Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

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The alloy Mo-3Si-1B (wt%) may have the fracture toughness and oxidation resistance required for use as jet turbine engine blades. Mo-3Si-1B (wt%) forms a three-phase mixture of and #945;-Moss, A15 (Mo3Si) and T2 (Mo5SiB2). It has been observed that at high-temperatures, the A15 and T2 intermetallics form a oxidation resistant borosilicate glass coating. To achieve the proper combination of mechanical and thermal properties, the material must have a molybdenum matrix with a fine dispersion of intermetallics to produce a continuous protective layer. In this project, reactive sintering of molybdenum, Si3N4 and BN powders was used to create a semi-continuous molybdenum matrix with a fine dispersion of the A15 and T2 intermetallics. Sintering of the materials was further enhanced by the use of submicron-sized reactants. X-ray diffraction analysis was used verify the desired phases were formed. It was determined that formation of the A15 intermetallic phases begins as low as 1200?nd formation of T2 begins at 1300? The reactions are complete by 1400? Samples with bulk densities as high as 95% of theoretical were produced. Scanning electron microscopy images reveal a microstructure with dispersed intermetallics in a semi-continuous molybdenum matrix with grain sizes on the order of 1-4 and #956;m. It was found that by varying parameters such as mixing method and heating rates, it is possible to engineer the final microstructure, changing the level of dispersion of the intermetallics and continuity of the matrix.

Ultra-high temperature (i.e., greater than 2500°C) engineering applications present continued materials challenges. Refractory metal/ceramic composites have great potential to satisfy the demands of extreme environments (e.g., the environments found in solid rocket motors upon ignition), though general scalable processing techniques to fabricate complex shaped parts are lacking. The work embodied in this dissertation advances scientific knowledge in the development of processing techniques to form complex, near net-shape, near net-dimension, near fully-dense refractory metal/ceramic composites with controlled phase contents and microstructure. Three research thrusts are detailed in this document. First, the utilization of rapid prototyping techniques, such as computer numerical controlled machining and three dimensional printing, for the fabrication of porous tungsten carbide preforms and their application with the Displacive Compensation of Porosity process is demonstrated. Second, carbon substrates and preforms have been reactively converted to porous tungsten/tungsten carbide replicas via a novel gas-solid displacement reaction. Lastly, non-oxide ceramic solid solutions have been internally reduced to create intragranular metal/ceramic micro/nanocomposites. All three techniques combined have the potential to produce nanostructured refractory metal/ceramic composite materials with tailorable microstructure for ultra-high temperature applications.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rutgers University, 2007. / "Graduate Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering." Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-76).

MoSiB alloys show promise as the next-generation turbine blade material due to their high-temperature strength and oxidation resistance afforded by a protective borosilicate surface layer. Powder processing and reactive synthesis of these alloys has proven to be a viable method and offers several advantages over conventional melt processing routes. Microstructures obtained have well-dispersed intermetallics in a continuous matrix of molybdenum solid-solution (Mo-ss). However, bend testing of pure Mo and Mo-ss samples has shown that, while the powder processing route can produce ductile Mo metal, the hardening effect of Si and B in solid-solution renders the matrix brittle. Testing at elevated temperatures (200°C) was performed in order to determine the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature of the metal as an indication of ductility. Methods of ductilizing the Mo-ss matrix such as annealing and alloying additions have been investigated.

The metallic alloys employed in oxidizing environment at high temperature rely on the development of a protective oxide scale to sustain the long-term aggressive exposition. However, the oxide scale growth is most of the time coupled with stress and morphological developments limiting its lifetime and then jeopardizing the metallic component reliability. In this study, a mechanism of local stress effect on the oxidation kinetics at the metal/oxide interface is investigated. The objective is to improve the understanding on the possible interactions between stress generation and non-uniform oxide scale growth, which might result in a precipitated mechanical failure of the system. Two different oxides are studied, alumina and chromia, in two different industrial systems, thermal barrier coatings and solid oxide fuel cell interconnects. A specific thermodynamic treatment of local oxide phase growth coupled with stress generation is developed. The formulation is completed with a phenomenological macroscopic framework and a numerical simulation tool is developed allowing for realistic analyses. Two practical situations are simulated and analyzed, concerning an SOFC interconnect and a thermal barrier coating system, for which oxide scale growth and associated stress and morphological developments are critical. The consequence of the non-uniform oxide growth on the system resistance to mechanical failure is investigated. Finally, the influences of material-related properties are studied, providing optimization directions for the design of metallic alloys which would improve the mechanical lifetime of the considered systems.

Hot sections of gas engine turbines require specialized materials to withstand extreme conditions present during engine operation. Nickel-base superalloys are typically used as blades and disks in the high pressure turbine section because they possess excellent fatigue strength, creep strength and corrosion resistance at elevated temperatures. Components undergo thermomechanical fatigue conditions as a result of transient engine operation. Sharp geometric features, such as cooling holes in blades or fir-tree connections in disks, act as local stress raisers. The material surrounding these features are potential sites of localized inelastic deformation and crack formation. To reduce customer costs associated with unnecessary overhauls or engine down-time, gas turbine manufacturers require accurate prediction methods to determine component endurances. The influence of stress concentration severity on thermomechanical fatigue crack formation is of particular importance as cracks often initiate in these hot spots. Circumferentially notched specimens were utilized to perform thermomechanical fatigue experiments on blade material CM247LC DS and disk material PM IN100. A parametric study on CM247LC DS was performed utilizing four notched specimens. Experimental results were coupled with finite element simulations utilizing continuum based constitutive models. The effects of applied boundary conditions on crack initiation life was studied in both alloys by performing experiments under remotely applied force and displacement boundary conditions. Finite element results were utilized to develop a life prediction method for notched components under thermomechanical fatigue conditions.

This master’s thesis is focused on a Draft of a Corporate Financial Plan for industrial company P-D Refractories CZ a.s. for years 2019 to 2022. First chapter of this master’s thesis is oriented in goals, methods and approaches of this thesis. Next part is aiming at theoretical solution for financial planning. Third chapter contains information about analyzed company, application of selected methods of strategic analysis and financial analysis including evaluation of the state of company and detection of potential deficiencies. Last chapter of this thesis is focused on suggestion, formation and evaluation of the financial plan for P-D Refractories CZ a.s. for next four years.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Zirconia (ZrO2) is an important ceramic material with a broad range of applications. Due to its high melting temperature, low thermal conductivity, and high-temperature stability, zirconia based ceramics have been widely used for thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). When TBC is exposed to thermal cycling during real applications, the TBC may fail due to several mechanisms: (1) phase transformation into yttrium-rich and yttrium-depleted regions, When the yttrium-rich region produces pure zirconia domains that transform between monoclinic and tetragonal phases upon thermal cycling; and (2) cracking of the coating due to stress induced by erosion. The mechanism of erosion involves gross plastic damage within the TBC, often leading to ceramic loss and/or cracks down to the bond coat. The damage mechanisms are related to service parameters, including TBC material properties, temperature, velocity, particle size, and impact angle. The goal of this thesis is to understand the structural and mechanical properties of the thermal barrier coating material, thus increasing the service lifetime of gas turbine engines. To this end, it is critical to study the fundamental properties and potential failure mechanisms of zirconia. This thesis is focused on investigating the structural and mechanical properties of zirconia. There are mainly two parts studied in this paper, (1) ab initio calculations of thermodynamic properties of both monoclinic and tetragonal phase zirconia, and monoclinic-to-tetragonal phase transformation, and (2) image-based finite element simulation of the indentation process of yttria-stabilized zirconia. In the first part of this study, the structural properties, including lattice parameter, band structure, density of state, as well as elastic constants for both monoclinic and tetragonal zirconia have been computed. The pressure-dependent phase transition between tetragonal (t-ZrO2) and cubic zirconia (c-ZrO2) has been calculated using the density function theory (DFT) method. Phase transformation is defined by the band structure and tetragonal distortion changes. The results predict a transition from a monoclinic structure to a fluorite-type cubic structure at the pressure of 37 GPa. Thermodynamic property calculations of monoclinic zirconia (m-ZrO2) were also carried out. Temperature-dependent heat capacity, entropy, free energy, Debye temperature of monoclinic zirconia, from 0 to 1000 K, were computed, and they compared well with those reported in the literature. Moreover, the atomistic simulations correctly predicted the phase transitions of m-ZrO2 under compressive pressures ranging from 0 to 70 GPa. The phase transition pressures of monoclinic to orthorhombic I (3 GPa), orthorhombic I to orthorhombic II (8 GPa), orthorhombic II to tetragonal (37 GPa), and stable tetragonal phases (37-60 GPa) are in excellent agreement with experimental data. In the second part of this study, the mechanical response of yttria-stabilized zirconia under Rockwell superficial indentation was studied. The microstructure image based finite element method was used to validate the model using a composite cermet material. Then, the finite element model of Rockwell indentation of yttria-stabilized zirconia was developed, and the result was compared with experimental hardness data.