Considerable progress has been made over the last decades in thermal spray technologies, practices and applications. However, like other technologies, they have to continuously evolve to meet new problems and market requirements. This article aims to identify the current challenges limiting the evolution of these technologies and to propose research directions and priorities to meet these challenges. It was prepared on the basis of a collection of short articles written by experts in thermal spray who were asked to present a snapshot of the current state of their specific field, give their views on current challenges faced by the field and provide some guidance as to the R&D required to meet these challenges. The article is divided in three sections that deal with the emerging thermal spray processes, coating properties and function, and biomedical, electronic, aerospace and energy generation applications.
Micro heat pipes are small structures that will be used to cool microscale devices. They function much like their conventional counterparts, with a few exceptions, most notably the absence of a wick. It is expected that water-filled micro heat pipes will be able to dissipate heat fluxes on the order of 10-15 W/cm 1 (100,000-150,000 W/m 2 ). This work addresses the modeling of a micro heat pipe operating under steady-state conditions. A one-dimensional model of the evaporator and adiabatic sections is developed and solved numerically to yield pressure, velocity, and film thickness information along the length of the pipe. Interfacial and vapor shear stress terms have been included in the model. Convection and body force terms have also been included in the momentum equation, although numerical experiments have shown them to be negligible. Pressure, velocity, and film thickness results are presented along with the maximum heat load dependence on pipe length and width. Both simple scaling and the model results show that the maximum heat transport capability of a micro heat pipe varies with the inverse of its length and the cube of its hydraulic diameter, implying the largest, shortest pipes possible should be used.
Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) experience thermal gradients, excessive temperature, and high heat flux from hot gases in turbines during service. These extended thermal effects induce sintering and significant microstructure changes, which alter the resulting thermal conductivity of the TBCs. To study the effects of different starting microstructures on the sintering behavior, plasma‐sprayed yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ) TBCs produced from different starting powders and process parameters were subjected to thermal aging at several temperatures and time intervals, after which their thermal conductivity was measured at room temperature. The thermal conductivity results were analyzed by introducing the Larson–Miller parameter, that describes the creep‐like behavior of thermal conductivity increase with annealing temperature and time. One set of coatings was also annealed under the same conditions and the thermal conductivities were measured at elevated temperatures. The temperature‐dependent thermal conductivity data were analyzed and used to predict the long‐term thermal property behavior for a general YSZ coating design.
The objective of the research reported in this paper was to refine an existing model for chromate conversion coatings (CCC) formed on the surface of AA2024-T3, an Al-Cu aircraft alloy, by considering the composition and structure of the CCC formed on constituent intermetallic compounds (IMCs). To achieve this aim it was necessary to develop large-area samples composed of compositionally homogeneous thin films of the various IMCs found on the AA2024-T3 surface, which were galvanically attached to thin films of Al-4.2wt.%Cu (representative of the AA2024-T3 matrix). This was performed in a two-step process: disks of IMC compositions were formed by reactive arc melting (RAM), followed by femtosecond laser ablation of the RAM IMCs, resulting in the formation of homogeneous thin films. These thin films were used to analyze the formation of CCC on IMCs, the AA2024-T3 matrix analog and matrix-IMC galvanic couples. Secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling revealed significant variations in CCC film thickness and composition related to the underlying IMCs. The SIMS results indicated that the CCC formed on the matrix analog had the same average thickness as the average CCC formed on AA2024-T3, whereas those formed on individual q and S phases were only 9% and 12% as thick, respectively, when uncoupled to the matrix and 11% and 14% as thick when coupled to the matrix. The CCC thickness on the Al 20 Cu 2 (MnFe) 3 was found to be variable, having an islanded structure. Topographical maps indicate that the IMC/matrix boundaries are covered with CCC of a thickness approaching that of the matrix. Inhibition of CCC growth is related to the high copper content (and therefore insufficient aluminum) present in the IMCs compared to the matrix, which provides a more accurate model of CCC formation on AA2024-T3.
Optical breakdown by ultrashort laser pulses in dielectrics presents an efficient method to deposit laser energy into materials that otherwise exhibit minimal absorption at low laser intensities. During optical breakdown, a high density of free electrons is formed in the material, which dominates energy absorption, and, in turn, the material removal rate during ultrafast laser-material processing. Classical models assume a spatially uniform electron population and constant laser intensity in the focal region, which results in time-dependent expressions only, i.e., the rate equations, to predict electron evolution induced by nanosecond and picosecond pulses. For femtosecond pulses, however, the small spatial extent of the pulse requires that the pulse propagation be considered, which results in an inhomogeneous plasma and localized electron formation during optical breakdown. In this work, a femtosecond breakdown model is combined with the classical rate equations to determine both time- and position-dependent electron density during femtosecond optical breakdown in water. The model exhibits good agreement when compared with experimental results. For other transparent or moderately absorbing dielectric media, the model also shows promise for determining the time- and position-dependent electron evolution induced by ultrashort laser pulses. Another interesting result is that the maximum electron density formed during femtosecond-laser-induced optical breakdown may exceed the conventional limit imposed by the plasma frequency.
Laser ablation is widely used in micromachining, manufacturing, thin-film formation, and bioengineering applications. During laser ablation the removal of material and quality of the features depend strongly on the optical breakdown region induced by the laser irradiance. The recent advent of amplified ultrafast lasers with pulse durations of less than 1 ps has generated considerable interest because of the ability of the lasers to process virtually all materials with high precision and minimal thermal damage. With ultrashort pulse widths, however, traditional breakdown models no longer accurately capture the laser-material interaction that leads to breakdown. A femtosecond breakdown model for dielectric solids and liquids is presented that characterizes the pulse behavior and predicts the time- and position-dependent breakdown region. The model includes the pulse propagation and small spatial extent of ultrashort laser pulses. Model results are presented and compared with classical breakdown models for 1-ns, 1-ps, and 150-fs pulses. The results show that the revised model is able to model breakdown accurately in the focal region for pulse durations of less than 10 ps. The model can also be of use in estimating the time- and position-resolved electron density in the interaction volume, the breakdown threshold of the material, shielding effects, and temperature distributions during ultrafast processing.
The need to establish new and revised drinking water regulations led the US Environmental Protection Agency to conduct the National Inorganics and Radionuclides Survey to obtain information on the occurrence of various contaminants in drinking water from groundwater sources in the United States. In this article, the results that relate to radionuclides are discussed and compared with data from other studies. A description of the acquisition, analysis, and processing of the data is included.
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