2021 Undergraduate Student Poster Contest: 2021 Undergraduate Student Poster Contest
Program Organizers: Yolanda Natividad, American Ceramic Society

Tuesday 11:00 AM
October 19, 2021
Room: Exhibit Hall B
Location: Greater Columbus Convention Center

Effect of Carbon Stoichiometry on the Heat of Formation of Hafnium Carbides: Amelia Martinez¹; ¹Missouri University of Science and Technology
     Ultra-high temperature ceramics are thermally stable at high temperatures making them desirable for use in extreme thermal conditions, such as those encountered by wing leading edges used in hypersonic vehicles. Hafnium carbide (HfC) is a material that is being investigated for its use in extreme thermal environments, as it maintains its structural stability to temperatures as high as 2200°C. The focus of this poster is to identify the relationship between carbon stoichiometry and heat of formation of HfC. These results will be compared to existing thermodynamic literature on the enthalpies of formation of substoichiometric HfCs. In this study, three substoichiometric HfC compositions were synthesized through spark-plasma sintering. Samples were then characterized through nitrogen/oxygen analysis, carbon/sulfur analysis, XRD, Archimedes, and SEM. The samples were then combusted via oxygen bomb calorimetry to measure the heat of combustion in order to calculate the heat of formation for each composition.

Effect of Modifier Cation Size on the Bulk Structure and Nickel Speciation in Alkali Borosilicate Glasses: Lucas Greiner¹; Brian Topper¹; Randall Youngman²; Doris Möncke¹; ¹Alfred University; ²Corning Inc.
    Borosilicate glasses of type BK7 of composition 16 M2O – 10 B2O3 – 74 SiO2. With M = Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs were prepared, both doped and undoped using Ni²⁺ prop ion. Those glasses as well as two mixed glasses with a 1:1 ratio of M = Li+Na and Cs+Rb were investigated for their structure and properties. Structural analysis of the glass was based on optical spectroscopy, Raman scattering, infrared reflectance, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). NMR analysis shows that glasses containing K, Rb, and Cs have boron cations that are four-fold coordinated (BO₄) tetrahedra, Raman spectroscopy saw a change in the connectivity from danburite to reedmergnerite type superstructural units. Using the probe ion Ni, a change in both color and coordination is seen as modifier ion changes, from octahedral Ni²⁺ (yellow) in Li-BS to tetrahedral Ni²⁺ (brown) with Na-BS and blue Ni³⁺ in higher optical basicity systems.

Enhanced Mechanical Properties in a 4140 Steel by "In-House" Intensive Quench: Larha Fernanda Vela¹; Jose Mariano Flores Herrera¹; Simón de la Rosa de la Cruz¹; Debanhi Ruvalcaba Quintero¹; Abraham Escalona Gomez¹; Jose Ivan López²; Moises Hinojosa Rivera¹; ¹Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; ²Metalsa
     4140 steel is typically either oil or polymer quenched to avoid distortion and cracking. This work is based upon the principle of intensive quenching to achieve higher hardness avoiding quench cracks, whitout the aid of specialized equipment. To achieve this goal a 4140 steel bar was heat treated in an electric muffle and quenched in violently agitated brine to obtain a Grossman H value above 6. The results were above the expected, since the theoretical hardness calculated from the Grossman method for DI and Jominy curve calculation predicts a surface hardness of 58 HRCand the measured surface hardness was above 64 HRC.

Experiential Study on Critical Stress Intensity Factor of Carbon Nanotube Filled Epoxy: Lisa Zhou; Yu Zhang¹; Maobing Tu¹; ¹University of Cincinnati
    Single edge notched bend (SENB) tests were carried out to evaluate fracture behavior of neat epoxy and CNT/epoxy nanocomposites. Testing results showed that critical stress intensity factor (KIC) increased with increasing amounts of CNTs and reached peak values at a CNT weight fraction of 0.3wt%. Max 31% enhancement in KIC was found as compared with neat epoxy. Further increases in CNT content resulted in a relative degradation of nanocomposite KIc due to local stress concentration associated with agglomerated CNT. Fractography analysis results showed that, due to bridge effect of CNT, smaller cleavage plane size and higher surface roughness was found in nanocomposite than neat epoxy, and dispersion of CNT in matrix was characterized by cleavage planes size. Quantitative micrograph (QM) analysis results showed that average size of cleavage plans decreased from average 20um of neat epoxy to average 2um of 0.3wt% CNT/epoxy.

Exploring the Liquid Phase Exfoliation of Two-Dimensional Bilayered Vanadium Oxide in Aqueous Media for Li ion Batteries: Raymond Zhang¹; Timofey Averianov¹; Ekaterina Pomerantseva¹; ¹Drexel University
     In this work, the exfoliation of bilayered vanadium oxide (BVO) intercalated with Li+ ions (δ-LixV2O5·nH2O) in water and performance of the produced nanoflakes in Li ion batteries has been studied for the first time. BVO nanoflakes suspended in aqueous media were obtained with high yield and chemical stability using probe sonication, despite the partial solubility of vanadium oxide in water. The exfoliated material maintained two-dimensional (2D) morphology and preserved the bilayered structure. Furthermore, electrochemical testing revealed the importance of implementing proper drying protocols to reduce interlayer water content in BVO to improve ion storage capacity. Here, we demonstrate that through vacuum drying at 200ºC, the BVO nanoflake cathode can deliver capacities as high as 246mAh/g at a current density of 20mA/g. These results introduce an environmentally friendly and safe approach to obtaining 2D BVO nanoflakes and offers pathways to constructing novel 2D heterostructures for energy storage applications.

High Temperature Mechanical Properties of TiB₂-WC-SiC Materials: Elizabeth Sayre¹; ¹Missouri University of Science and Technology
    Ultra-high temperature materials are becoming increasingly important due to potential applications in the space and defense industries. Recent studies have shown diboride-based materials, specifically ZrB₂, with core-shell microstructures are promising high strength UHTC materials given their high strength at higher temperatures. The current research extends the work on ZrB₂ to TiB₂ and is focused on a 92 TiB₂ - 5 WC - 3 SiC (vol%) composition. The material was hot pressed and machined into bars for room and high temperature 4-point bend testing. Sample microstructures were characterized using SEM and EDS. Mechanical testing for the TiB₂ composition showed an average flexure strength of 1.07 GPa at room temperature, with decreased strength values at 1200°C, 1400°C, and 1600°C. Despite this, microstructural analysis showed grains with a core-shell structure similar to ZrB₂ materials. This implies that high strength at elevated temperatures may not be wholly based on microstructure as previously thought.

Investigation of Embedded Metallic Components on 3D Printed Ceramic Structures: Victoria Adams¹; Eleanore Rogenski¹; Bhargavi Mummareddy¹; Eric MacDonald²; Pedro Cortes¹; ¹Youngstown State University; ²University of Texas at El Pasco
    The production of ceramic structures via 3D printing has generated a wide interest in different industrial fields due to the exceptional benefits associated with the production of intricate-customized parts that can support wear resistance under high temperature conditions. Current needs in the electronic field require the incorporation of metallic parts to yield high temperature components such as sensors and antennas. Hence, the present work has investigated the production of 3D printed zirconia and alumina materials to produce substrates capable of housing metallic components. This work will display the efforts performed on joining ceramic structures to encapsulate high temperature conductive metals to be used as the sensing phases.

Machine Learning Approaches to Predict Properties from Microstructure Images in Ceramic-Metal Composites: Hugh Smith¹; William Huddleston¹; Laura Bruckman¹; Alp Sehirlioglu¹; ¹Case Western Reserve University
    Electrical conductivities of composites of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ anode and Ni current collector particles for structural battery applications were predicted from SEM microstructure images. Further, microstructural features contributing the most to conductivity for different samples could be identified. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on voronoi, nearest neighbor, size, and skeleton distributions of the microstructural features, and logistic regression and linear discriminant analysis models were fit to the scores of the principal components (PCs) to classify the images as low or high conductivity. Accuracies exceeded 87%, and the most important PCs were identified. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) were then used for classification and led to accuracies above 98%. Class activation maps were created from the CNN models for testing images. These highlight which microstructural features influenced conductivity predictions. Regression was attempted on the PCs using multiple linear regression and general additive models with little success. Regression attempts with CNN were unstable due to the sparsity of the data set but yielded responses that were usually 4x off the observed responses on average with values for r² usually exceeding 0.7.

Mechanical Behavior of Automotive Structural Steels in the Vicinity of the Ductile-brittle Transition: Lesly Susana Briano Murillo¹; Moises Hinojosa Rivera¹; ¹Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León
    Today, the field of materials for structural vehicle components faces the challenge of reducing weight while maintaining the required strengths in all operating conditions, the steels currently used show a heterogeneity of phases and are rarely fully specified or understood behavior at low temperatures, however, the abundant literature on the matter. It is the reason why we propose to generate new knowledge about the behavior of a type 15B24 heat treated steel. To achieve this, we propose to carry out the experimental study of heat-treated samples to obtain elastic limits of 150 KSI. Microstructural characterization and mechanical properties will be carried out at room temperature. We will determine the impact energy absorption capacity through Charpy tests at a temperature between ambient and -42ºC, as a reference of the operational limit of this steel, the temperature of the ductile to brittle transition will be determined.

Perovskite Film Formation for Solar Cell Absorbers: Effects of Substrate Modification: Mirra Rasmussen; Kyle Crowley¹; Ina Martin¹; ¹Case Western Reserve University
    As perovskite solar cell efficiencies have risen rapidly, practical constraints have made durability a critical concern. Whereas much attention has been paid to the development of the perovskite absorber layer, the charge transport layers can also be engineered to better the performance and stability of the device. This work uses the molecular modifier bromopropyltrimethoxysilane (BPTMS) to alter the interface between indium tin oxide (ITO, a common thin film solar cell transparent electrode) and methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3, a common perovskite absorber) to improve the morphology and stability of the perovskite absorber film. The substrate, molecular modifier, and perovskite film were characterized via contact angle measurements, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and scanning electron microscopy. It was determined that the absorber film morphology and stability of the stack are sensitive to both the underlying substrate and the BPTMS.

Pressure Optimization of Fast-Moving Silicon MEMS Micromirrors: Adam Eichhorn¹; Andrew Oliver²; ¹Iowa State University; ²Montana State University
    In a solid-state Lidar system, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) micromirrors must operate with stability and speed. Under atmospheric pressure, the behavior of air damping in the micron-scale gap beneath the mirror significantly limits angular deflection. To optimize this deflection, a variety of ambient pressures were tested during high-frequency micromirror operation to identify the ideal packaging pressure.

Processing and Properties of (Ta, Nb, Hf, Ti)C: Nathan Gillespie¹; Ambreen Nisar²; Arvind Agarwal²; ¹Missouri University of Science and Technology; ²Florida International University
    The formation of multi-component single-phase ultra-high temperature ceramic (UHTC) materials has been an area of research in recent years, with preliminary results indicating enhanced hardness when compared to traditional UHTCs. (Ta,Nb,Hf,Ti)C was batched and reached a relative density of over 99% via spark-plasma sintering. Vickers microindentation yielded a hardness value of 24 ± 2 GPa and a fracture toughness value of 3.8 ± 0.7 MPa∙m^1/2.

Rheological Characterization of Highly Loaded Alumina-Polymer Suspension for Thermal Paste 3D Printing: Pattiya Pibulchinda¹; Caitlin Adams¹; Kendra Erk¹; ¹Purdue University School of Materials Engineering
    Thermal interface material (TIM) pastes are thermally conductive fillers in a polymer matrix to transfer heat. The liquidity of thermal paste causes dripping defects at the end of 3D printed lines. This study investigated the influence of rheological factors on TIMs flow behaviors in direct ink 3D printing. Highly loaded alumina-polymer suspensions were formulated by varying the volume percentage of alumina powder and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymer. Key rheological properties are yield stress, viscosity-shear rate dependency, cohesive strength, and shear strain retraction during creep cycles. Printing and dripping issues were identified as several 3D printing speeds and setup changes. Commercial alumina-based TIM tails more continuously while the formulated suspensions drip discretely in drops. This research developed rheometric experimental procedures to simulate TIM behavior in the 3D printing process. By applying constant shear stress cycles in the rheometer, the shear strain and viscosity behavior in direct ink 3D printing were successfully characterized.

The Dynamic Performance of Wearable Sensors with Flexible Silver Ink: Gina Morrison¹; Charles Dwyer¹; Gonzalo Carrillo²; Pedro Cortes¹; Eric MacDonald³; ¹Youngstown State University; ²Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán; ³Univerity of Texas at El Paso
    Current advanced technologies have allowed the formulation of flexible, conductive inks and pastes that can be incorporated into electrical components to produce wearable structures. The incorporation of additive manufacturing in this field has further promoted the production of complex conformal parts to create wearable sensors. However, there is still a lack of dynamic evaluation of 3D printed inks within flexible additively manufactured structures. The present work has investigated the fatigue properties of 3D printed flexible ink-substrate components in order to evaluate their structural and electrical properties over long periods of time. This work will also present the efforts focused on encapsulating flexible inks in printed elastomeric materials to extend their period of performance.

Thermal Analysis of Sodalite-immobilized Iodine-129 Caustic Scrubber Slurry: John Bussey¹; David Bollinger¹; Jessica Erickson¹; Natalie Smith-Gray¹; John McCloy¹; ¹Washington State University
    One modern challenge in nuclear fuel waste management is long-term disposal of Iodine-129 (¹²⁹I). Issues include high groundwater mobility, long half-lives (15.7 million years), and incompatibility with typical vitrification technologies. Caustic scrubbers are planned to capture ¹²⁹I in an envisioned spent nuclear fuel reprocessing stream. One method utilizes incorporating ¹²⁹I in sodalite-type caged aluminosilicate minerals which can subsequently be Hot Isostatic Pressed (HIP) with binder glass for vitrified long-term storage. In characterizing mineralized caustic scrubber slurry, X-ray diffraction (XRD) is useful and somewhat limited. Promising supplemental methods include Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) for measuring temperature-dependent heat and mass fluxes. Mixed-sodalites were hydrothermally synthesized and subsequently characterized with XRD, DTA, and TGA. DTA/TGA methods and corresponding analysis provided 1) phase identification complementing and verifying XRD results, 2) assignment and quantification of phase changes and volatilization events, and 3) essential insights for selecting HIP and glass binder parameters.

ZrB2 Aqueous Slurry Development for DIW Additive Manufacturing: Elizabeth Malek¹; Connor Wyckoff¹; James Kemp²; William Costakis²; Benjamin Lam²; Lisa Rueschhoff²; ¹Wright State University; ²Air Force Research Lab
    In this study, an aqueous ZrB2 slurry previously developed for injection molding was adapted for the additive manufacturing technique of direct ink writing (DIW). Important to the success of modifying this slurry is the ability to print the ink into more complex shapes, reduce porosity, and increase density. The original slurry developed for injection molding needed a change in rheology to increase yield stress to enable the support of multiple printed layers. Modifications of the solids loading and polymer content were successful in producing a printable ink. Here, we will present preliminary printing studies on infilled shapes using the modified slurry, with future work to include more complex shaped printing and material characterization. The alteration of the ink for DIW allows for further advancements of the slurry with an optimized ink that widens the range of aqueous ZrB2 printing possibilities.