Thermal shock damage assessment of a BNW/SiO2 ceramic: Insight from temperature-dependent material properties

The high-temperature service performance of nearly fully dense 20 wt% BN_W/SiO₂ ceramic was systematically investigated. The oxidation damage and strength degradation of the whiskers combined with the surface microstructures of the samples predominantly influence the flexural strength from RT to 1000 °C. In previous work, the temperature dependence of the material properties is invariably ignored when evaluating thermal stress crack initiation and propagation behaviour. In this work, modified thermal shock models that include temperature-dependent material properties were established based on thermal-shock fracture (TSF) theory and thermal-shock damage (TSD) theory. Then, the thermal shock resistance (TSR) of the BN_W/SiO₂ ceramic was evaluated by preforming a water quenching test. The modified models could better explain the TSR behaviour of the ceramic, indicating that considering the temperature-dependent material properties will reveal the thermal shock damage mechanism more precisely.     

Room- and high-temperature flexural strength of a stable solid oxide fuel/electrolysis cell sealing material

The structural integrity of the sealing material is critical for the reliability of solid oxide fuel/electrolysis stacks. The current work concentrates on microstructural and mechanical aspects of a sealant material for this application. In particular, the crystallization behavior as a determining factor for the sealants’ mechanical behavior is investigated via high-temperature XRD for 24?h. Furthermore, regarding mechanical properties, three- and four-point bending tests are carried out on sealant bars and head-to-head joined specimens at room- and high-temperatures, yielding in particular relevant fracture stress data. In addition, the elastic modulus is measured by the impulse excitation test from RT to 900?ºC. Tests are done for both as-sintered (as-joined) and annealed samples. The main crystallization appears to happen during the initial joining time. The sealant shows a relatively stable flexural strength in terms of temperature dependency as well as effects of the aging process. In fact, the joined specimens reveal a more than 50% lower flexural strength than glass bars at all temperatures. A complementary finite element simulation indicates the presence of a non-negligible thermal residual stress in joined specimens.     

Sulfuric acid decomposition in the iodine–Sulfur cycle using heat from a very high temperature gas-cooled reactor

Using the heat of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor to drive the thermochemical iodine-sulfur cycle is an important way to produce hydrogen on a large scale. The sulfuric acid decomposition is the key reaction affecting the hydrogen production efficiency in this method, so efficient sulfuric acid decomposition is needed. The present study focuses on the temperature rise, phase change and chemical reactions of sulfuric acid in a bayonet heat exchanger. The evaporation-condensation model in a steady temperature field was used to simulate the different stages of the phase change process with the species transport model used to calculate the product proportions. Finally, the effects of two catalyst arrangements on the decomposition fraction were analyzed. The results show that the temperature in the catalytic core area reaches 1100 K which provides the heat required for the decomposition reaction. When the sulfuric acid flow rate is 0.36 kg/h, the two-phase flow section is about 0.22 m long to promote better heat transfer. The simulations show that square and circular catalysts give sulfuric acid decomposition fractions of 65% and 57%. The pressure drop of the two catalyst arrangements is almost the same, while the square catalyst has a higher decomposition fraction, which can improve the economics. This study provides a reference for optimizing catalyst selection based on the flow and heat transfer rates.     

Ni含量对TiN-Ni金属陶瓷高温抗氧化性能的影响

采用热压烧结方法,分别制备了3种含Ni体积分数30%、50%以及70%的TiN-Ni金属陶瓷,研究了TiN-Ni金属陶瓷在800℃静态空气中的连续氧化行为。结果表明,烧结过程中,TiN相与Ni相之间无化学反应,调整Ni含量有助于烧结致密化,其中TiN/70Ni致密度最高,可达99.6%,有助于强化其高温抗氧化性。对氧化膜进行扫描电镜(SEM)、能谱(EDS)以及X射线衍射(XRD)分析,系统地研究了TiN-Ni复合材料的高温氧化机理。分析表明,氧化过程分为快速氧化阶段和慢速氧化阶段,其中存在金属离子的外扩散和氧离子的内扩散。     

Anomalously large lattice strain contributions from rhombohedral phases in BiFeO3-based high-temperature piezoceramics estimated by means of in-situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction

Thermally-stable (0.75-x)BiFeO₃-0.25PbTiO₃-xBa(Zr_0.25Ti_0.75)O₃ (0.1?≤?x?≤?0.27) piezoelectric ceramics were reported to have excellent dielectric and electromechanical properties of d₃₃～405 pC/N, k_p～46%, ε₃₃^T/ε₀～1810, tanδ～3.1% and T_c～421?°C close to tetragonal (T)-rhombohedral (R) morphotropic phase boundary. The dielectric measurement indicates that R ferroelectric phase is gradually transformed into relaxor ferroelectric across the phase boundary due to the substitution of BZT for BF. The transmission electron microscopy and convergent beam electron diffraction provide clear evidences that both the R-T phase coexistence and polar nanodomains contribute to enhanced piezoelectric properties at x?=?0.19 through cooperatively facilitating polarization orientation. In combination with the macroscopic piezoelectric coefficient measurement, the quantitative analysis of synchrotron diffraction data under electric fields suggests that extremely large lattice strain contribution predominantly from R phases plus little extrinsic domain switching contribution should dominate the piezoelectric response of the x?=?0.19 sample, mainly owing to both irreversible field-induced T to R phase transition and irreversible non-180° domain switching.     

Trends in research and development of protonic ceramic electrolysis cells

Hydrogen energy is an ever-growing and increasingly crucial current field of science and technology aimed at solving many global problems, such as world-wide pollution, the greenhouse effect, inefficient energy conversion, as well as the depletion of non-renewable energy sources. The present work highlights the most recent achievements of hydrogen production utilising protonic ceramic electrolysis cells (PCECs) as energy conversion systems. PCECs are a promising technology, capable of combining high efficiency, flexibility under diverse working conditions and excellent performance. Special attention is paid to novel functional materials, technological strategies and modes of optimising PCECs to allow their excellent electrochemical characteristics to be maintained at relatively low operation temperatures (400–800 °C) compared with traditional solid oxide electrolysis cells based on oxygen-conducting electrolytes.     

Enhanced piezoelectric response and high-temperature sensitivity by site-selected doping of BiFeO3-BaTiO3 ceramics

Effect of Zn site-selected doping on electrical properties, high-temperature stability and sensitivity of piezoelectric response for BiFeO₃-BaTiO₃ ceramics was investigated. The results revealed that the addition of Zn leaded to an evident modification of the microstructure. The B-site selected doping was a more effective approach in improving piezoelectric properties as well as their thermal stability than those of A-site selected doping. Moreover, the enhanced piezoelectric properties accompanying by excellent high-temperature stability and sensitivity in B-site selected doping ceramics were obtained. The microstructure, domain switching behavior and temperature-dependent piezoelectric response in Zn site-selected doping ceramics were investigated, and their relationships with improving piezoelectric properties and high-temperature stability were explored. These results showed that the B-site selected doping ceramics had excellent piezoelectric properties (d₃₃ = 192pC/N) along with a high-temperature stability (T_d = 450 °C).     

Polybenzimidazole-modified carbon nanotubes as a support material for platinum-based high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell electrocatalysts

We fabricate polybenzimidazole (PBI) wrapped carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as support material for platinum-based fuel cell electrocatalyst. With the aid of microwave-assisted polyol reduction, we obtain very fine platinum (Pt) nanoparticles on PBI/MWCNT support while reducing the amount of Pt waste during synthesis. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) concludes that Pt-PBI/MWCNT has 43.0 m² g⁻¹ of electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) to catalyze hydrogen oxidation. Furthermore, after the 1000th cycle, Pt-PBI/MWCNT preserves almost 80% of its maximum ECSA, meaning that Pt-PBI/MWCNT is much more durable than the Pt/MWCNT and commercial Pt/C. High-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) performance tests are conducted under H₂/Air conditions at the temperatures ranging from 150 °C to 180 °C. Nevertheless, tests conclude that the maximum power density values of the Pt-PBI/MWCNT are found inferior to the Pt/C at all temperatures (e.g., 47 vs. 62 mW cm⁻² at 180 °C), suggesting that some balance between durability and performance has to be taken into consideration.     

SrCexNbxWO4+4x: A novel NTC ceramic for high-temperature thermistor with a wide temperature range

A series of novel negative temperature coefficient thermistor materials based on SrCe_xNb_xWO_4+4x (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.8) ceramics was synthesized by the solid-state route. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the SrCe_xNb_xWO_4+4x ceramics were composed of scheelite structural solid solution based on the SrWO₄ phase and a CeNbO_4.08 secondary phase that exhibited a fergusonite structure. The resistance-temperature analysis demonstrated that the resistivity ρ₈₀₀ of the SrCe_xNb_xWO_4+4x ceramics decreased from 8.25 ± 0.08 × 10⁶ to 2.52 ± 0.11 × 10² with the increase of x value, along with a decrease in the thermal constant B from 11,102 ± 97–4137 ± 37 K. It was observed that the SrCe_xNb_xWO_4+4x ceramics exhibited high resistivity and excellent aging characteristics as well as suitable B values at elevated temperatures, making it a promising candidate that can be used for the fabrication of high-temperature NTC thermistors with a wide operating temperature range.     

Ge-doped Li3+xMg2Nb1-xGexO6 ceramics with enhanced low loss and high temperature stability properties

New high-performance materials have attracted much attention due to ever-increasing demands for advanced communication technologies. In present work, Ge-doped Li_3+xMg₂Nb_1-xGe_xO₆ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.08) ceramics are prepared via solid-state reaction route. Microstructural analysis and crystal structure refinement reveal that moderate substitution can promote grain growth and modify crystal structure, thus enhancing microwave dielectric properties of composites. In that sense, special attention is paid to the behavior of dielectric constant ε_r, quality factor Q×f, and frequency temperature coefficient τ_f of final products. In these systems, ε_r parameter depends on the density, miscellaneous phases, and polarizability; Q×f value is shown to be influenced by Nb-O bond energy, grain size, and bulk density; finally, τ_f characteristic refers to Nb-O bond valence and NbO₆ octahedral distortion. Among above ceramics, Li_3.02Mg₂Nb_0.98Ge_0.02O₆ composite sintered at 1250 °C exhibits outstanding microwave absorption performance with ε_r = 15.32, Q×f = 969 88 GHz, and τ_f = ?8.25 ppm/°C.