ID of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at ANL. Phases present in the as-annealed specimen were identified with both Laue diffraction and powder diffraction techniques. The U–10Mo was found to recrystallize due to thermally-induced recrystallization driven by a high density of pre-existing dislocations. A separate in situ annealing experiment was carried out with a Focused Ion Beam processed (FIB) specimen. A similar microstructure transition occurred at a lower temperature of about 460 °C with a much faster transition rate compared to the electro-polished specimen. - Highlights: • TEM annealing experiments were performed in situ at the IVEM facility up to fast reactor temperature. • At 540 °C, the U-10Mo specimen underwent a slow microstructure

  3. Aluminum and Other Coatings for the Passivation of Tritium Storage Vessels

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Spencer, W.; Korinko, P.

    Using a highly sensitive residual gas analyzer, the off-gassing of hydrogen, water, and hydrocarbons from surface-treated storage vessels containing deuterium was measured. The experimental storage vessels were compared to a low-off-gassing, electro-polished 304L canister. Alternative vessels were made out of aluminum, or were coatings on 304L steel. Coatings included powder pack aluminide, electro-plated aluminum, powder pack chromide, dense electro-plated chromium, copper plated, and copper plated with 25 and 50 percent nano-diamond. Vessels were loaded with low pressure deuterium to observe exchange with protium or hydrogen as observed with formation of HD and HDO. Off gas of D 2O or possiblemore » CD 4 was observed at mass 20. The main off-gas in all of the studies was H 2. The studies indicated that coatings required significant post-coating treatment to reduce off-gas and enhance the permeation barrier from gases likely added during the coating process. Dense packed aluminum coatings needed heating to drive off water. Electro-plated aluminum, chromium and copper coatings appeared to trap hydrogen from the plating process. Nano-diamond appeared to enhance the exchange rate with hydrogen off gas, and its coating process trapped significant amounts of hydrogen. Aluminum caused more protium exchange than chromium-treated surfaces. Aluminum coatings released more water, but pure aluminum vessels released small amounts of hydrogen, little water, and generally performed well. Chromium coating had residual hydrogen that was difficult to totally outgas but otherwise gave low residuals for water and hydrocarbons. Our studies indicated that simple coating of as received 304L metal will not adequately block hydrogen. The base vessel needs to be carefully out-gassed before applying a coating, and the coating process will likely add additional hydrogen that must be removed. Initial simple bake-out and leak checks up to 350° C for a few hours was found to be inadequate

  4. Tensile behavior of tungsten and tungsten-alloy wires from 1300 to 1600 K

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hee, Man Yun

    1988-01-01

    The tensile behavior of a 200-micrometer-diameter tungsten lamp (218CS-W), tungsten + 1.0 atomic percent (a/o) thoria (ST300-W), and tungsten + 0.4 a/o hafnium carbide (WHfC) wires was determined over the temperature range 1300 t0 1600 K at strain rates of 3.3 X 10 to the -2 to 3.3 X 10 to the -5/sec. Although most tests were conducted on as-drawn materials, one series of tests was undertaken on ST300-W wires in four different conditions: as-drawn and vacuum-annealed at 1535 K for 1 hr, with and without electroplating. Whereas heat treatment had no effect on tensile properties, electropolishing significantly increased both the proportional limit and ductility, but not the ultimate tensile strength. Comparison of the behavior of the three alloys indicates that the HfC-dispersed material possesses superior tensile properties. Theoretical calculations indicate that the strength/ductility advantage of WHfC is due to the resistance to recrystallization imparted by the dispersoid.

  5. An apparatus for studying electrical breakdown in liquid helium at 0.4 K and testing electrode materials for the neutron electric dipole moment experiment at the Spallation Neutron Source

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ito, T. M.; Ramsey, J. C.; Yao, W.; Beck, D. H.; Cianciolo, V.; Clayton, S. M.; Crawford, C.; Currie, S. A.; Filippone, B. W.; Griffith, W. C.; Makela, M.; Schmid, R.; Seidel, G. M.; Tang, Z.; Wagner, D.; Wei, W.; Williamson, S. E.

    2016-04-01

    We have constructed an apparatus to study DC electrical breakdown in liquid helium at temperatures as low as 0.4 K and at pressures between the saturated vapor pressure and ˜600 Torr. The apparatus can house a set of electrodes that are 12 cm in diameter with a gap of 1-2 cm between them, and a potential up to ±50 kV can be applied to each electrode. Initial results demonstrated that it is possible to apply fields exceeding 100 kV/cm in a 1 cm gap between two electropolished stainless steel electrodes 12 cm in diameter for a wide range of pressures at 0.4 K. We also measured the current between two electrodes. Our initial results, I < 1 pA at 45 kV, correspond to a lower bound on the effective volume resistivity of liquid helium of ρV > 5 × 1018 Ω cm. This lower bound is 5 times larger than the bound previously measured. We report the design, construction, and operational experience of the apparatus, as well as initial results.

  6. An apparatus for studying electrical breakdown in liquid helium at 0.4 K and testing electrode materials for the neutron electric dipole moment experiment at the Spallation Neutron Source.

    PubMed

    Ito, T M; Ramsey, J C; Yao, W; Beck, D H; Cianciolo, V; Clayton, S M; Crawford, C; Currie, S A; Filippone, B W; Griffith, W C; Makela, M; Schmid, R; Seidel, G M; Tang, Z; Wagner, D; Wei, W; Williamson, S E

    2016-04-01

    We have constructed an apparatus to study DC electrical breakdown in liquid helium at temperatures as low as 0.4 K and at pressures between the saturated vapor pressure and ∼600 Torr. The apparatus can house a set of electrodes that are 12 cm in diameter with a gap of 1-2 cm between them, and a potential up to ±50 kV can be applied to each electrode. Initial results demonstrated that it is possible to apply fields exceeding 100 kV/cm in a 1 cm gap between two electropolished stainless steel electrodes 12 cm in diameter for a wide range of pressures at 0.4 K. We also measured the current between two electrodes. Our initial results, I < 1 pA at 45 kV, correspond to a lower bound on the effective volume resistivity of liquid helium of ρV > 5 × 10(18) Ω cm. This lower bound is 5 times larger than the bound previously measured. We report the design, construction, and operational experience of the apparatus, as well as initial results.

  7. X-ray topographic fractography of single crystals of molybdenum and niobium

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hmelo, A.B.

    1982-12-01

    The semi-brittle (001) cleavage fracture at 77/sup 0/K of Mo and outgassed Nb single crystals was related to their fracture toughness. Berg-Barrett x-ray reflection topography and White Beam Synchrotron Fractography were used. Calibrated electropolishing in layers followed by Synchrotron Fractography revealed that under the conditions which existed at the tip of the running crack, Mo underwent general yielding which resulted in a plastically curved lattice. This result correlates with the substantial fracture toughness for Mo measured previously. On the other hand, double (112) slip was observed for Nb. The plastic zone associated with the crack-tip is shown to have amore » structure typicla of shock-loaded materials, consisting of arrays of screw dislocations, micro- and macrotwins. This result correlates with the low fracture toughness of Nb at 77/sup 0/K. It is proposed that these extremes in cleavage behavior for Mo vs Nb can be rationalized in terms of the capacity of a bcc structure to undergo a slip to twinning transition at high strain rates. 32 figures, 5 tables.« less

  8. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SRF CAVITY SCIENCE AND PERFORMANCE

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gianluigi Ciovati

    A recipe based on centrifugal barrel polishing (CBP) and electropolishing (EP), applied on newly designed single-cells, led to the achievement of B{sub p} values close to the thermodynamic critical field of Nb and to new records in terms of accelerating gradients The fabrication of cavities made of large-grain Nb is emerging as a viable option to reduce the material cost without sacrificing the performance. The Q-drop is not caused exclusively by losses at grain boundaries in Nb. Baking is the only known remedy against the Q-drop and its effect seems to be related to a change of the properties ofmore » the Nb up to a depth of about 20 nm. 120 C is the optimum temperature and the baking time can be reduced to 12 h. Cleaning techniques such as high-pressure rinse (HPR) are being studied in detail in order to be optimized for mass-production. Dry-ice cleaning may become a complementary cleaning method. Work is being done to better understand and to improve the EP process.« less

  9. Characterization of the CEBAF 100 kV DC GaAs Photoelectron Gun Vacuum System

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stutzman, M L; Adderley, P; Brittian, J

    A vacuum system with pressure in the low ultra-high vacuum (UHV) range is essential for long photocathode lifetimes in DC high voltage GaAs photoguns. A discrepancy between predicted and measured base pressure in the CEBAF photoguns motivated this study of outgassing rates of three 304 stainless steel chambers with different pretreatments and pump speed measurements of non-evaporable getter (NEG) pumps. Outgassing rates were measured using two independent techniques. Lower outgassing rates were achieved by electropolishing and vacuum firing the chamber. The second part of the paper describes NEG pump speed measurements as a function of pressure through the lower partmore » of the UHV range. Measured NEG pump speed is high at pressures above 5×10 -11 Torr, but may decrease at lower pressures depending on the interpretation of the data. The final section investigates the pump speed of a locally produced NEG coating applied to the vacuum chamber walls. These studies represent the first detailed vacuum measurements of CEBAF photogun vacuum chambers.« less

  10. Achieving ultrahigh vacuum in an unbaked chamber with glow discharge conditioning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khan, Ziauddin; Semwal, Pratibha; Dhanani, Kalpesh R.; Raval, Dilip C.; Pradhan, Subrata

    2017-01-01

    Glow discharge conditioning (GDC) has long been accepted as one of the basic wall conditioning techniques for achieving ultrahigh vacuum in an unbaked chamber. As a part of this fundamental experimental study, a test chamber has been fabricated from stainless steel 304 L with its inner surface electropolished on which a detailed investigation has been carried out. Both helium and hydrogen gases have been employed as discharge cleaning medium. The discharge cleaning was carried out at 0.1 A / m 2 current density with working pressure maintained at 1.0 × 10 -2 mbar. It was experimentally observed that the pump-down time to attain the base pressure 10 -8 mbar was reduced by 62% compared to the unbaked chamber being pumped to this ultimate vacuum. The results were similar irrespective of whether the discharge cleaning medium is either hydrogen or helium. It was also experimentally established that a better ultimate vacuum could be achieved as compared to theoretically calculated ultimate vacuum with the help of discharge cleaning.

  11. High-gradient SRF R&D for ILC at Jefferson Lab

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Geng, Rongli; Crawford, Anthony; Ciovati, Gianluigi

    2008-10-01

    Jefferson Lab plays an active role in high-gradient SRF R&D in the frame work of the internationally coordinated ILC S0 program. The S0 aim is to push the yield at 35 MV/m in 9-cell cavities. So far, twelve cavities have been electropolishing (EP) processed and RF tested by using the state-of-the-art recipes at JLab, in close collaboration with FNAL and KEK. Seven of them reached a best gradient of over 31.5 MV/m. Understanding gradient limiting mechanisms in real 9-cell cavities is an important component of our studies. Thermometry and high-resolution optical inspection are used to locate and understand the sourcemore » of gradient limits. Experimenting with selective cavities is still a necessary method for process optimization. One example is the first demonstration of 35 MV/m without detectable Bremsstrahlung X-ray after a light EP is applied to a previously heavy BCP etched 7-cell cavity. Some new understanding has been gained with regard to quench behaviors, field emission behaviors as« less

  12. Biofilm formation and control in a simulated spacecraft water system - Three year results

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schultz, John R.; Flanagan, David T.; Bruce, Rebekah J.; Mudgett, Paul D.; Carr, Sandra E.; Rutz, Jeffrey A.; Huls, M. H.; Sauer, Richard L.; Pierson, Duane L.

    1992-01-01

    Two simulated spacecraft water systems are being used to evaluate the effectiveness of iodine for controlling microbial contamination within such systems. An iodine concentration of about 2.0 mg/L is maintained in one system by passing ultrapure water through an iodinated ion exchange resin. Stainless steel coupons with electropolished and mechanically-polished sides are being used to monitor biofilm formation. Results after three years of operation show a single episode of significant bacterial growth in the iodinated system when the iodine level dropped to 1.9 mg/L. This growth was apparently controlled by replacing the iodinated ion exchange resin, thereby increasing the iodine level. The second batch of resin has remained effective in controlling microbial growth down to an iodine level of 1.0 mg/L. SEM indicates that the iodine has impeded but may have not completely eliminated the formation of biofilm. Metals analyses reveal some corrosion in the iodinated system after 3 years of continuous exposure. Significant microbial contamination has been present continuously in a parallel noniodinated system since the third week of operation.

  13. Effect of modification of oxide layer on NiTi stent corrosion resistance.

    PubMed

    Trépanier, C; Tabrizian, M; Yahia, L H; Bilodeau, L; Piron, D L

    1998-01-01

    Because of its good radiopacity, superelasticity, and shape memory properties, nickel-titanium (NiTi) is a potential material for fabrication of stents because these properties can facilitate their implantation and precise positioning. However, in vitro studies of NiTi alloys report the dependence of alloy biocompatibility and corrosion behavior on surface conditions. Surface oxidation seems to be very promising for improving the corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of NiTi. In this work, we studied the effect on corrosion resistance and surface characteristics of electropolishing, heat treatment, and nitric acid passivation of NiTi stents. Characterization techniques such as potentiodynamic polarization tests, scanning electron microscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to relate corrosion behavior to surface characteristics and surface treatments. Results show that all of these surface treatments improve the corrosion resistance of the alloy. This improvement is attributed to the plastically deformed native oxide layer removal and replacement by a newly grown, more uniform one. The uniformity of the oxide layer, rather than its thickness and composition, seems to be the predominant factor to explain the corrosion resistance improvement.

  14. PEEK (polyether-ether-ketone)-coated nitinol wire: Film stability for biocompatibility applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sheiko, Nataliia; Kékicheff, Patrick; Marie, Pascal; Schmutz, Marc; Jacomine, Leandro; Perrin-Schmitt, Fabienne

    2016-12-01

    High quality biocompatible poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) coatings were produced on NiTi shape memory alloy wires using dipping deposition from colloidal aqueous PEEK dispersions after substrate surface treatment. The surface morphology and microstructure were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy at every step of the process from the as-received Nitinol substrate to the ultimate PEEK-coated NiTi wire. Nanoscratch tests were carried out to access the adhesive behavior of the polymer coated film to the NiTi. The results indicate that the optimum process conditions in cleaning, chemical etching, and electropolishing the NiTi, were the most important and determining parameters to be achieved. Thus, high quality PEEK coatings were obtained on NiTi wires, straight or curved (even with a U-shape) with a homogeneous microstructure along the wire length and a uniform thickness of 12 μm without any development of cracks or the presence of large voids. The biocompatibility of the PEEK coating film was checked in fibrobast cultured cells. The coating remains stable in biological environment with negligible Ni ion release, no cytotoxicity, and no delamination observed with time.

  15. Fabrication and structural characterization of highly ordered titania nanotube arrays

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Hongtao; Ordonez, Rosita

    Titanium (Ti) dioxide nanotubes have drawn much attention in the past decade due to the fact that titania is an extremely versatile material with a variety of technological applications. Anodizing Ti in different electrolytes has proved to be quite successful so far in creating the nanotubes, however, their degree of order is still not nearly as good as nanoporous anodic alumina. In this work, we first deposit a thin layer of aluminum (Al) onto electropolished Ti substrates, using thermal evaporation. Such an Al layer is then anodized in 0.3 M oxalic acid, forming an ordered nanoporous alumina mask on top of Ti. Afterwards, the anodization of Ti is accomplished at 20 V in solutions containing 1 M NaH2PO4 and 0.5% HF or H2SO4, which results in the creation of ordered titania nanotube arrays. The inner pore diameter of the nanotubes can be tuned from ~50 nm to ~75 nm, depending on the anodization voltage applied to Al or Ti. X-ray diffractometry shows the as-grown titania nanotubes are amorphous. Samples annealed at different temperatures in ambient atmosphere will be also reported.

  16. Hot Corrosion of Single-Crystal NiAl-X Alloys

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nesbitt, James A.

    1998-01-01

    Several single-crystal NiAl-X alloys (X=Hf, Ti, Cr, Ga) underwent hot corrosion testing in a Mach 0.3 burner rig at 900 deg. C for 300 1-hr cycles. The surface morphology after testing consisted of either mounds or an inward, uniform-type of attack which preserved surface features. It was observed that the surface morphology was affected by the surface preparation treatments. Microstructurally, the hot corrosion attack initiated as pits but evolved to a rampant attack consisting of the rapid inward growth of Al2O3. Electropolishing and chemical milling produced many pits and grooves on the surface. However, the presence of pits and grooves did not appear to strongly influence the hot corrosion response. Attack on many samples was strongly localized which was attributed to compositional inhomogeneity within the samples. It was found that increasing the Ti content from 1% to 5 % degraded the hot corrosion response of these alloys. In contrast, the addition of 1-2% Cr reduced the susceptibility of these alloys to hot corrosion attack and negated the deleterious effect of the 4-5% Ti addition.

  17. Kinetics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa adhesion to 304 and 316-L stainless steel: role of cell surface hydrophobicity.

    PubMed Central

    Vanhaecke, E; Remon, J P; Moors, M; Raes, F; De Rudder, D; Van Peteghem, A

    1990-01-01

    Fifteen different isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used to study the kinetics of adhesion to 304 and 316-L stainless steel. Stainless steel plates were incubated with approximately 1.5 X 10(7) CFU/ml in 0.01 M phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.4). After the plates were rinsed with the buffer, the number of adhering bacteria was determined by a bioluminescence assay. Measurable adhesion, even to the electropolished surfaces, occurred within 30 s. Bacterial cell surface hydrophobicity, as determined by the bacterial adherence to hydrocarbons test and the contact angle measurement test, was the major parameter influencing the adhesion rate constant for the first 30 min of adhesion. A parabolic relationship between the CAM values and the logarithm of the adhesion rate constants (In k) was established. No correlation between either the salt aggregation or the improved salt aggregation values and the bacterial adhesion rate constants could be found. Since there was no significant correlation between the bacterial electrophoretic mobilities and the In k values, the bacterial cell surface charge seemed of minor importance in the process of adhesion of P. aeruginosa to 304 and 316-L stainless steel. PMID:2107796

  18. Effect of low temperature baking in nitrogen on the performance of a niobium superconducting radio frequency cavity

    DOE PAGES

    Dhakal, Pashupati; Chetri, Santosh; Balachandran, Shreyas; ...

    2018-03-08

    Here, we report the rf performance of a single-cell superconducting radiofrequency cavity after low temperature baking in a nitrogen environment. A significant increase in quality factor has been observed when the cavity was heat treated in the temperature range of 120-160 °C with a nitrogen partial pressure of ~25 mTorr. This increase in quality factor as well as the Q-rise phenomenon (anti-Q-slope) is similar to those previously obtained with high temperature nitrogen doping as well as titanium doping. In this study, a cavity N 2-treated at 120 °C and at 140 °C, showed no degradation in accelerating gradient, however themore » accelerating gradient was reduced by ~25% with a 160 °C N 2 treatment, compared to the baseline tests after electropolishing. Sample coupons treated in the same conditions as the cavity were analyzed by scanning electron microscope, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy revealed a complex surface composition of Nb 2O 5, NbO and NbN (1-x)O x within the rf penetration depth. Furthermore, magnetization measurements showed no significant change on bulk superconducting properties.« less

  19. Effect of low temperature baking in nitrogen on the performance of a niobium superconducting radio frequency cavity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dhakal, Pashupati; Chetri, Santosh; Balachandran, Shreyas; Lee, Peter J.; Ciovati, Gianluigi

    2018-03-01

    We report the rf performance of a single cell superconducting radiofrequency cavity after low temperature baking in a nitrogen environment. A significant increase in quality factor has been observed when the cavity was heat treated in the temperature range of 120 - 160 °C with a nitrogen partial pressure of ˜25 m Torr . This increase in quality factor as well as the Q -rise phenomenon (anti-Q -slope) is similar to those previously obtained with high temperature nitrogen doping as well as titanium doping. In this study, a cavity N2 -treated at 120 °C and at 140 °C showed no degradation in accelerating gradient, however the accelerating gradient was reduced by ˜25 % with a 160 °C N2 treatment, compared to the baseline tests after electropolishing. Sample coupons treated in the same conditions as the cavity were analyzed by scanning electron microscope, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy revealed a complex surface composition of Nb2O5 , NbO and NbN(1 -x )Ox within the rf penetration depth. Furthermore, magnetization measurements showed no significant change on bulk superconducting properties.

  20. An apparatus for studying electrical breakdown in liquid helium at 0.4 K and testing electrode materials for the neutron electric dipole moment experiment at the Spallation Neutron Source

    DOE PAGES

    Ito, T. M.; Ramsey, J. C.; Yao, W.; ...

    2016-04-25

    In this study, we have constructed an apparatus to study DC electrical breakdown in liquid helium at temperatures as low as 0.4 K and at pressures between the saturated vapor pressure and ~600 Torr. The apparatus can house a set of electrodes that are 12 cm in diameter with a gap of 1–2 cm between them, and a potential up to ±50 kV can be applied to each electrode. Initial results demonstrated that it is possible to apply fields exceeding 100 kV/cm in a 1 cm gap between two electropolished stainless steel electrodes 12 cm in diameter for a widemore » range of pressures at 0.4 K. We also measured the current between two electrodes. Our initial results, I < 1 pA at 45 kV, correspond to a lower bound on the effective volume resistivity of liquid helium of ρ V > 5 × 10 18 Ω cm. This lower bound is 5 times larger than the bound previously measured. Finally, we report the design, construction, and operational experience of the apparatus, as well as initial results« less

  1. Galvanic corrosion of nitinol under deaerated and aerated conditions.

    PubMed

    Pound, Bruce G

    2016-10-01

    Various studies have examined the corrosion rate of nitinol generally under deaerated conditions. Likewise, galvanic corrosion studies have typically involved deaerated solutions. This work addressed the effect of galvanic coupling on the corrosion current of electropolished nitinol in phosphate buffered saline and 0.9% sodium chloride under dearated and aerated conditions for times up to 24 h. Tests were performed on nitinol alone and coupled with MP35N in both the mechanically polished and passivated conditions. Aeration and galvanic coupling were found to have relatively little effect, indicating that the corrosion current is controlled by the anodic reaction. The current can be attributed entirely to Ni(2+) dissolution, which appears to be governed by solid-state mass transport of Ni(2+) through the passive oxide film. Because corrosion of EP nitinol is controlled by the anodic reaction, contact between EP nitinol and MP35N or other biomedical Co-Cr alloys is unlikely to result in significant galvanic effects in vivo. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 104B: 1322-1327, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Effect of low temperature baking in nitrogen on the performance of a niobium superconducting radio frequency cavity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dhakal, Pashupati; Chetri, Santosh; Balachandran, Shreyas

    Here, we report the rf performance of a single-cell superconducting radiofrequency cavity after low temperature baking in a nitrogen environment. A significant increase in quality factor has been observed when the cavity was heat treated in the temperature range of 120-160 °C with a nitrogen partial pressure of ~25 mTorr. This increase in quality factor as well as the Q-rise phenomenon (anti-Q-slope) is similar to those previously obtained with high temperature nitrogen doping as well as titanium doping. In this study, a cavity N 2-treated at 120 °C and at 140 °C, showed no degradation in accelerating gradient, however themore » accelerating gradient was reduced by ~25% with a 160 °C N 2 treatment, compared to the baseline tests after electropolishing. Sample coupons treated in the same conditions as the cavity were analyzed by scanning electron microscope, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy revealed a complex surface composition of Nb 2O 5, NbO and NbN (1-x)O x within the rf penetration depth. Furthermore, magnetization measurements showed no significant change on bulk superconducting properties.« less

  3. Determination of bulk and surface superconducting properties of N 2-doped cold worked, heat treated and electro-polished SRF grade niobium

    DOE PAGES

    Chetri, Santosh; Larbalestier, David C.; Lee, Peter J.; ...

    2015-12-01

    In this study, nitrogen-doped cavities show significant performance improvement in the medium accelerating field regime due to a lowered RF surface resistivity. However, the mechanism of enhancement has not been clearly explained. Our experiments explore how N 2-doping influences Nb bulk and surface superconducting properties, and compare the N 2-doped properties with those obtained previously with conventionally treated samples. High purity Nb-rod was mechanically deformed and post treated based on a typical SRF cavity treatment recipe. The onset of flux penetration at H c1, and the upper and the surface critical fields, H c2 and H c3, were characterized bymore » magnetic hysteresis and AC susceptibility techniques. The surface depth profile responsible for superconductivity was examined by changing AC amplitude in AC susceptibility, and the microstructure was directly observed with EBSD-OIM. We are also investigating surface chemistry for detailed composition using XPS. We have found that N 2-doping at 800 °C significantly reduces the H c3/H c2 ratio towards the ideal value of ~1.7, and conclude that AC susceptibility is capable of following changes to the surface properties induced by N 2-doping.« less

  4. Preliminary investigation of the effects of surface treatments on biological response to shape memory NiTi stents.

    PubMed

    Trépanier, C; Leung, T K; Tabrizian, M; Yahia, L H; Bienvenu, J G; Tanguay, J F; Piron, D L; Bilodeau, L

    1999-01-01

    Nickel-titanium (NiTi) offers many advantages for the fabrication of coronary stents: shape memory, superelasticity, and radiopacity. However, many authors highlighted the selective dissolution of Ni from the alloy during the corrosion process that could lead to potential toxicity. The improvement of the NiTi stent's corrosion resistance by different surface treatments (electropolishing, heat treatment, and nitric acid passivation) was reported in a previous article. In the present study a comparative biocompatibility evaluation of such stents was performed through in vitro and in vivo assays. A cell proliferation test was completed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of surface treated NiTi using human fibroblasts. Then a stent implantation was performed in rabbit paramuscular muscle to study the inflammatory response generated by the same implants. Cell proliferation tests generally indicated an in vitro biocompatibility of our samples similar to the control group. An in vivo implantation study demonstrated the gradual overall reduction with time of the fibrocellular capsule thickness surrounding the implants. After a 12-week implantation period, the fibrous capsules surrounding the different implants tended toward the same value of 0.07 mm, which suggested that all surface treatments produced a similar biological response. This low value of the fibrocellular capsule indicated that our NiTi surface treated implants were relatively inert.

  5. Buffered Electrochemical Polishing of Niobium

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gianluigi Ciovati; Tian, Hui; Corcoran, Sean

    The standard preparation of superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities made of pure niobium include the removal of a 'damaged' surface layer, by buffered chemical polishing (BCP) or electropolishing (EP), after the cavities are formed. The performance of the cavities is characterized by a sharp degradation of the quality factor when the surface magnetic field exceeds about 90 mT, a phenomenon referred to as 'Q-drop.' In cavities made of polycrystalline fine grain (ASTM 5) niobium, the Q-drop can be significantly reduced by a low-temperature (? 120 °C) 'in-situ' baking of the cavity if the chemical treatment was EP rather than BCP. Asmore » part of the effort to understand this phenomenon, we investigated the effect of introducing a polarization potential during buffered chemical polishing, creating a process which is between the standard BCP and EP. While preliminary results on the application of this process to Nb cavities have been previously reported, in this contribution we focus on the characterization of this novel electrochemical process by measuring polarization curves, etching rates, surface finish, electrochemical impedance and the effects of temperature and electrolyte composition. In particular, it is shown that the anodic potential of Nb during BCP reduces the etching rate and improves the surface finish.« less

  6. Advances in Large Grain/Single Crystal SC Resonators at DESY

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    W. Singer; A. Brinkmann; A. Ermakov

    The main aim of the DESY large grain R&D program is to check whether this option is reasonable to apply for fabrication of ca. 1'000 XFEL cavities. Two aspects are being pursued. On one hand the basic material investigation, on the other hand the material availability, fabrication and preparation procedure. Several single cell large grain cavities of TESLA shape have been fabricated and tested. The best accelerating gradients of 41 MV/m was measured on electropolished cavity. First large grain nine-cell cavities worldwide have been produced under contract of DESY with ACCEL Instruments Co. All three cavities fulfil the XFEL specificationmore » already in first RF test after only BCP (Buffered Chemical Polishing) treatment and 800 degrees C annealing. Accelerating gradient of 27 - 29 MV/m was reached. A fabrication method of single crystal cavity of ILC like shape was proposed. A single cell single crystal cavity was build at the company ACCEL. Accelerating gradient of 37.5 MV/m reached after only 112 microns BCP and in situ baking 120 degrees C for 6 hrs with the quality factor higher as 2x1010. The developed method can be extended on fabrication of multi cell single crystal cavities.« less

  7. An electrochemical study of hydrogen uptake and elimination by bare and gold-plated waspaloy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Danford, M. D.; Deramus, G. E., Jr.; Lowery, J. R.

    1984-01-01

    Two electrochemical methods for the determination of hydrogen concentrations in metals are discussed and evaluated. The take-up of hydrogen at a pressure of 5000 psi by Waspaloy metal was determined experimentally at 24 C. It was found that the metal becomes saturated with hydrogen after an exposure time of about 1 hr. For samples charged with hydrogen at high pressure, most of the hydrogen is contained in the interstitial solid solution of the metal. For electrolytically charged samples, most of the hydrogen is contained as surface and subsurface hydrides. Hydrogen elimination rates were determined for these two cases, with the rate for electrolytically charged samples being greater by over a factor of two. Theoretical effects of high temperature and pressure on hydrogen take-up and elimination by bare and gold plated Waspaloy metal was considered. The breakthrough point for hydrogen at 5000 psi, determined experimentally, lies between a gold thickness of 0.0127 mm (0.0005 in.) and 0.0254 mm (0.001 in.) at 24 C. Electropolishing was found to greatly reduce the uptake of hydrogen at high pressure by Waspaloy metal at 24 C. Possible implications of the results obtained, as they apply to the turbine disk of the space shuttle main engine, are discussed.

  8. Annealing effect on thermodynamic and physical properties of mesoporous silicon: A simulation and nitrogen sorption study

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kumar, Pushpendra, E-mail: pkumar-iitd@yahoo.com; Huber, Patrick, E-mail: patrick.huber@tuhh.de

    Discovery of porous silicon formation in silicon substrate in 1956 while electro-polishing crystalline Si in hydrofluoric acid (HF), has triggered large scale investigations of porous silicon formation and their changes in physical and chemical properties with thermal and chemical treatment. A nitrogen sorption study is used to investigate the effect of thermal annealing on electrochemically etched mesoporous silicon (PS). The PS was thermally annealed from 200°C to 800°C for 1 hr in the presence of air. It was shown that the pore diameter and porosity of PS vary with annealing temperature. The experimentally obtained adsorption / desorption isotherms show hysteresis typicalmore » for capillary condensation in porous materials. A simulation study based on Saam and Cole model was performed and compared with experimentally observed sorption isotherms to study the physics behind of hysteresis formation. We discuss the shape of the hysteresis loops in the framework of the morphology of the layers. The different behavior of adsorption and desorption of nitrogen in PS with pore diameter was discussed in terms of concave menisci formation inside the pore space, which was shown to related with the induced pressure in varying the pore diameter from 7.2 nm to 3.4 nm.« less

  9. Evidence of incomplete annealing at 800 °C and the effects of 120 °C baking on the crystal orientation and the surface superconducting properties of cold-worked and chemically polished Nb

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sung, Z.-H.; Dzyuba, A.; Lee, P. J.; Larbalestier, D. C.; Cooley, L. D.

    2015-07-01

    High-purity niobium rods were cold-worked by wire-drawing, followed by various combinations of chemical polishing and high-vacuum baking at 120 °C or annealing at 800 °C in order to better understand changes to the surface superconducting properties resulting from typical superconducting radio-frequency cavity processing. AC susceptibility measurements revealed an enhanced upper transition Tc at ˜ 9.3-9.4 K in all samples that was stable through all annealing steps, a value significantly above the accepted Tc of 9.23 K for pure annealed niobium. Corresponding elevations were seen in the critical fields, the ratio of the surface critical field Hc3 to the bulk upper critical field Hc2 rising to 2.3, well above the Ginzburg-Landau value of 1.695. Orientation imaging revealed an extensive dislocation rich sub-grain structure in the as-drawn rods, a small reduction of the surface strain after baking at 120 °C, and a substantial but incomplete recrystallization near the surface after annealing at 800 °C. We interpret these changes in surface superconducting and structural properties to extensive changes in the near-surface interstitial contamination produced by baking and annealing and to synergistic interactions between H and surface O introduced during electropolishing and buffered chemical polishing.

  10. The effects of tungsten's pre-irradiation surface condition on helium-irradiated morphology

    DOE PAGES

    Garrison, Lauren M.; Kulcinski, Gerald L.

    2015-07-17

    Erosion is a concern associated with the use of tungsten as a plasma-facing component in fusion reactors. To compare the damage progression, polycrystalline tungsten (PCW) and (110) single crystal tungsten (SCW) samples were prepared with (1) a mechanical polish (MP) with roughness values in the range of 0.018–0.020 μm and (2) an MP and electropolish (MPEP) resulting in roughness values of 0.010–0.020 μm for PCW and 0.003–0.005 μm for SCW samples. Samples were irradiated with 30 keV He + at 1173 K to fluences between 3 × 10 21 and 6 × 10 22 He/m 2. The morphologies that developedmore » after low-fluence bombardment were different for each type of sample—MP SCW, MPEP SCW, MP PCW, and MPEP PCW. At the highest fluence, the SCW MPEP sample lost significantly more mass and developed a different morphology than the MP SCW sample. The PCW samples developed a similar morphology and had similar mass loss at the highest fluence. Surface preparation can have a significant effect on post-irradiation morphology that should be considered for the design of future fusion reactors such as ITER and DEMO.« less

  11. Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Record from In Situ Measurements at Mt. Cimone (1979-1997)

    DOE Data Explorer

    Colombo, Tiziano [Italian Meteorological Service, Sestola (MO), Italy; Santaguida, Riccardo

    1998-01-01

    Continuous atmospheric CO2 measurements have been carried out at Mt. Cimone since 1979. Since December 1988, air samples have also been collected approximately once per week in a pair of 2-L, electropolished, stainless steel cylindrical flasks. From 1979 until December 1988, a Hartmann and Braun URAS-2T NDIR gas analyzer was used for CO2 determinations. Currently, CO2 determinations are made through the use of a Siemens Ultramat-5E NDIR gas analyzer. Water vapor is eliminated by passing the air through a U-tube placed in an alcohol bath at -600°C. Calibration of the Ultramat-5E is accomplished by using two CO2-in-air working standard gases. These working standard gas concentrations are checked 10 days apart against three CO2-in-air mixtures that serve as secondary standards. The secondary standards are checked every 6 months against five other CO2-in-air primary standards. Hourly CO2 values are routinely plotted together with wind data. Anomalous concentrations and those affected by instrument failures or local sources are rejected. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations from Mt. Cimone are reported in the 1993 WMO/Scripps mole fraction scale. For further details on the measurement apparatus and sampling techniques used at Mt. Cimone, see Cundari et al. (1990).

  12. A novel approach to characterizing the surface topography of niobium superconducting radio frequency (SRF) accelerator cavities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hui Tian, Guilhem Ribeill, Chen Xu, Charles E. Reece, Michael J. Kelley

    2011-03-01

    As superconducting niobium radio-frequency (SRF) cavities approach fundamental material limits, there is increased interest in understanding the details of topographical influences on realized performance limitations. Micro- and nano-roughness are implicated in both direct geometrical field enhancements as well as complications of the composition of the 50 nm surface layer in which the super-currents typically flow. Interior surface chemical treatments such as buffered chemical polishing (BCP) and electropolishing (EP) used to remove mechanical damage leave surface topography, including pits and protrusions of varying sharpness. These may promote RF magnetic field entry, locally quenching superconductivity, so as to degrade cavity performance. Amore » more incisive analysis of surface topography than the widely used average roughness is needed. In this study, a power spectral density (PSD) approach based on Fourier analysis of surface topography data acquired by both stylus profilometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM) is introduced to distinguish the scale-dependent smoothing effects, resulting in a novel qualitative and quantitative description of Nb surface topography. The topographical evolution of the Nb surface as a function of different steps of well-controlled EP is discussed. This study will greatly help to identify optimum EP parameter sets for controlled and reproducible surface levelling of Nb for cavity production.« less

  13. Effects of sterilization processes on NiTi alloy: surface characterization.

    PubMed

    Thierry, B; Tabrizian, M; Savadogo, O; Yahia, L

    2000-01-01

    Sterilization is required for using any device in contact with the human body. Numerous authors have studied device properties after sterilization and reported on bulk and surface modifications of many materials after processing. These surface modifications may in turn influence device biocompatibility. Still, data are missing on the effect of sterilization procedures on new biomaterials such as nickel-titanium (NiTi). Herein we report on the effect of dry heat, steam autoclaving, ethylene oxide, peracetic acid, and plasma-based sterilization techniques on the surface properties of NiTi. After processing electropolished NiTi disks with these techniques, surface analyses were performed by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and contact angle measurements. AES analyses revealed a higher Ni concentration (6-7 vs. 1%) and a slightly thicker oxide layer on the surface for heat and ethylene oxide processed materials. Studies of surface topography by AFM showed up to a threefold increase of the surface roughness when disks were dry heat sterilized. An increase of the surface energy of up to 100% was calculated for plasma treated surfaces. Our results point out that some surface modifications are induced by sterilization procedures. Further work is required to assess the effect of these modifications on biocompatibility, and to determine the most appropriate methods to sterilize NiTi. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  14. Evidence for preferential flux flow at the grain boundaries of superconducting RF-quality niobium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sung, Z.-H.; Lee, P. J.; Gurevich, A.; Larbalestier, D. C.

    2018-04-01

    The question of whether grain boundaries (GBs) in niobium can be responsible for lowered operating field (B RF) or quality factor (Q 0) in superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities is still controversial. Here, we show by direct DC transport across planar GBs isolated from a slice of very large-grain SRF-quality Nb that vortices can preferentially flow along the grain boundary when the external magnetic field lies in the GB plane. However, increasing the misalignment between the GB plane and the external magnetic field vector markedly reduces preferential flux flow along the GB. Importantly, we find that preferential GB flux flow is more prominent for a buffered chemical polished than for an electropolished bi-crystal. The voltage-current characteristics of GBs are similar to those seen in low angle grain boundaries of high temperature superconductors where there is clear evidence of suppression of the superconducting order parameter at the GB. While local weakening of superconductivity at GBs in cuprates and pnictides is intrinsic, deterioration of current transparency of GBs in Nb appears to be extrinsic, since the polishing method clearly affect the local GB degradation. The dependence of preferential GB flux flow on important cavity preparation and experimental variables, particularly the final chemical treatment and the angle between the magnetic field and the GB plane, suggests two more reasons why real cavity performance can be so variable.

  15. Corrosion and surface modification on biocompatible metals: A review.

    PubMed

    Asri, R I M; Harun, W S W; Samykano, M; Lah, N A C; Ghani, S A C; Tarlochan, F; Raza, M R

    2017-08-01

    Corrosion prevention in biomaterials has become crucial particularly to overcome inflammation and allergic reactions caused by the biomaterials' implants towards the human body. When these metal implants contacted with fluidic environments such as bloodstream and tissue of the body, most of them became mutually highly antagonistic and subsequently promotes corrosion. Biocompatible implants are typically made up of metallic, ceramic, composite and polymers. The present paper specifically focuses on biocompatible metals which favorably used as implants such as 316L stainless steel, cobalt-chromium-molybdenum, pure titanium and titanium-based alloys. This article also takes a close look at the effect of corrosion towards the implant and human body and the mechanism to improve it. Due to this corrosion delinquent, several surface modification techniques have been used to improve the corrosion behavior of biocompatible metals such as deposition of the coating, development of passivation oxide layer and ion beam surface modification. Apart from that, surface texturing methods such as plasma spraying, chemical etching, blasting, electropolishing, and laser treatment which used to improve corrosion behavior are also discussed in detail. Introduction of surface modifications to biocompatible metals is considered as a "best solution" so far to enhanced corrosion resistance performance; besides achieving superior biocompatibility and promoting osseointegration of biocompatible metals and alloys. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Evidence of incomplete annealing at 800 °C and the effects of 120 °C baking on the crystal orientation and the surface superconducting properties of cold-worked and chemically polished Nb

    DOE PAGES

    Sung, Z. -H.; Dzyuba, A.; Lee, P. J.; ...

    2015-07-01

    High-purity niobium rods were cold-worked by wire-drawing, followed by various combinations of chemical polishing and high-vacuum baking at 120 °C or annealing at 800 °C in order to better understand changes to the surface superconducting properties resulting from typical superconducting radio-frequency cavity processing. AC susceptibility measurements revealed an enhanced upper transition T c at ~ 9.3–9.4 K in all samples that was stable through all annealing steps, a value significantly above the accepted T c of 9.23 K for pure annealed niobium. Corresponding elevations were seen in the critical fields, the ratio of the surface critical field H c3 tomore » the bulk upper critical field H c2 rising to 2.3, well above the Ginzburg–Landau value of 1.695. Orientation imaging revealed an extensive dislocation rich sub-grain structure in the as-drawn rods, a small reduction of the surface strain after baking at 120 °C, and a substantial but incomplete recrystallization near the surface after annealing at 800 °C. We interpret these changes in surface superconducting and structural properties to extensive changes in the near-surface interstitial contamination produced by baking and annealing and to synergistic interactions between H and surface O introduced during electropolishing and buffered chemical polishing.« less

  17. Tunneling study of SRF cavity-grade niobium.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Proslier, T.; Zasadzinski, J.; Cooley, L.

    Niobium, with its very high H{sub C1}, has been used in superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities for accelerator systems for 40 years with continual improvement. The quality factor of cavities (Q) is governed by the surface impedance R{sub BCS}, which depends on the quasiparticle gap, delta, and the superfluid density. Both of these parameters are seriously affected by surface imperfections (metallic phases, dissolved oxygen, magnetic impurities). Loss mechanism and surface treatments of Nb cavities found to improve the Q factor are still unsolved mysteries. We present here an overview of the capabilities of the point contact tunneling spectroscopy and Atomicmore » layer deposition methods and how they can help understanding the High field Q-drop and the mild baking effect. Tunneling spectroscopy was performed on Nb pieces from the same processed material used to fabricate SRF cavities. Air exposed, electropolished Nb exhibited a surface superconducting gap Delta = 1.55 meV, characteristic of clean, bulk Nb, however the tunneling density of states (DOS) was broadened significantly. Nb pieces treated with the same mild baking used to improve the Q-slope in SRF cavities revealed a much sharper DOS. Good fits to the DOS are obtained using Shiba theory suggesting that magnetic scattering of quasiparticles is the origin of the degraded surface superconductivity and the Q-slope problem of Nb SRF cavities.« less

  18. Evidence of incomplete annealing at 800 °C and the effects of 120 °C baking on the crystal orientation and the surface superconducting properties of cold-worked and chemically polished Nb

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sung, Z. -H.; Dzyuba, A.; Lee, P. J.

    High-purity niobium rods were cold-worked by wire-drawing, followed by various combinations of chemical polishing and high-vacuum baking at 120 °C or annealing at 800 °C in order to better understand changes to the surface superconducting properties resulting from typical superconducting radio-frequency cavity processing. AC susceptibility measurements revealed an enhanced upper transition T c at ~ 9.3–9.4 K in all samples that was stable through all annealing steps, a value significantly above the accepted T c of 9.23 K for pure annealed niobium. Corresponding elevations were seen in the critical fields, the ratio of the surface critical field H c3 tomore » the bulk upper critical field H c2 rising to 2.3, well above the Ginzburg–Landau value of 1.695. Orientation imaging revealed an extensive dislocation rich sub-grain structure in the as-drawn rods, a small reduction of the surface strain after baking at 120 °C, and a substantial but incomplete recrystallization near the surface after annealing at 800 °C. We interpret these changes in surface superconducting and structural properties to extensive changes in the near-surface interstitial contamination produced by baking and annealing and to synergistic interactions between H and surface O introduced during electropolishing and buffered chemical polishing.« less

  19. Measuring stress variation with depth using Barkhausen signals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kypris, O.; Nlebedim, I. C.; Jiles, D. C.

    2016-06-01

    Magnetic Barkhausen noise analysis (BNA) is an established technique for the characterization of stress in ferromagnetic materials. An important application is the evaluation of residual stress in aerospace components, where shot-peening is used to strengthen the part by inducing compressive residual stresses on its surface. However, the evaluation of the resulting stress-depth gradients cannot be achieved by conventional BNA methods, where signals are interpreted in the time domain. The immediate alternative of using x-ray diffraction stress analysis is less than ideal, as the use of electropolishing to remove surface layers renders the part useless after inspection. Thus, a need for advancing the current BNA techniques prevails. In this work, it is shown how a parametric model for the frequency spectrum of Barkhausen emissions can be used to detect variations of stress along depth in ferromagnetic materials. Proof of concept is demonstrated by inducing linear stress-depth gradients using four-point bending, and fitting the model to the frequency spectra of measured Barkhausen signals, using a simulated annealing algorithm to extract the model parameters. Validation of our model suggests that in bulk samples the Barkhausen frequency spectrum can be expressed by a multi-exponential function with a dependence on stress and depth. One practical application of this spectroscopy method is the non-destructive evaluation of residual stress-depth profiles in aerospace components, thus helping to prevent catastrophic failures.

  20. Latest Results of ILC High-Gradient R&D 9-cell Cavities at JLAB

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Geng, Rongli

    2008-02-11

    It has been over a year since JLAB started processing and testing ILC 9-cell cavities in the frame work of ILC high-gradient cavity R&D, aiming at the goal of a 35 MV/m gradient at a Q of 1E10 with a yield of 90%. The necessary cavity processing steps include field flatness tuning, electropolishing (EP), hydrogen out-gassing under vacuum, high-pressure water rinsing, clean room assembly, and low temperature bake. These are followed by RF test at 2 Kelvin. Ultrasonic cleaning with Micro-90, an effective post-EP rinsing recipe discovered at JLAB, is routinely used. Seven industry manufactured 9-cell TESLAshape cavities are processedmore » and tested repeatedly. So far, 33 EP cycles are accumulated, corresponding to more than 65 hours of active EP time. An emphasis put on RF testing is to discern cavity quench characteristics, including its nature and its location. Often times, the cavity performance is limited by thermal-magnetic quench instead of field emission. The quench field in some cavities is lower than 20 MV/m and remains unchanged despite repeated EP, implying material and/or fabrication defects. The quench field in some other cavities is high but changes unpredictably after repeated EP, suggesting processing induced defects. Based on our experience and results, several areas are identified where improvement is needed to improve cavity performance as well as yield.« less

  1. Silver deposition on stainless steel container surfaces in contact with disinfectant silver aqueous solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petala, M.; Tsiridis, V.; Mintsouli, I.; Pliatsikas, N.; Spanos, Th.; Rebeyre, P.; Darakas, E.; Patsalas, P.; Vourlias, G.; Kostoglou, M.; Sotiropoulos, S.; Karapantsios, Th.

    2017-02-01

    Silver is the preservative used on the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) to prevent microbial proliferation within potable water supplies. Yet, in the frame of the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) missions to ISS, silver depletion from water has been detected during ground transportation of this water to launch site, thereby indicating a degradation of water quality. This study investigates the silver loss from water when in contact with stainless steel surfaces. Experiments are conducted with several types of stainless steel surfaces being exposed to water containing 10 or 0.5 mg/L silver ions. Results show that silver deposits on stainless steel surfaces even when a passivation layer protects the metallic surface. The highest protection to silver deposition is offered by acid passivated and electropolished SS 316L. SEM and XPS experiments were carried out at several locations of the sample area that was in contact with the Ag solution and found similar morphological (SEM) and compositional (sputter-etch XPS) results. The results reveal that silver deposits uniformly across the wetted surface to a thickness larger than 3 nm. Moreover, evidence is provided that silver deposits in its metallic form on all stainless steel surfaces, in line with a galvanic deposition mechanism. Combination of ICP-MS and XPS results suggests a mechanism for Ag deposition/reduction with simultaneous substrate oxidation resulting in oxide growth at the exposed stainless steel surface.

  2. The effects of stainless steel finish on Salmonella Typhimurium attachment, biofilm formation and sensitivity to chlorine.

    PubMed

    Schlisselberg, Dov B; Yaron, Sima

    2013-08-01

    Bacterial colonization and biofilm formation on stainless steel (SS) surfaces can be sources for cross contamination in food processing facilities, possessing a great threat to public health and food quality. Here the aim was to demonstrate the influence of surface finish of AISI 316 SS on colonization, biofilm formation and susceptibility of Salmonella Typhimurium to disinfection. Initial attachment of S. Typhimurium on surfaces of SS was four times lower, when surface was polished by Bright-Alum (BA) or Electropolishing (EP), as compared to Mechanical Sanded (MS) or the untreated surface (NT). The correlation between roughness and initial bacterial attachment couldn't account on its own to explain differences seen. Biofilms with similar thickness (15-18 μm) were developed on all surfaces 1-day post inoculation, whereas EP was the least covered surface (23%). Following 5-days, biofilm thickness was lowest on EP and MS (30 μm) and highest on NT (62 μm) surfaces. An analysis of surface composition suggested a link between surface chemistry and biofilm development, where the higher concentrations of metal ions in EP and MS surfaces correlated with limited biofilm formation. Interestingly, disinfection of biofilms with chlorine was up to 130 times more effective on the EP surface (0.005% surviving) than on the other surfaces. Overall these results suggest that surface finish should be considered carefully in a food processing plant. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Evidence for preferential flux flow at the grain boundaries of superconducting RF-quality niobium

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sung, Z. -H.; Lee, P. J.; Gurevich, A.

    Here, the question of whether grain boundaries (GBs) in niobium can be responsible for lowered operating field (B RF) or quality factor (Q 0) in superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities is still controversial. Here, we show by direct DC transport across planar grain boundaries isolated from a slice of very large-grain SRF-quality Nb that vortices can preferentially flow along the grain boundary when the external magnetic field lies in the GB plane. However, increasing the misalignment between the GB plane and the external magnetic field vector markedly reduces preferential flux flow along GB. Importantly, we find that preferential GB flux flowmore » is more prominent for a buffered chemical polished than for an electropolished bi-crystal. The voltage-current characteristics of GBs are similar to those seen in low angle grain boundaries of high temperature superconductors where there is clear evidence of suppression of the superconducting order parameter at the GB. While local weakening of superconductivity at GBs in cuprates and pnictides is intrinsic, deterioration of current transparency of GBs in Nb appears to be extrinsic, since the polishing method clearly affect the local GB degradation. The dependence of preferential GB flux flow on important cavity preparation and experimental variables, particularly, the final chemical treatment and the angle between the magnetic field and the GB plane, suggests two more reasons why real cavity performance can be so variable.« less

  4. Mirror-finished superhydrophobic aluminum surfaces modified by anodic alumina nanofibers and self-assembled monolayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakajima, Daiki; Kikuchi, Tatsuya; Natsui, Shungo; Suzuki, Ryosuke O.

    2018-05-01

    We demonstrate mirror-finished superhydrophobic aluminum surfaces fabricated via the formation of anodic alumina nanofibers and subsequent modification with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). High-density anodic alumina nanofibers were formed on the aluminum surface via anodizing in a pyrophosphoric acid solution. The alumina nanofibers became tangled and bundled by further anodizing at low temperature because of their own weight, and the aluminum surface was completely covered by the long falling nanofibers. The nanofiber-covered aluminum surface exhibited superhydrophilic behavior, with a contact angle measuring less than 10°. As the nanofiber-covered aluminum surface was modified with n-alkylphosphonic acid SAMs, the water contact angle drastically shifted to superhydrophobicity, measuring more than 150°. The contact angle increased with the applied voltage during pyrophosphoric acid anodizing, the anodizing time, and the number of carbon atoms contained in the SAM molecules modified on the alumina nanofibers. By optimizing the anodizing and SAM-modification conditions, superhydrophobic behavior could be achieved with only a brief pyrophosphoric acid anodizing period of 3 min and subsequent simple immersion in SAM solutions. The superhydrophobic aluminum surface exhibited a high reflectance, measuring approximately 99% across most of the visible spectrum, similar to that of an electropolished aluminum surface. Therefore, our mirror-finished superhydrophobic aluminum surface based on anodic alumina nanofibers and SAMs can be used as a reflective mirror in various optical applications such as concentrated solar power systems.

  5. Drug-eluting coating of ginsenoside Rg1 and Re incorporated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) on stainless steel 316L: Physicochemical and drug release analyses.

    PubMed

    Miswan, Zulaika; Lukman, Siti Khadijah; Abd Majid, Fadzilah Adibah; Loke, Mun Fai; Saidin, Syafiqah; Hermawan, Hendra

    2016-12-30

    Active ingredients of ginsenoside, Rg1 and Re, are able to inhibit the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells and promote the growth of vascular endothelial cells. These capabilities are of interest for developing a novel drug-eluting stent to potentially solve the current problem of late-stent thrombosis and poor endotheliazation. Therefore, this study was aimed to incorporate ginsenoside into degradable coating of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). Drug mixture composed of ginseng extract and 10% to 50% of PLGA (xPLGA/g) was coated on electropolished stainless steel 316L substrate by using a dip coating technique. The coating was characterized principally by using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and contact angle analysis, while the drug release profile of ginsenosides Rg1 and Re was determined by using mass spectrometry at a one month immersion period. Full and homogenous coating coverage with acceptable wettability was found on the 30PLGA/g specimen. All specimens underwent initial burst release dependent on their composition. The 30PLGA/g and 50PLGA/g specimens demonstrated a controlled drug release profile having a combination of diffusion- and swelling-controlled mechanisms of PLGA. The study suggests that the 30PLGA/g coated specimen expresses an optimum composition which is seen as practicable for developing a controlled release drug-eluting stent. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Evidence for preferential flux flow at the grain boundaries of superconducting RF-quality niobium

    DOE PAGES

    Sung, Z. -H.; Lee, P. J.; Gurevich, A.; ...

    2018-02-19

    Here, the question of whether grain boundaries (GBs) in niobium can be responsible for lowered operating field (B RF) or quality factor (Q 0) in superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities is still controversial. Here, we show by direct DC transport across planar grain boundaries isolated from a slice of very large-grain SRF-quality Nb that vortices can preferentially flow along the grain boundary when the external magnetic field lies in the GB plane. However, increasing the misalignment between the GB plane and the external magnetic field vector markedly reduces preferential flux flow along GB. Importantly, we find that preferential GB flux flowmore » is more prominent for a buffered chemical polished than for an electropolished bi-crystal. The voltage-current characteristics of GBs are similar to those seen in low angle grain boundaries of high temperature superconductors where there is clear evidence of suppression of the superconducting order parameter at the GB. While local weakening of superconductivity at GBs in cuprates and pnictides is intrinsic, deterioration of current transparency of GBs in Nb appears to be extrinsic, since the polishing method clearly affect the local GB degradation. The dependence of preferential GB flux flow on important cavity preparation and experimental variables, particularly, the final chemical treatment and the angle between the magnetic field and the GB plane, suggests two more reasons why real cavity performance can be so variable.« less

  7. Conversion of transuranic waste to low level waste by decontamination: a technical and economic evaluation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Allen, R.P.; Hazelton, R.F.

    1984-12-01

    A study was conducted to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of using in-situ decontamination techniques to convert glove boxes and other large TRU-contaminated components directly into LLW. The results of the technical evaluation indicate that in-situ decontamination of these types of components to non-TRU levels is technically feasible. Applicable decontamination techniques include electropolishing, hand scrubbing, chemical washes/sprays, strippable coatings and Freon spray-cleaning. The removal of contamination from crevices and other holdup areas remains a problem, but may be solved through further advances in decontamination technology. Also, the increase in the allowable maximum TRU level from 10 nCi/g to 100more » nCi/g as defined in DOE Order 5820.2 reduces the removal requirement and facilitates measurement of the remaining quantities. The major emphasis of the study was on a cost/benefit evaluation that included a review and update of previous analyses and evaluations of TRU-waste volume reduction and conversion options. The results of the economic evaluation show, for the assumptions used, that there is a definite cost incentive to size reduce large components, and that decontamination of sectioned material has become cost competitive with the size reduction options. In-situ decontamination appears to be the lowest cost option when based on routine-type operations conducted by well-trained and properly equipped personnel. 16 references, 1 figure, 7 tables.« less

  8. Extraction of CO2 from air samples for isotopic analysis and limits to ultra high precision delta18O determination in CO2 gas.

    PubMed

    Werner, R A; Rothe, M; Brand, W A

    2001-01-01

    The determination of delta18O values in CO2 at a precision level of +/-0.02 per thousand (delta-notation) has always been a challenging, if not impossible, analytical task. Here, we demonstrate that beyond the usually assumed major cause of uncertainty - water contamination - there are other, hitherto underestimated sources of contamination and processes which can alter the oxygen isotope composition of CO2. Active surfaces in the preparation line with which CO2 comes into contact, as well as traces of air in the sample, can alter the apparent delta18O value both temporarily and permanently. We investigated the effects of different surface materials including electropolished stainless steel, Duran glass, gold and quartz, the latter both untreated and silanized. CO2 frozen with liquid nitrogen showed a transient alteration of the 18O/16O ratio on all surfaces tested. The time to recover from the alteration as well as the size of the alteration varied with surface type. Quartz that had been ultrasonically cleaned for several hours with high purity water (0.05 microS) exhibited the smallest effect on the measured oxygen isotopic composition of CO2 before and after freezing. However, quartz proved to be mechanically unstable with time when subjected to repeated large temperature changes during operation. After several days of operation the gas released from the freezing step contained progressively increasing trace amounts of O2 probably originating from inclusions within the quartz, which precludes the use of quartz for cryogenically trapping CO2. Stainless steel or gold proved to be suitable materials after proper pre-treatment. To ensure a high trapping efficiency of CO2 from a flow of gas, a cold trap design was chosen comprising a thin wall 1/4" outer tube and a 1/8" inner tube, made respectively from electropolished stainless steel and gold. Due to a considerable 18O specific isotope effect during the release of CO2 from the cold surface, the thawing time had to

  9. Auxetic coronary stent endoprosthesis: fabrication and structural analysis.

    PubMed

    Amin, Faisal; Ali, Murtaza Najabat; Ansari, Umar; Mir, Mariam; Minhas, Muhammad Asim; Shahid, Wakeel

    2015-07-04

    Cardiovascular heart disease is one of the leading health issues in the present era and requires considerable health care resources to prevent it. The present study was focused on the development of a new coronary stent based on novel auxetic geometry which enables the stent to exhibit a negative Poisson's ratio. Commercially available coronary stents have isotropic properties, whereas the vascular system of the body shows anisotropic characteristics. This results in a mismatch between anisotropic-isotropic properties of the stent and arterial wall, and this in turn is not favorable for mechanical adhesion of the commercially available coronary stents with the arterial wall. It is believed that an auxetic coronary stent with inherent anisotropic mechanical properties and negative Poisson's ratio will have good mechanical adhesion with the arterial wall. The auxetic design was obtained via laser cutting, and surface treatment was performed with acid pickling and electropolishing, followed by an annealing process. In vitro mechanical analysis was performed to analyze the mechanical performance of the auxetic coronary stent. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the effects of fabrication processes on the topography of the auxetic stent. The elastic recoil (3.3%) of the in vitro mechanical analysis showed that the auxetic stent design effectively maintained the luminal patency of the coronary artery. Also, the auxetic coronary stent showed no foreshortening, therefore it avoids the problem of stent migration, by expanding in both the radial and longitudinal directions. By virtue of its synclastic behavior, the auxetic stent bulges outward when it is radially expanded through an inflated balloon.

  10. Quantification of microscopic surface features of single point diamond turned optics with subsequent chemical polishing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cardenas, Nelson; Kyrish, Matthew; Taylor, Daniel; Fraelich, Margaret; Lechuga, Oscar; Claytor, Richard; Claytor, Nelson

    2015-03-01

    Electro-Chemical Polishing is routinely used in the anodizing industry to achieve specular surface finishes of various metals products prior to anodizing. Electro-Chemical polishing functions by leveling the microscopic peaks and valleys of the substrate, thereby increasing specularity and reducing light scattering. The rate of attack is dependent of the physical characteristics (height, depth, and width) of the microscopic structures that constitute the surface finish. To prepare the sample, mechanical polishing such as buffing or grinding is typically required before etching. This type of mechanical polishing produces random microscopic structures at varying depths and widths, thus the electropolishing parameters are determined in an ad hoc basis. Alternatively, single point diamond turning offers excellent repeatability and highly specific control of substrate polishing parameters. While polishing, the diamond tool leaves behind an associated tool mark, which is related to the diamond tool geometry and machining parameters. Machine parameters such as tool cutting depth, speed and step over can be changed in situ, thus providing control of the spatial frequency of the microscopic structures characteristic of the surface topography of the substrate. By combining single point diamond turning with subsequent electro-chemical etching, ultra smooth polishing of both rotationally symmetric and free form mirrors and molds is possible. Additionally, machining parameters can be set to optimize post polishing for increased surface quality and reduced processing times. In this work, we present a study of substrate surface finish based on diamond turning tool mark spatial frequency with subsequent electro-chemical polishing.

  11. Comparative Evaluation of Physical Surface Changes and Incidence of Separation in Rotary Nickel-Titanium Instruments: An in Vitro SEM Study

    PubMed Central

    Kaul, Rudra; Farooq, Riyaz; Kaul, Vibhuti; Khateeb, Shafayat Ullah; Purra, Aamir Rashid; Mahajan, Roopali

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: The aim of the present study was to comparatively evaluate the physical surface changes and incidence of separation in rotary nickel-titanium (NiTi) instruments using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Methods and Materials: A total number of 210 freshly extracted human maxillary and mandibular first molars were selected and distributed between three groups. Three different systems of rotary NiTi instruments, namely ProFile (PF), RaCe (RC) and Twisted File (TF), were used to prepare the canals using crown-down technique. All instruments were evaluated by means of SEM with 500× and 1500× magnifications, at four different stages; before use, after preparation of 7 and 14 canals and after instrument separation. Photomicrographs were also taken. The data was analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and the level of significance was set at 0.001. It was found that H (HAT matrix) was 15.316 with 2 degrees of freedom. Moreover the various groups were compared using the Student-Newman-Keuls test with P<0.05 and it was found that all groups were significantly different. Results: RC showed the maximum wear of the surface followed by TF (P<0.05). PF showed the minimum wear except for its tip. There was no correlation between electropolishing and file fracture. Insignificant difference was observed in the mean number of canals shaped by PF and TF before their separation. Conclusion: Clinically, TF performance was superior, followed by PF then RC. RC fracture rate was the greatest after preparing the least number of canals. PMID:25031595

  12. Three-dimensional atom probe tomography of oxide, anion, and alkanethiolate coatings on gold.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yi; Hillier, Andrew C

    2010-07-15

    We have used three-dimensional atom probe tomography to analyze several nanometer-thick and monomolecular films on gold surfaces. High-purity gold wire was etched by electropolishing to create a sharp tip suitable for field evaporation with a radius of curvature of <100 nm. The near-surface region of a freshly etched gold tip was examined with the atom probe at subnanometer spatial resolution and with atom-level composition accuracy. A thin contaminant layer, primarily consisting of water and atmospheric gases, was observed on a fresh tip. This sample exhibited crystalline lattice spacings consistent with the interlayer spacing of {200} lattice planes of bulk gold. A thin oxide layer was created on the gold surface via plasma oxidation, and the thickness and composition of this layer was measured. Clear evidence of a nanometer-thick oxide layer was seen coating the gold tip, and the atomic composition of the oxide layer was consistent with the expected stoichiometry for gold oxide. Monomolecular anions layers of Br(-) and I(-) were created via adsorption from aqueous solutions onto the gold. Atom probe data verified the presence of the monomolecular anion layers on the gold surface, with ion density values consistent with literature values. A hexanethiolate monolayer was coated onto the gold tip, and atom probe analysis revealed a thin film whose ion fragments were consistent with the molecular composition of the monolayer and a surface coverage similar to that expected from literature. Details of the various coating compositions and structures are presented, along with discussion of the reconstruction issues associated with properly analyzing these thin-film systems.

  13. Surface damage and structure evolution of recrystallized tungsten exposed to ELM-like transient loads

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuan, Y.; Du, J.; Wirtz, M.; Luo, G.-N.; Lu, G.-H.; Liu, W.

    2016-03-01

    Surface damage and structure evolution of the full tungsten ITER divertor under transient heat loads is a key concern for component lifetime and plasma operations. Recrystallization caused by transients and steady-state heat loads can lead to degradation of the material properties and is therefore one of the most serious issues for tungsten armor. In order to investigate the thermal response of the recrystallized tungsten under edge localized mode-like transient thermal loads, fully recrystallized tungsten samples with different average grain sizes are exposed to cyclic thermal shocks in the electron beam facility JUDITH 1. The results indicate that not only does the microstructure change due to recrystallization, but that the surface residual stress induced by mechanical polishing strongly influences the surface cracking behavior. The stress-free surface prepared by electro-polishing is shown to be more resistant to cracking than the mechanically polished one. The resulting surface roughness depends largely on the loading conditions instead of the recrystallized-grain size. As the base temperature increases from room temperature to 400 °C, surface roughening mainly due to the shear bands in each grain becomes more pronounced, and sub-grains (up to 3 μm) are simultaneously formed in the sub-surface. The directions of the shear bands exhibit strong grain-orientation dependence, and they are generally aligned with the traces of {1 1 2} twin habit planes. The results suggest that twinning deformation and dynamic recrystallization represent the predominant mechanism for surface roughening and related microstructure evolution.

  14. Comparative studies of thin film growth on aluminium by AFM, TEM and GDOES characterization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qi, Jiantao; Thompson, George E.

    2016-07-01

    In this present study, comparative studies of trivalent chromium conversion coating formation, associated with aluminium dissolution process, have been investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES). High-resolution electron micrographs revealed the evident and uniform coating initiation on the whole surface after conversion treatment for only 30 s, although a network of metal ridges was created by HF etching pre-treatment. In terms of conversion treatment process on electropolished aluminium, constant kinetics of coating growth, ∼0.30 ± 0.2 nm/s, were found after the prolonged conversion treatment for 600 s. The availability of electrolyte anions for coating deposition determined the growth process. Simultaneously, a proceeding process of aluminium dissolution during conversion treatment, of ∼0.11 ± 0.02 nm/s, was found for the first time, indicating constant kinetics of anodic reactions. The distinct process of aluminium consumption was assigned with loss of corrosion protection of the deposited coating material as evidenced in the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Based on the present data, a new mechanism of coating growth on aluminium was proposed, and it consisted of an activation period (0-30 s), a linear growth period (0.30 nm/s, up for 600 s) and limited growth period (0.17 nm/s, 600-1200 s). In addition, the air-drying post-treatment and a high-vacuum environment in the microscope revealed a coating shrinkage, especially in the coatings after conversion treatments for longer time.

  15. Investigation of niobium surface structure and composition for improvement of superconducting radio-frequency cavities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trenikhina, Yulia

    Nano-scale investigation of intrinsic properties of niobium near-surface is a key to control performance of niobium superconducting radio-frequency cavities. Mechanisms responsible for the performance limitations and their empirical remedies needs to be justified in order to reproducibly control fabrication of SRF cavities with desired characteristics. The high field Q-slope and mechanism behind its cure (120°C mild bake) were investigated by comparison of the samples cut out of the cavities with high and low dissipation regions. Material evolution during mild field Q-slope nitrogen treatment was characterized using the coupon samples as well as samples cut out of nitrogen treated cavity. Evaluation of niobium near-surface state after some typical and novel cavity treatments was accomplished. Various TEM techniques, SEM, XPS, AES, XRD were used for the structural and chemical characterization of niobium near-surface. Combination of thermometry and structural temperature-dependent comparison of the cavity cutouts with different dissipation characteristics revealed precipitation of niobium hydrides to be the reason for medium and high field Q-slopes. Step-by-step effect of the nitrogen treatment processing on niobium surface was studied by analytical and structural characterization of the cavity cutout and niobium samples, which were subject to the treatment. Low concentration nitrogen doping is proposed to explain the benefit of nitrogen treatment. Chemical characterization of niobium samples before and after various surface processing (Electropolishing (EP), 800°C bake, hydrofluoric acid (HF) rinsing) showed the differences that can help to reveal the microscopic effects behind these treatments as well as possible sources of surface contamination.

  16. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from biomass burning: GC-MS analysis of primary combustion emissions of fuels common to North America

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gilman, J.; De Gouw, J. A.; Coggon, M.; Koss, A.; Lerner, B. M.; Roberts, J. M.; Selimovic, V.; Sekimoto, K.; Yokelson, R. J.; Yuan, B.; Warneke, C.

    2017-12-01

    Biomass burning (BB), both natural and human-caused, is a significant source of atmospheric gases and particles. Combustion of biomass releases a complex variety of carbon-containing gases called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that may adversely affect air quality and climate. Here we present results from the first phase of Fire Influence on Regional and Global Environments Experiment (FIREX) that was conducted at the USDA Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana in the fall of 2016. The goal of these laboratory experiments were to measure primary combustion emissions of fuels common to Northwestern U.S. and Canada using a variety of state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation. The data presented here utilizes a custom-built gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrument to characterize C2-C12 VOCs via in-situ sampling as well as offline analysis of diluted smoke samples stored in electropolished stainless steel whole air samplers (WAS). This analysis focuses on identifying VOCs that are (i) biomass burning and/or fuel-specific tracers, (ii) air toxics and (iii) highly-reactive VOCs that are potential precursors for photochemical ozone and/or organic aerosol formation. Of particular interest, is the identification and characterization of VOC tracers that may be useful for biomass burning specific photochemical clocks such as furan and nitrile-based molecules. Comparison of concurrently collected in-situ and whole air samples of diluted smoke will be used to identify potential sampling artefacts associated with WAS intended for use in the upcoming FIREX NOAA WP-3D research flights in 2019.

  17. Loading Mode and Environment Effects on Surface Profile Characteristics of Martensite Plates in Cu-Based SMAs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suru, Marius-Gabriel; Paraschiv, Adrian-Liviu; Lohan, Nicoleta Monica; Pricop, Bogdan; Ozkal, Burak; Bujoreanu, Leandru-Gheorghe

    2014-07-01

    The present work reports the influence of the loading mode provided during training under constant stress, in bending, applied to lamellar specimens of Cu-Zn-Al shape memory alloys (SMAs). During training, the specimens were bent by a load fastened at their free end, while being martensitic at room temperature and they lifted the load by one-way effect (1WE), during heating up to austenitic field. On cooling to martensite field, the lower concave surface of bent specimens was compressed, and during heating it was elongated, being subjected to a series of tension-compression cycles, during heating-cooling, respectively. Conversely, the upper convex surface of bent specimens was elongated during cooling and compressed during heating, being subjected to compression-tension cycles. Furthermore, 2WE-trained actuators were tested by means of a hydraulic installation where, this time heating-cooling cycles were performed in oil conditions. Considering that the lower concave surface of the specimens was kept in compressed state, while the upper convex surface was kept in elongated state, the study reveals the influence of the two loading modes and environments on the width of martensite plates of the specimens trained under various numbers of cycles. In this purpose, Cu-Zn-Al specimens, trained under 100-300-500 cycles, were prepared and analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) as well as optical and scanning electron microscopy (OM and SEM, respectively). The analysis also included AFM micrographs corroborated with statistical evaluations in order to reveal the effects of loading mode (tension or compression) in different environmental conditions of the specimens, on the surface profile characteristics of martensite plates, revealed by electropolishing.

  18. Cleaning verification: A five parameter study of a Total Organic Carbon method development and validation for the cleaning assessment of residual detergents in manufacturing equipment.

    PubMed

    Li, Xue; Ahmad, Imad A Haidar; Tam, James; Wang, Yan; Dao, Gina; Blasko, Andrei

    2018-02-05

    A Total Organic Carbon (TOC) based analytical method to quantitate trace residues of clean-in-place (CIP) detergents CIP100 ® and CIP200 ® on the surfaces of pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment was developed and validated. Five factors affecting the development and validation of the method were identified: diluent composition, diluent volume, extraction method, location for TOC sample preparation, and oxidant flow rate. Key experimental parameters were optimized to minimize contamination and to improve the sensitivity, recovery, and reliability of the method. The optimized concentration of the phosphoric acid in the swabbing solution was 0.05M, and the optimal volume of the sample solution was 30mL. The swab extraction method was 1min sonication. The use of a clean room, as compared to an isolated lab environment, was not required for method validation. The method was demonstrated to be linear with a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.9999. The average recoveries from stainless steel surfaces at multiple spike levels were >90%. The repeatability and intermediate precision results were ≤5% across the 2.2-6.6ppm range (50-150% of the target maximum carry over, MACO, limit). The method was also shown to be sensitive with a detection limit (DL) of 38ppb and a quantitation limit (QL) of 114ppb. The method validation demonstrated that the developed method is suitable for its intended use. The methodology developed in this study is generally applicable to the cleaning verification of any organic detergents used for the cleaning of pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment made of electropolished stainless steel material. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Hemocompatibility Improvement of Chromium-Bearing Bare-Metal Stent Platform After Magnetoelectropolishing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rokicki, Ryszard; Haider, Waseem; Maffi, Shivani Kaushal

    2015-01-01

    Research was undertaken to determine the influence of the increased content of chromium in the outermost passive layer of magneto-electrochemically refined Co-Cr alloy L-605 surface on its hemocompatibility. The chemistry, roughness, surface energy, and wettability of conventionally electropolished (EP) and magnetoelectropolished (MEP) samples were studied with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), open circuit potential, atomic force microscopy, and contact angle meter. In vitro hemocompatibility of tested material surfaces was assessed using two important indicators of vascular responses to biomaterial, namely endothelialization and platelets adhesion. The endothelialization was assessed by seeding and incubating samples with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) for 3 days before counting and observing them under a fluorescent microscope. The platelet (rich plasma blood) adhesion and activation test on EP and MEP L-605 alloy surfaces was assessed using a laser scanning confocal microscope. The XPS analysis of MEP samples showed significant enrichment of the passive layer with Cr and O when compared with the EP one. The amount of other elements in the passive layer did not show a significant difference between EP and MEP treatments. The adhesion of HUVEC cells shows remarkable affinity to surfaces enriched in Cr (MEP) with almost 100% confluency. In addition, the number of platelets that adhered to standard EP surfaces was higher compared to the MEP surface. The present study shows that the chromium-enriched surface of cobalt-chromium alloy L-605 by the magnetoelectropolishing process tremendously improves surface hemocompatibility with regard to stent functionality by enhanced endothelialization and lower platelet adhesion and should be taken under consideration as an alternative surface of biodegradable polymer drug-eluting stents, polymer-free drug-eluting stents as well as bare-metal stents.

  20. Development of an optimized electrochemical process for subsequent coating of 316 stainless steel for stent applications.

    PubMed

    Haïdopoulos, M; Turgeon, S; Sarra-Bournet, C; Laroche, G; Mantovani, D

    2006-07-01

    Metallic endovascular stents are used as medical devices to scaffold biological lumen, most often diseased arteries, after balloon angioplasty. They are commonly made of 316L stainless steel or Nitinol, two alloys containing nickel, an element classified as potentially toxic and carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Although they are largely implanted, the long-term safety of such metallic elements is still controversial, since the corrosion processes may lead to the release of several metallic ions, including nickel ions in diverse oxidation states. To avoid metallic ion release in the body, the strategy behind this work was to develop a process aiming the complete isolation of the stainless steel device from the body fluids by a thin, cohesive and strongly adherent coating of RF-plasma-polymerized fluoropolymer. Nevertheless, prior to the polymer film deposition, an essential aspect was the development of a pre-treatment for the metallic substrate, based on the electrochemical polishing process, aiming the removal of any fragile interlayer, including the native oxide layer and the carbon contaminated layer, in order to obtain a smooth, defect-free surface to optimize the adhesion of the plasma-deposited thin film. In this work, the optimized parameters for electropolishing, such as the duration and the temperature of the electrolysis, and the complementary acid dipping were presented and accurately discussed. Their effects on roughness as well as on the evolution of surface topography were investigated by Atomic Force Microscopy, stylus profilometry and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The modifications induced on the surface atomic concentrations were studied by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. The improvements in terms of the surface morphology after the pre-treatment were also emphasized, as well as the influence of the original stainless steel surface finish.

  1. Biomaterial Studies on AISI 316L Stainless Steel after Magnetoelectropolishing

    PubMed Central

    Hryniewicz, Tadeusz; Rokosz, Krzysztof; Filippi, Massimiliano

    2009-01-01

    The polarisation characteristics of the electropolishing process in a magnetic field (MEP – magnetoelectropolishing), in comparison with those obtained under standard/conventional process (EP) conditions, have been obtained. The occurrence of an EP plateau has been observed in view of the optimization of MEP process. Up-to-date stainless steel surface studies always indicated some amount of free-metal atoms apart from the detected oxides and hydroxides. Such a morphology of the surface film usually affects the thermodynamic stability and corrosion resistance of surface oxide layer and is one of the most important features of stainless steels. With this new MEP process we can improve metal surface properties by making the stainless steel more resistant to halides encountered in a variety of environments. Furthermore, in this paper the stainless steel surface film study results have been presented. The results of the corrosion research carried out by the authors on the behaviour of the most commonly used material − medical grade AISI 316L stainless steel both in Ringer’s body fluid and in aqueous 3% NaCl solution have been investigated and presented earlier elsewhere, though some of these results, concerning the EIS Nyquist plots and polarization curves are also revealed herein. In this paper an attempt to explain this peculiar performance of 316L stainless steel has been undertaken. The SEM studies, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were performed on 316L samples after three treatments: MP – abrasive polishing (800 grit size), EP – conventional electrolytic polishing, and MEP – magnetoelectropolishing. It has been found that the proposed magnetoelectropolishing (MEP) process considerably modifies the morphology and the composition of the surface film, thus leading to improved corrosion resistance of the studied 316L SS.

  2. Impact of nitrogen doping of niobium superconducting cavities on the sensitivity of surface resistance to trapped magnetic flux

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gonnella, Dan; Kaufman, John; Liepe, Matthias

    2016-02-01

    Future particle accelerators such as the SLAC "Linac Coherent Light Source-II" (LCLS-II) and the proposed Cornell Energy Recovery Linac require hundreds of superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) niobium cavities operating in continuous wave mode. In order to achieve economic feasibility of projects such as these, the cavities must achieve a very high intrinsic quality factor (Q0) to keep cryogenic losses within feasible limits. To reach these high Q0's in the case of LCLS-II, nitrogen-doping of niobium cavities has been selected as the cavity preparation technique. When dealing with Q0's greater than 1 × 1010, the effects of ambient magnetic field on Q0 become significant. Here, we show that the sensitivity to RF losses from trapped magnetic field in a cavity's walls is strongly dependent on the cavity preparation. Specifically, standard electropolished and 120 °C baked cavities show a sensitivity of residual resistance from trapped magnetic flux of ˜0.6 and ˜0.8 nΩ/mG trapped, respectively, while nitrogen-doped cavities show a higher sensitivity of residual resistance from trapped magnetic flux of ˜1 to 5 nΩ/mG trapped. We show that this difference in sensitivities is directly related to the mean free path of the RF surface layer of the niobium: shorter mean free paths lead to less sensitivity of residual resistance to trapped magnetic flux in the dirty limit (ℓ ≪ ξ0), while longer mean free paths lead to lower sensitivity of residual resistance to trapped magnetic flux in the clean limit (ℓ ≫ ξ0). These experimental results are also shown to have good agreement with recent theoretical predictions for pinned vortex lines oscillating in RF fields.

  3. The effect of fatigue on the corrosion resistance of common medical alloys.

    PubMed

    Di Prima, Matthew; Gutierrez, Erick; Weaver, Jason D

    2017-10-01

    The effect of mechanical fatigue on the corrosion resistance of medical devices has been a concern for devices that experience significant fatigue during their lifespan and devices made from metallic alloys. The Food and Drug Administration had recommended in some instances for corrosion testing to be performed on post-fatigued devices [Non-clinical tests and recommended labeling for intravascular stents and associated delivery systems: guidance for industry and FDA staff. 2005: Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health], although the need for this has been debated [Nagaraja S, et al., J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 2016, 8.] This study seeks to evaluate the effect of fatigue on the corrosion resistance of 5 different materials commonly used in medical devices: 316 LVM stainless steel, MP35N cobalt chromium, electropolished nitinol, mechanically polished nitinol, and black oxide nitinol. Prior to corrosion testing per ASTM F2129, wires of each alloy were split into subgroups and subjected to either nothing (that is, as received); high strain fatigue for less than 8 min; short-term phosphate buffered saline (PBS) soak for less than 8 min; low strain fatigue for 8 days; or long-term PBS soak for 8 days. Results from corrosion testing showed that the rest potential trended to an equilibrium potential with increasing time in PBS and that there was no statistical (p > 0.05) difference in breakdown potential between the fatigued and matching PBS soak groups for 9 out of 10 test conditions. Our results suggest that under these nonfretting conditions, corrosion susceptibility as measured by breakdown potential per ASTM F2129 was unaffected by the fatigue condition. 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 2019-2026, 2017. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  4. Advanced morphological analysis of patterns of thin anodic porous alumina

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Toccafondi, C.; Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Department of Nanostructures, Via Morego 30, Genova I 16163; Stępniowski, W.J.

    2014-08-15

    Different conditions of fabrication of thin anodic porous alumina on glass substrates have been explored, obtaining two sets of samples with varying pore density and porosity, respectively. The patterns of pores have been imaged by high resolution scanning electron microscopy and analyzed by innovative methods. The regularity ratio has been extracted from radial profiles of the fast Fourier transforms of the images. Additionally, the Minkowski measures have been calculated. It was first observed that the regularity ratio averaged across all directions is properly corrected by the coefficient previously determined in the literature. Furthermore, the angularly averaged regularity ratio for themore » thin porous alumina made during short single-step anodizations is lower than that of hexagonal patterns of pores as for thick porous alumina from aluminum electropolishing and two-step anodization. Therefore, the regularity ratio represents a reliable measure of pattern order. At the same time, the lower angular spread of the regularity ratio shows that disordered porous alumina is more isotropic. Within each set, when changing either pore density or porosity, both regularity and isotropy remain rather constant, showing consistent fabrication quality of the experimental patterns. Minor deviations are tentatively discussed with the aid of the Minkowski measures, and the slight decrease in both regularity and isotropy for the final data-points of the porosity set is ascribed to excess pore opening and consequent pore merging. - Highlights: • Thin porous alumina is partly self-ordered and pattern analysis is required. • Regularity ratio is often misused: we fix the averaging and consider its spread. • We also apply the mathematical tool of Minkowski measures, new in this field. • Regularity ratio shows pattern isotropy and Minkowski helps in assessment. • General agreement with perfect artificial patterns confirms the good manufacturing.« less

  5. Machining of Molybdenum by EDM-EP and EDC Processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, K. L.; Chen, H. J.; Lee, H. M.; Lo, J. S.

    2017-12-01

    Molybdenum metal (Mo) can be machined with conventional tools and equipment, however, its refractory propertytends to chip when being machined. In this study, the nonconventional processes of electrical discharge machining (EDM) and electro-polishing (EP) have been conducted to investigate the machining of Mo metal and fabrication of Mo grid. Satisfactory surface quality was obtained using appropriate EDM parameters of Ip ≦ 3A and Ton < 80μs at a constant pulse interval of 100μs. The finished Mometal has accomplished by selecting appropriate EP parameters such as electrolyte flow rate of 0.42m/s under EP voltage of 50V and flush time of 20 sec to remove the recast layer and craters on the surface of Mo metal. The surface roughness of machined Mo metal can be improved from Ra of 0.93μm (Rmax = 8.51μm) to 0.23μm (Rmax = 1.48μm). Machined Mo metal surface, when used as grid component in electron gun, needs to be modified by coating materials with high work function, such as silicon carbide (SiC). The main purpose of this study is to explore the electrical discharge coating (EDC) process for coating the SiC layer on EDMed Mo metal. Experimental results proved that the appropriate parameters of Ip = 5A and Ton = 50μs at Toff = 10μs can obtain the deposit with about 60μm thickness. The major phase of deposit on machined Mo surface was SiC ceramic, while the minor phases included MoSi2 and/or SiO2 with the presence of free Si due to improper discharging parameters and the use of silicone oil as the dielectric fluid.

  6. Methyl bromide as a building disinfectant: interaction with indoor materials and resulting byproduct formation.

    PubMed

    Corsi, Richard L; Walker, Matthew B; Liljestrand, Howard M; Hubbard, Heidi F; Poppendieck, Dustin G

    2007-05-01

    Several buildings were contaminated with Bacillus anthracis in the fall of 2001. These events required consideration of how to disinfect large indoor spaces for continued worker occupation. The interactions of gaseous disinfectants with indoor materials may inhibit the disinfection process, cause persistence of the disinfectant, and lead to possible byproduct formation and persistence. Methyl bromide (CH3Br) is a candidate for disinfection/deactivation of biological agents in buildings. In this study, 24 indoor materials were exposed to CH3Br for 16 hr at concentrations ranging from 100 to 2500 ppm in 48-L electropolished stainless steel chambers. CH3Br concentrations were measured during and after disinfection. Its interactions with materials were observed to be small, with nearly complete and rapid desorption. Between 3% and 8% of CH3Br adsorbed to four materials (office partition, ceiling tile, particle-board, and gypsum wallboard with satin paint), and the degree of adsorption decreased with increasing relative humidity. The percentage of adsorption to all other materials was <2%. This result suggests that when designing disinfection events with CH3Br, loss to indoor materials can be neglected in terms of disinfectant dose calculations. Possible reaction products were identified and/or quantified before and after exposure to CH3Br. Several monomethylated and dimethylated aliphatic compounds were observed in chamber air at low concentrations after the exposures of six materials to CH3Br. Concentration increases also occurred for chemicals that were observed to naturally off-gas from materials before exposure to CH3Br, suggesting that CH3Br may play a role in enhancing the natural off-gassing of chemicals, for example, by competitive displacement of compounds that already existed in the materials. The results described in this paper should facilitate the design of building disinfection systems involving CH3Br.

  7. Localized deformation in Ni-Mn-Ga single crystals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davis, Paul H.; Efaw, Corey M.; Patten, Lance K.; Hollar, Courtney; Watson, Chad S.; Knowlton, William B.; Müllner, Peter

    2018-06-01

    The magnetomechanical behavior of ferromagnetic shape memory alloys such as Ni-Mn-Ga, and hence the relationship between structure and nanoscale magnetomechanical properties, is of interest for their potential applications in actuators. Furthermore, due to its crystal structure, the behavior of Ni-Mn-Ga is anisotropic. Accordingly, nanoindentation and magnetic force microscopy were used to probe the nanoscale mechanical and magnetic properties of electropolished single crystalline 10M martensitic Ni-Mn-Ga as a function of the crystallographic c-axis (easy magnetization) direction relative to the indentation surface (i.e., c-axis in-plane versus out-of-plane). Load-displacement curves from 5-10 mN indentations on in-plane regions exhibited pop-in during loading, whereas this phenomenon was absent in out-of-plane regions. Additionally, the reduced elastic modulus measured for the c-axis out-of-plane orientation was ˜50% greater than for in-plane. Although heating above the transition temperature to the austenitic phase followed by cooling to the room temperature martensitic phase led to partial recovery of the indentation deformation, the magnitude and direction of recovery depended on the original relative orientation of the crystallographic c-axis: positive recovery for the in-plane orientation versus negative recovery (i.e., increased indent depth) for out-of-plane. Moreover, the c-axis orientation for out-of-plane regions switched to in-plane upon thermal cycling, whereas the number of twins in the in-plane regions increased. We hypothesize that dislocation plasticity contributes to the permanent deformation, while pseudoelastic twinning causes pop-in during loading and large recovery during unloading in the c-axis in-plane case. Minimization of indent strain energy accounts for the observed changes in twin orientation and number following thermal cycling.

  8. Design, Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Graphene-Based Nanoarchitectures for Sustainability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bay, Hamed Hosseini

    The unique structure and properties of graphene initiated broad fundamental and technological research in recent years, and highlighted graphene as an alternative for various applications such as energy storage and nanoelectronics. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of graphene on copper is believed to be the most promising method for large-scale synthesis of continuous sheets. The exceptional properties of graphene however, are governed by its microstructure. The size of graphene grains and the grain boundaries affect the carrier mobility. Therefore understanding the formation mechanism of graphene is critical to control the microstructure and physical properties. We implemented Fluorescence Quenching Microscopy (FQM) in conjunction with other methods to understand a trend which is pertinent in large-scale. In order to investigate the nucleation and growth mechanism of graphene on copper and its subsequent microstructure, effect of key parameters such as density of defects in copper foils and growth pressure in the CVD chamber have been altered. Results point out that microstructure of copper regulates the structure and properties of graphene and heat treatment and electropolishing of the foil substrates as well as controlling the saturation pressure of the carbon precursor yield to large graphene domains. Water decontamination and oil/water separation are principal motives in the surge to develop novel means for sustainability. In this prospect, supplying clean water for the ecosystems is as important as the recovery of the oil spills since the supplies are scarce. Inspired to design an engineering material which not only serves this purpose, but can also be altered for other applications to preserve natural resources, a facile template-free process is suggested to fabricate a superporous, superhydrophobic graphene-based sponge. Moreover, the process is designed to be inexpensive and scalable. The fabricated sponge can be used to clean up different types of oil

  9. A new laboratory facility to study the interactions of aerosols, cloud droplets/ice crystals, and trace gases in a turbulent environment: The Π Chamber

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cantrell, W. H., II; Chang, K.; Ciochetto, D.; Niedermeier, D.; Bench, J.; Shaw, R. A.

    2014-12-01

    A detailed understanding of gas-aerosol-cloud interaction within the turbulent atmosphere is of prime importance for an accurate understanding of Earth's climate system. As one example: While every cloud droplet began as an aerosol particle, not every aerosol particle becomes a cloud droplet. The particle to droplet transformation requires that the particle be exposed to some critical concentration of water vapor, which differs for different combinations of particle size and chemical composition. Similarly, the formation of ice particles in mixed phase clouds is also catalyzed by aerosol particles. Even in the simplest scenarios it is challenging to gain a full understanding of the aerosol activation and ice nucleation processes. At least two other factors contribute significantly to the complexity observed in the atmosphere. First, aerosols and cloud particles are not static entities, but are continuously interacting with their chemical environment, and therefore changing in their properties. Second, clouds are ubiquitously turbulent, so thermodynamic and compositional variables, such as water vapor or other trace gas concentrations, fluctuate in space and time. Indeed, the coupling between turbulence and microphysical processes is one of the major research challenges in cloud physics. We have developed a multiphase, turbulent reaction chamber, (dubbed the Π Chamber, after the internal volume of 3.14 cubic meters) designed to address the problems outlined above. It is capable of pressures ranging from sea level to ~ 100 mbar, and can sustain temperatures of +40 to -55 ºC. We can independently control the temperatures on the surfaces of three heat transfer zones. This allows us to establish a temperature gradient between the floor and ceiling inducing Rayleigh-Benard convection and inducing a turbulent environment. Interior surfaces are electropolished stainless steel to facilitate cleaning before and after chemistry experiments. At present, supporting

  10. Measurements of CO2 Mole Fractionand δ13C in Archived Air Samples from Cape Meares, Oregon (USA) 1977 - 1998

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Clark, O.; Rice, A. L.

    2017-12-01

    Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most abundant, anthropogenically forced greenhouse gas (GHG) in the global atmosphere. Emissions of CO2 account for approximately 75% of the world's total GHG emissions. Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 are higher now than they've been at any other time in the past 800,000 years. Currently, the global mean concentration exceeds 400 ppm. Today, global networks regularly monitor CO2 concentrations and isotopic composition (δ13C and δ18O). However, past data is sparse. Over 200 ambient air samples from Cape Meares, Oregon (45.5°N, 124.0°W), a coastal site in Western United States, were obtained by researchers at Oregon Institute of Science and Technology (OGI, now Oregon Health & Science University), between the years of 1977 and 1998 as part of a global monitoring program of six different sites in the polar, middle, and tropical latitudes of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Air liquefaction was used to compress approximately 1000L of air (STP) to 30bar, into 33L electropolished (SUMMA) stainless steel canisters. Select archived air samples from the original network are maintained at Portland State University (PSU) Department of Physics. These archived samples are a valuable look at changing atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and δ13C, which can contribute to a better understanding of changes in sources during this time. CO2 concentrations and δ13C of CO2 were measured at PSU, with a Picarro Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer, model G1101-i analytical system. This study presents the analytical methods used, calibration techniques, precision, and reproducibility. Measurements of select samples from the archive show rising CO2 concentrations and falling δ13C over the 1977 to 1998 period, compatible with previous observations and rising anthropogenic sources of CO2. The resulting data set was statistically analyzed in MATLAB. Results of preliminary seasonal and secular trends from the archive samples are presented.

  11. Characterization of porous nickel-titanium alloys for medical applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hernandez Tenorio, Rommy

    the materials in the range of 310--3990 A. The evaluation of the corrosion resistance of the four porous NiTi alloys showed a correlation between the chemical composition, pore size and the electrochemical behaviour. In particular it was found that the corrosion resistance is related to the surface chemical composition of the electrodes rather than to their surface morphology. First we observed that the impact of the annealing process varies with the type of sample. The non-treated samples showed higher breakdown potentials and also bigger pores. The materials with a pore size in the range of 80-120mum showed different behaviours, one material (B) showed no visible effect while the other two (A and C) exhibited a decrease of the breakdown potential value. The material with the smallest pore size 35-50mum showed an important improvement after the heat treatment. Therefore, we can conclude, that the surface treatment used in our investigations led to an improvement of the corrosion resistance for small pores whereas a decrease was observed for bigger pores. On the other hand the lower corrosion rates observed on treated samples are an indication of the high corrosion resistance compare to those non-treated. In this case we observed that the one material (B) exhibited the highest corrosion rate presented a difference in the chemical composition as shown by XPS analysis. Moreover, the absence of intermediate titanium oxides (Ti2+ and Ti3+) was observed. As these oxides were identified in the other materials (A, C and D) we conclude that the presence of intermediate titanium oxides on surface chemical composition of the samples results on better corrosion rates and improved corrosion resistance. The Spectroelectrochemistry evaluation showed that solid electropolished sample and solid mechanopolished samples exhibited a better corrosion resistance than porous mechanopolished samples. However the solid mechanopolished sample exhibits a higher corrosion rate almost as high as

  12. Impacts of Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Production on Regional Air Quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Swarthout, R.; Russo, R. S.; Zhou, Y.; Mitchell, B.; Miller, B.; Lipsky, E. M.; Sive, B. C.

    2012-12-01

    Natural gas is a clean burning alternative to other fossil fuels, producing lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions during combustion. Gas deposits located within shale rock or tight sand formations are difficult to access using conventional drilling techniques. However, horizontal drilling coupled with hydraulic fracturing is now widely used to enhance natural gas extraction. Potential environmental impacts of these practices are currently being assessed because of the rapid expansion of natural gas production in the U.S. Natural gas production has contributed to the deterioration of air quality in several regions, such as in Wyoming and Utah, that were near or downwind of natural gas basins. We conducted a field campaign in southwestern Pennsylvania on 16-18 June 2012 to investigate the impact of gas production operations in the Marcellus Shale on regional air quality. A total of 235 whole air samples were collected in 2-liter electropolished stainless- steel canisters throughout southwestern Pennsylvania in a regular grid pattern that covered an area of approximately 8500 square km. Day and night samples were collected at each grid point and additional samples were collected near active wells, flaring wells, fluid retention reservoirs, transmission pipelines, and a processing plant to assess the influence of different stages of the gas production operation on emissions. The samples were analyzed at Appalachian State University for methane (CH4), CO2, C2-C10 nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), C1-C2 halocarbons, C1-C5 alkyl nitrates and selected reduced sulfur compounds. In-situ measurements of ozone (O3), CH4, CO2, nitric oxide (NO), total reactive nitrogen (NOy), formaldehyde (HCHO), and a range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were carried out at an upwind site and a site near active gas wells using a mobile lab. Emissions associated with gas production were observed throughout the study region. Elevated mixing ratios of CH4 and CO2 were observed in the

  13. Effects of Cyclic Loading on the Uniaxial Behavior of Nitinol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schlun, M.; Zipse, A.; Dreher, G.; Rebelo, N.

    2011-07-01

    The widespread development and use of implants made from NiTi is accompanied by the publication of many NiTi material characterization studies. These publications have increased significantly the knowledge about the mechanical properties of NiTi. However, this knowledge also increased the complexity of the numerical simulation of NiTi implants or devices. This study is focused on the uniaxial behavior of NiTi tubing due to cyclic loading and had the goal to deliver both precise and application-oriented results. Single aspects of this study have already been published (Wagner in Ein Beitrag zur strukturellen und funktionalen Ermüdung von Drähten und Federn aus NiTi-Formgedaechtnislegierungen, Ph.D. Thesis, 2005; Eucken and Duerig in Acta Metall 37:2245-2252, 1989; Yawny et al. in Z Metallkd 96:608-618, 2005); however, there is no publication known that shows all the single effects combined in a "duty cycle case." It was of particular importance to summarize the main effects of pre-strain and subsequent small or large strain amplitudes on the material properties. The phenomena observed were captured in an extended Abaqus® Nitinol material model, presented by Rebelo et al. (A Material Model for the Cyclic Behavior of Nitinol, SMST Extended Abstracts 2010). The cyclic tensile tests were performed using a video extensometer to obtain accurate strain measurement on small electro-polished dog-bone specimen that were incorporated into a stent framework so that standard manufacturing methods could be used for the fabrication. This study indicates that a prestrain beyond 6% strain alters the transformation plateaus and if the cyclic displacement amplitude is large enough, additional permanent deformations are observed, the lower plateau and most notably the upper plateau change. The changes to the upper plateau are very interesting in the sense that an additional stress plateau develops: its "start stress" is lowered thereby creating a new plateau up to the highest level

  14. Experimental Investigation of the Role of Ions in Aerosol Nucleation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pedersen, J. P.; Enghoff, M. B.; Bondo, T.; Johnson, M. S.; Paling, S.; Svensmark, H.

    2008-12-01

    The role of ions in producing aerosols in Earth's atmosphere is an area of very active research. Atmospheric (Clarke et al. 1998) and experimental (Berndt et al. 2005) observations have shown that the nucleation of aerosol particles can occur under conditions that cannot be explained by classical nucleation theory. Several ideas have been put forward to solve this nucleation problem, e.g. Ion-Induced Nucleation and Ternary Nucleation. Experimental investigations exploring the role of ions in particle production are scarce, and often at conditions far removed from those relevant for the lower part of the atmosphere (Bricard et al. 1968). Recent experimental work (Svensmark et al. 2007) demonstrated that ions, produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere, are likely to play an important role in the production of new aerosol particles. The mechanism whereby energetic cosmic rays can promote the production of cloud condensation nuclei at low altitudes constitutes a link between cosmic rays and Earth's climate and there is thus a need to corroborate the results in a different experiment. The present results are obtained in the same laboratory, but using a new setup The experiments were conducted in a 50 L cylindrical reaction chamber made of electropolished stainless steel. Aerosols were grown using photochemically produced sulphuric acid and ionization levels were controlled with a Cs-137 gamma-source. An increase in nucleation was observed when the chamber was exposed to the radioactive source. The results were analyzed using a model based on the General Dynamic Equation and the analysis revealed that Ion Induced Nucleation is the most likely mechanism for the observed nucleation increases and thus confirm the previous results. Berndt, T, Böge, O., Stratmann, F., Heintzenberg, J. & Kulmala, M. (2005), Science, 307, 698--700 Bricard, J., Billard, F. & Madelaine, G. (1968), J. Geophys. Res. 73, 4487--4496 Clarke, A.D., Davis, D., Kapustin, V. N. Eisele, F. Chen, G. Paluch

  15. An Improved, Automated Whole-Air Sampler and VOC Analysis System: Results from SONGNEX 2015

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lerner, B. M.; Gilman, J.; Tokarek, T. W.; Peischl, J.; Koss, A.; Yuan, B.; Warneke, C.; Isaacman-VanWertz, G. A.; Sueper, D.; De Gouw, J. A.; Aikin, K. C.

    2015-12-01

    Accurate measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the troposphere is critical for the understanding of emissions and physical and chemical processes that can impact both air quality and climate. Airborne VOC measurements have proven challenging due to the requirements of short sample collection times (=10 s) to maximize spatial resolution and sampling frequency and high sensitivity (pptv) to chemically diverse hydrocarbons, halocarbons, oxygen- and nitrogen-containing VOCs. NOAA ESRL CSD has built an improved whole air sampler (iWAS) which collects compressed ambient air samples in electropolished stainless steel canisters, based on the NCAR HAIS Advanced Whole Air Sampler [Atlas and Blake]. Post-flight chemical analysis is performed with a custom-built gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer system that pre-concentrates analyte cryostatically via a Stirling cooler, an electromechanical chiller which precludes the need for liquid nitrogen to reach trapping temperatures. For the 2015 Shale Oil and Natural Gas Nexus Study (SONGNEX), CSD conducted iWAS measurements on 19 flights aboard the NOAA WP-3D aircraft between March 19th and April 27th. Nine oil and natural gas production regions were surveyed during SONGNEX and more than 1500 air samples were collected and analyzed. For the first time, we employed real-time mapping of sample collection combined with live data from fast time-response measurements (e.g. ethane) for more uniform surveying and improved target plume sampling. Automated sample handling allowed for more than 90% of iWAS canisters to be analyzed within 96 hours of collection - for the second half of the campaign improved efficiencies reduced the median sample age at analysis to 36 hours. A new chromatography peak-fitting software package was developed to minimize data reduction time by an order of magnitude without a loss of precision or accuracy. Here we report mixing ratios for aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons (C2-C8) along with select

  16. Fabrication of a novel biosensor for macromolecules detection through molecular imprinting technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Yingjie

    There is an increasing need for precise molecular detection as a diagnostic tool for early identification of diseases, pathogens, and abnormal protein levels in the body. Typical chemical analytical methods are generally costly, unstable, and time-consuming. Molecular imprinting (MI) technique, based on the "lock and key model", could be a simple method to overcome those shortcomings. In this study, a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was employed as a platform to fabricate MI biosensor for detection of macromolecules. I demonstrated that, when the monolayer was formed on a rough surface, this method was in fact templating molecules in three dimensions, and hence was not limited by the height of the monolayer, but rather by the height of the roughness. This hypothesis was tested on biomolecules of multiple length scales. The SAM is assembled on the walls of the niche, forming a 3D pattern of the analyte uniquely molded to its contour. The surfaces with multi-scale roughness were prepared by evaporation of gold onto electropolished (smooth) and unpolished (rough) Si wafers, where the native roughness was found to have a normal distribution centered around 5 and 90 nm respectively. Our studies, using molecules, such as proteins, i.e., hemoglobin, ranging from a few nanometers, to viruses (i.e. polio, adenovirus), ranging from several tens of nanometers, and protein complexes ranging from several hundred nanometers, showed that when the size of the analyte matched the roughness of the gold surface, this method was very effective and could detect even small changes in the configuration, such as those induced by changes in the pH of the system. The detection method was further quantified by applying it to the detection of CEA in pancreatic cyst fluid obtained from 18 patients under IRB 95867-6. The results of the MI biosensor were directly compared with those obtained using ELISA in the hospital pathology laboratory with excellent agreement, except that the MI biosensor

  17. Surface polishing of niobium for superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavity applications

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhao, Liang

    2014-08-01

    Niobium cavities are important components in modern particle accelerators based on superconducting radio frequency (SRF) technology. The interior of SRF cavities are cleaned and polished in order to produce high accelerating field and low power dissipation on the cavity wall. Current polishing methods, buffered chemical polishing (BCP) and electro-polishing (EP), have their advantages and limitations. We seek to improve current methods and explore laser polishing (LP) as a greener alternative of chemical methods. The topography and removal rate of BCP at different conditions (duration, temperature, sample orientation, flow rate) was studied with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electronmore » backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Differential etching on different crystal orientations is the main contributor to fine grain niobium BCP topography, with gas evolution playing a secondary role. The surface of single crystal and bi-crystal niobium is smooth even after heavy BCP. The topography of fine grain niobium depends on total removal. The removal rate increases with temperature and surface acid flow rate within the rage of 0~20 °C, with chemical reaction being the possible dominate rate control mechanism. Surface flow helps to regulate temperature and avoid gas accumulation on the surface. The effect of surface flow rate on niobium EP was studied with optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and power spectral density (PSD) analysis. Within the range of 0~3.7 cm/s, no significant difference was found on the removal rate and the macro roughness. Possible improvement on the micro roughness with increased surface flow rate was observed. The effect of fluence and pulse accumulation on niobium topography during LP was studied with optical microscopy, SEM, AFM, and PSD analysis. Polishing on micro scale was achieved within fluence range of 0.57~0.90 J/cm2, with pulse accumulation adjusted accordingly. Larger area treatment was proved

  18. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Singer, W.; Singer, X.; Jelezov, I.

    Activities of the past several years in developing the technique of forming seamless (weldless) cavity cells by hydroforming are summarized. An overview of the technique developed at DESY for the fabrication of single cells and multicells of the TESLA cavity shape is given and the major rf results are presented. The forming is performed by expanding a seamless tube with internal water pressure while simultaneously swaging it axially. Prior to the expansion the tube is necked at the iris area and at the ends. Tube radii and axial displacements are computer controlled during the forming process in accordance with resultsmore » of finite element method simulations for necking and expansion using the experimentally obtained strain-stress relationship of tube material. In cooperation with industry different methods of niobium seamless tube production have been explored. The most appropriate and successful method is a combination of spinning or deep drawing with flow forming. Several single-cell niobium cavities of the 1.3 GHz TESLA shape were produced by hydroforming. They reached accelerating gradients E acc up to 35 MV/m after buffered chemical polishing (BCP) and up to 42 MV/m after electropolishing (EP). More recent work concentrated on fabrication and testing of multicell and nine-cell cavities. Several seamless two- and three-cell units were explored. Accelerating gradients E acc of 30–35 MV/m were measured after BCP and E acc up to 40 MV/m were reached after EP. Nine-cell niobium cavities combining three three-cell units were completed at the company E. Zanon. These cavities reached accelerating gradients of E acc = 30–35 MV/m. One cavity is successfully integrated in an XFEL cryomodule and is used in the operation of the FLASH linear accelerator at DESY. Additionally the fabrication of bimetallic single-cell and multicell NbCu cavities by hydroforming was successfully developed. Several NbCu clad single-cell and double-cell cavities of the TESLA shape have

  19. Hydroforming of elliptical cavities

    DOE PAGES

    Singer, W.; Singer, X.; Jelezov, I.; ...

    2015-02-27

    Activities of the past several years in developing the technique of forming seamless (weldless) cavity cells by hydroforming are summarized. An overview of the technique developed at DESY for the fabrication of single cells and multicells of the TESLA cavity shape is given and the major rf results are presented. The forming is performed by expanding a seamless tube with internal water pressure while simultaneously swaging it axially. Prior to the expansion the tube is necked at the iris area and at the ends. Tube radii and axial displacements are computer controlled during the forming process in accordance with resultsmore » of finite element method simulations for necking and expansion using the experimentally obtained strain-stress relationship of tube material. In cooperation with industry different methods of niobium seamless tube production have been explored. The most appropriate and successful method is a combination of spinning or deep drawing with flow forming. Several single-cell niobium cavities of the 1.3 GHz TESLA shape were produced by hydroforming. They reached accelerating gradients E acc up to 35 MV/m after buffered chemical polishing (BCP) and up to 42 MV/m after electropolishing (EP). More recent work concentrated on fabrication and testing of multicell and nine-cell cavities. Several seamless two- and three-cell units were explored. Accelerating gradients E acc of 30–35 MV/m were measured after BCP and E acc up to 40 MV/m were reached after EP. Nine-cell niobium cavities combining three three-cell units were completed at the company E. Zanon. These cavities reached accelerating gradients of E acc = 30–35 MV/m. One cavity is successfully integrated in an XFEL cryomodule and is used in the operation of the FLASH linear accelerator at DESY. Additionally the fabrication of bimetallic single-cell and multicell NbCu cavities by hydroforming was successfully developed. Several NbCu clad single-cell and double-cell cavities of the TESLA shape have

  20. 2G HTS wires made on 30 μm thick Hastelloy substrate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sundaram, A.; Zhang, Y.; Knoll, A. R.; Abraimov, D.; Brownsey, P.; Kasahara, M.; Carota, G. M.; Nakasaki, R.; Cameron, J. B.; Schwab, G.; Hope, L. V.; Schmidt, R. M.; Kuraseko, H.; Fukushima, T.; Hazelton, D. W.

    2016-10-01

    REBCO (RE = rare earth) based high temperature superconducting (HTS) wires are now being utilized for the development of electric and electromagnetic devices for various industrial, scientific and medical applications. In the last several years, the increasing efforts in using the so-called second generation (2G) HTS wires for some of the applications require a further increase in their engineering current density (J e). The applications are those typically related to high magnetic fields where the higher J e of a REBCO wire, in addition to its higher irreversibility fields and higher mechanical strength, is already a major advantage over other superconducting wires. An effective way to increase the J e is to decrease the total thickness of a wire, for which using a thinner substrate becomes an obvious and attractive approach. By using our IBAD-MOCVD (ion beam assisted deposition-metal organic chemical vapor deposition) technology we have successfully made 2G HTS wires using a Hastelloy® C276 substrate that is only 30 μm in thickness. By using this thinner substrate instead of the typical 50 μm thick substrate and with a same critical current (I c), the J e of a wire can be increased by 30% to 45% depending on the copper stabilizer thickness. In this paper, we report the fabrication and characterization of the 2G HTS wires made on the 30 μm thick Hastelloy® C276 substrate. It was shown that with the optimization in the processing protocol, the surface of the thinner Hastelloy® C276 substrate can be readily electropolished to the quality needed for the deposition of the buffer stack. Same in the architecture as that on the standard 50 μm thick substrate, the buffer stack made on the 30 μm thick substrate showed an in-plane texture with a Δϕ of around 6.7° in the LaMnO3 cap layer. Low-temperature in-field transport measurement results suggest that the wires on the thinner substrate had achieved equivalent superconducting performance, most importantly the I

  1. Hydroforming of elliptical cavities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singer, W.; Singer, X.; Jelezov, I.; Kneisel, P.

    2015-02-01

    Activities of the past several years in developing the technique of forming seamless (weldless) cavity cells by hydroforming are summarized. An overview of the technique developed at DESY for the fabrication of single cells and multicells of the TESLA cavity shape is given and the major rf results are presented. The forming is performed by expanding a seamless tube with internal water pressure while simultaneously swaging it axially. Prior to the expansion the tube is necked at the iris area and at the ends. Tube radii and axial displacements are computer controlled during the forming process in accordance with results of finite element method simulations for necking and expansion using the experimentally obtained strain-stress relationship of tube material. In cooperation with industry different methods of niobium seamless tube production have been explored. The most appropriate and successful method is a combination of spinning or deep drawing with flow forming. Several single-cell niobium cavities of the 1.3 GHz TESLA shape were produced by hydroforming. They reached accelerating gradients Eacc up to 35 MV /m after buffered chemical polishing (BCP) and up to 42 MV /m after electropolishing (EP). More recent work concentrated on fabrication and testing of multicell and nine-cell cavities. Several seamless two- and three-cell units were explored. Accelerating gradients Eacc of 30 - 35 MV /m were measured after BCP and Eacc up to 40 MV /m were reached after EP. Nine-cell niobium cavities combining three three-cell units were completed at the company E. Zanon. These cavities reached accelerating gradients of Eacc=30 - 35 MV /m . One cavity is successfully integrated in an XFEL cryomodule and is used in the operation of the FLASH linear accelerator at DESY. Additionally the fabrication of bimetallic single-cell and multicell NbCu cavities by hydroforming was successfully developed. Several NbCu clad single-cell and double-cell cavities of the TESLA shape have been

  2. Response of Cloud Condensation Nuclei (> 50 nm) to changes in ion-nucleation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pedersen, J. O.; Enghoff, M. B.; Svensmark, H.

    2012-12-01

    The role of ionization in the formation of clouds and aerosols has been debated for many years. A body of evidence exists that correlates cloud properties to galactic cosmic ray ionization; however these results are still contested. In recent years experimental evidence has also been produced showing that ionization can promote the nucleation of small aerosols at atmospheric conditions. The experiments showed that an increase in ionization leads to an increase in the formation of ultrafine aerosols (~3 nm), but in the real atmosphere such small particles have to grow by coagulation and condensation to become cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in order to have an effect on clouds. However, numerical studies predict that variations in the count of ultra-fine aerosols will lead only to an insignificant change in the count of CCN. This is due to 1) the competition between the additional ultra-fine aerosols for the limited supply of condensable gases leading to a slower growth and 2) the increased loss rates of the additional particles during the longer growth-time. We investigated the growth of aerosols to CCN sizes using an 8 m3 reaction chamber made from electro-polished stainless steel. One side was fitted with a Teflon foil to allow ultraviolet light to illuminate the chamber, which was continuously flushed with dry purified air. Variable concentrations of water vapor, ozone, and sulfur dioxide could be added to the chamber. UV-lamps initiated photochemistry producing sulfuric acid. Ionization could be enhanced with two Cs-137 gamma sources (30 MBq), mounted on each side of the chamber. Figure 1 shows the evolution of the aerosols, following a nucleation event induced by the gamma sources. Previous to the event the aerosols were in steady state. Each curve represents a size bin: 3-10 nm (dark purple), 10-20 nm (purple), 20-30 nm (blue), 30-40 nm (light blue), 40-50 nm (green), 50-60 nm (yellow), and 60-68 nm (red). Black curves show a ~1 hour smoothing. The initial

  3. Carbon and Aerosol Emissions from Biomass Fires in Mexico

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hao, W. M.; Flores Garnica, G.; Baker, S. P.; Urbanski, S. P.

    2009-12-01

    system contains 4 electro-polished stainless steel canisters to sample trace gas emissions, with a corresponding set of Teflon filters in the sampling ports to collect PM2.5 particulates. In addition, biomass burning was sampled by aircraft with canisters and real-time instruments as part of the MILAGRO field campaign. We present the emission factors of CO2, CO, CH4, C2-C4 compounds, and PM2.5 for prescribed fires of the major vegetation types in Mexico, as well as for regional wildfires in southern and central Mexico. We will also present a high-resolution vegetation map in Mexico based on the Landsat satellites and the fuel consumption models for various components and sizes of fuels.

  4. A range of newly developed mobile generators to dynamically produce SI-traceable reference gas mixtures for reactive compounds at atmospheric concentrations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leuenberger, Daiana; Pascale, Céline; Guillevic, Myriam; Ackermann, Andreas; Niederhauser, Bernhard

    2017-04-01

    adsorption/desorption processes and thus stabilisation time, all electro-polished stainless steel parts of ReGaS1 and ReGaS2 in contact with the reference gas mixtures are passivated with SilcoNert2000® surface coating. These three state-of-the-art mobile reference gas generators are applicable under both, laboratory and field conditions. Moreover the dynamic generation method can be adapted and applied to a large variety of molecules (e.g. BTEX, CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs and other refrigerants) and is particularly suitable for reactive gas species and/or at concentration ranges which are unstable when stored in pressurised cylinders. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP). The EMRP is jointly funded by the EMRP participating countries within EURAMET and the European Union

  5. Structure-composition-property relationships in 5xxx series aluminum alloys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Unocic, Kinga A.

    Al-Mg alloys are well suited for marine applications due to their low density, ease of fabrication, structural durability, and most notably resistance to corrosion. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of alloying additions, mechanical processing and heat treatments on the development of grain boundary phases that have an effect on intergranular corrosion (IGC). Cu, Zn, and Si modified compositions of AA5083 were produced that were subjected to a low and high degree of cold work and various heat treatments. ASTM G67 (NAMLT) intergranular corrosion testing and detailed microstructural characterization for various alloys was carried out. An optimal composition and processing condition that yielded the best intergranular corrosion resistant material was identified based on the ASTM G67 test screening. Further, the outstanding modified AA5083 was selected for further microstructural analysis. This particular alloy with has a magnesium level high enough to make it susceptible to intergranular corrosion is very resistant to IGC. It was found that development of the appropriate sub-structure with some Cu, Si and Zn resulted in a material very resistant to IGC. Formation of many sinks, provided by sub-boundaries, within microstructure is very beneficial since it produces a relatively uniform distribution of Mg in the grain interiors, and this can suppress sensitization of this alloy very successfully. This is a very promising rote for the production of high-strength, and corrosion resistant aluminum alloys. Additionally in this study, TEM sample preparation become very crucial step in grain boundary phase investigation. Focus Ion Beam (FIB) milling was used as a primary TEM sample preparation technique because it enables to extract the samples from desired and very specific locations without dissolving grain boundary phases as it was in conventional electropolishing method. However, other issues specifically relevant to FIB milling of aluminum alloys

  6. Preparation of Regular Specimens for Atom Probes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kuhlman, Kim; Wishard, James

    2003-01-01

    A method of preparation of specimens of non-electropolishable materials for analysis by atom probes is being developed as a superior alternative to a prior method. In comparison with the prior method, the present method involves less processing time. Also, whereas the prior method yields irregularly shaped and sized specimens, the present developmental method offers the potential to prepare specimens of regular shape and size. The prior method is called the method of sharp shards because it involves crushing the material of interest and selecting microscopic sharp shards of the material for use as specimens. Each selected shard is oriented with its sharp tip facing away from the tip of a stainless-steel pin and is glued to the tip of the pin by use of silver epoxy. Then the shard is milled by use of a focused ion beam (FIB) to make the shard very thin (relative to its length) and to make its tip sharp enough for atom-probe analysis. The method of sharp shards is extremely time-consuming because the selection of shards must be performed with the help of a microscope, the shards must be positioned on the pins by use of micromanipulators, and the irregularity of size and shape necessitates many hours of FIB milling to sharpen each shard. In the present method, a flat slab of the material of interest (e.g., a polished sample of rock or a coated semiconductor wafer) is mounted in the sample holder of a dicing saw of the type conventionally used to cut individual integrated circuits out of the wafers on which they are fabricated in batches. A saw blade appropriate to the material of interest is selected. The depth of cut and the distance between successive parallel cuts is made such that what is left after the cuts is a series of thin, parallel ridges on a solid base. Then the workpiece is rotated 90 and the pattern of cuts is repeated, leaving behind a square array of square posts on the solid base. The posts can be made regular, long, and thin, as required for samples

  7. Atmospheric CO2 Records from Sites in the Main Geophysical Observatory Air Sampling Network (1983 - 1993)

    DOE Data Explorer

    Brounshtein, A. M. [Main Geophysical Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia; Shaskov, A. A. [Main Geophysical Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia; Paramonova, N. N. [Main Geophysical Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia; Privalov, V. I. [Main Geophysical Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia; Starodubtsev, Y. A. [Main Geophysical Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia

    1997-01-01

    Air samples were collected from five sites in the Main Geophysical Observatory air sampling network to monitor the atmospheric CO2 from 1983 - 1993. Airwas collected generally four times per month in pairs of 1.5-L stainless steel electropolished flasks with one greaseless stainless steel stopcock. Sampling was performed by opening the stopcock of the flasks, which have been evacuated at the central laboratory at the Main Geophysical Observatory (MGO). The air was not dried during sample collection. Attempts were made to obtain samples when the wind speed was >5 m/s and the wind direction corresponded to the predetermined "clean air" sector. The period of record at Bering Island is too short to identify any long-term trends in atmospheric CO2 concentrations; however, the yearly mean atmospheric CO2 concentration at Bering Island rose from approximately 346 parts per million by volume (ppmv) in 1986 to 362.6 ppmv in 1993. Measurements from this station are considered indicative of maritime air masses. The period of record at Kotelny Island is too short to identify any long-term trends in atmospheric CO2 concentrations; however, the yearly mean atmospheric CO2 concentration at Kotelny Island rose from 356.08 parts per million by volume (ppmv) in 1988 to 358.8 ppmv in 1993. Because Kotelny Island is the northernmost Russian sampling site, measurements from this site serve as a useful comparison to other northern sites (e.g., Alert, Northwest Territories). In late 1989, air sampling began at the Russian site of Kyzylcha, located in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Unfortunately, the desert site at Kyzylcha has been out of operation since mid-1991 due to financial difficulties in Russia. The annual mean value of 359.02 parts per million by volume (ppmv) for 1990, the lone full year of operation, is higher than measurements from other monitoring programs at this latitude [e.g., Niwot Ridge (354.7 ppmv in 1990) and Tae-ahn Peninsula]. Station "C," an open ocean site, in the

  8. Biomagnetics and Cell-Based Biochips

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ingber, Donald

    2005-03-01

    This presentation will review various micro- and nanotechnologies that we have developed over the past decade in our efforts to manipulate and probe living cells. In early studies, we used magnetic micro-particles to apply controlled mechanical forces to surface membrane receptors. We did this to probe cellular mechanical properties, and to investigate the molecular basis of mechanotransduction -- how mechanical forces are transduced into changes in intracellular biochemistry. The magnetic beads were coated with ligands for adhesion receptors, such as synthetic RGD (arginine-glycine-aspartate) peptides or antibodies that bind to membrane integrin receptors. Controlled twisting (torque) or pulling (tension) forces were exerted on the integrin-bound beads using magnetic twisting or pulling cytometry. To investigate the cellular response to dynamic forces, and to increase the level of stress applied, an electromagnetic needle was developed to apply a temporally varying magnetic field controlled by a user-defined solenoidal current; the end of the needle also was electropolished to produce a nanoscale pole tip. Magnetic forces applied to integrin receptors, but not other cell-surface receptors, induced force-dependent recruitment of cytoskeletal linker (focal adhesion) proteins to the site of bead binding, resulting in assembly and mechanical strengthening of the adhesions. Stress application to integrins also resulted in force-dependent increases in cAMP signaling and induction of gene transcription. These experiments revealed that integrins and the cytoskeleton play a central role in cellular mechanotransduction.studies in collaboration with George Whitesides (Harvard U.), we used microcontact printing techniques with self- assembled monolayers of alkanethiols to microfabricate extracellular matrix-coated adhesive islands of defined size, shape, and position on the micrometer scale. When cells were plated on these islands, the spread to take on the form of the island

  9. Evaluation of Contact Friction in Fracture of Rotationally Bent Nitinol Endodontic Files

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haimed, Tariq Abu

    2011-12-01

    The high flexibility of rotary Nitinol (Ni-Ti) files has helped clinicians perform root canal treatments with fewer technical errors than seen with stainless steel files. However, intracanal file fracture can occur, compromising the outcome of the treatment. Ni-Ti file fracture incidence is roughly around 4% amongst specialists and higher amongst general practitioners. Therefore, eliminating or reducing this problem should improve patient care. The aim of this project was to isolate and examine the role of friction between files and the canal walls of the glass tube model, and bending-related maximum strain amplitudes, on Ni-Ti file lifetimes-tofracture in the presence of different irrigant solutions and file coatings. A specifically designed device was used to test over 300 electropolished EndoSequenceRTM Ni-Ti files for number of cycles to failure (NCF) in smooth, bent glass tube models at 45 and 60 degrees during dry, coated and liquid-lubricated rotation at 600rpm. Fractured files were examined under Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) afterwards. Four different file sizes 25.04, 25.06, 35.04, 35.06 (diameter in mm/taper %) and six surface modification conditions were used independently. These conditions included, three solutions; (1) a surfactant-based solution, Surface-Active-Displacement-Solution (SADS), (2) a mouth wash proven to remove biofilms, Delmopinol 1%(DEL), and (3) Bleach 6% (vol.%), the most common antibacterial endodontic irrigant solution. The conditions also included two low-friction silane-based coating groups, 3-Hepta-fluoroisopropyl-propoxymethyl-dichlorosilane (3-HEPT) and Octadecyltrichlorosilane (ODS), in addition to an as-received file control group (Dry). The coefficient of friction (CF) between the file and the canal walls for each condition was measured as well as the surface tension of the irrigant solutions and the critical surface tension of the coated and uncoated files by contact angle measurements. The radius of curvature and

  10. An investigation of reheat cracking in the weld heat affected zone of type 347 stainless steel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Phung-On, Isaratat

    2007-12-01

    Reheat cracking has been a persistent problem for welding of many alloys such as the stabilized stainless steels: Types 321 and 347 as well as Cr-Mo-V steels. Similar problem occurs in Ni-base superalloys termed "strain-age cracking". Cracking occurs during the post weld heat treatment. The HAZ is the most susceptible area due to metallurgical reactions in solid state during both heating and cooling thermal cycle. Many investigations have been conducted to understand the RHC mechanism. There is still no comprehensive mechanism to explain its underlying mechanism. In this study, there were two proposed cracking mechanisms. The first is the formation of a PFZ resulting in local weakening and strain localization. The second is the creep-like grain boundary sliding that causes microvoid formation at the grain boundaries and the triple point junctions. Cracking occurs due to the coalescence of the microvoids that form. In this study, stabilized grade stainless steel, Type 347, was selected for investigation of reheat cracking mechanism due to the simplicity of its microstructure and understanding of its metallurgical behavior. The Gleeble(TM) 3800 system was employed due to its capability for precise control of both thermal and mechanical simulation. Cylindrical samples were subjected to thermal cycles for the HAZ simulation followed by PWHT as the reheat cracking test. "Susceptibility C-curves" were plotted as a function of PWHT temperatures and time to failure at applied stress levels of 70% and 80% yield strength. These C-curves show the possible relationship of the reheat cracking susceptibility and carbide precipitation behavior. To identify the mechanism, the sample shape was modified containing two flat surfaces at the center section. These flat surfaces were electro-polished and subjected to the HAZ simulation followed by the placement of the micro-indentation arrays. Then, the reheat cracking test was performed. The cracking mechanism was identified by tracing