Carbonate-salt-based composite materials for medium- and high-temperature thermal energy storage

This paper discusses composite materials based on inorganic salts for medium- and high-temperature thermal energy storage application. The composites consist of a phase change material （PCM）, a ceramic material, and a high thermal conductivity material. The ceramic material forms a microstructural skeleton for encapsulation of the PCM and structural stability of the composites; the high thermal conductivity material enhances the overall thermal conductivity of the composites. Using a eutectic salt of lithium and sodium carbonates as the PCM, magnesium oxide as the ceramic skeleton, and either graphite flakes or carbon nanotubes as the thermal conductivity enhancer, we produced composites with good physical and chemical stability and high thermal conductivity. We found that the wettability of the molten salt on the ceramic and carbon materials significantly affects the microstructure of the composites.     

Mechanics of hydrogen storage in carbon nanotubes

A continuum mechanics model is established for hydrogen storage in single- and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the bundle of single-wall CNTs. The model accounts for the deformation of CNTs, and van der Waals interactions among hydrogen molecules and between hydrogen and carbon atoms. The analytical expressions of hydrogen storage (number of hydrogen molecules per unit volume) in CNTs are obtained, and are validated by atomistic simulations. CNTs are categorized as tiny, small, medium and large CNTs; tiny CNTs cannot achieve the goals of hydrogen storage (62 kg/m³ and 6.5 wt% of hydrogen set by the US Department of Energy) without fracture; small CNTs are strained during hydrogen storage; medium CNTs can achieve the above goals without the strain and do not self collapse; and large CNTs may self collapse upon the release of hydrogen.     

A unified framework for modeling hysteresis in ferroic materials

This paper addresses the development of a unified framework for quantifying hysteresis and constitutive nonlinearities inherent to ferroelectric, ferromagnetic and ferroelastic materials. Because the mechanisms which produce hysteresis vary substantially at the microscopic level, it is more natural to initiate model development at the mesoscopic, or lattice, level where the materials share common energy properties along with analogous domain structures. In the first step of the model development, Helmholtz and Gibbs energy relations are combined with Boltzmann theory to construct mesoscopic models which quantify the local average polarization, magnetization and strains in ferroelectric, ferromagnetic and ferroelastic materials. In the second step of the development, stochastic homogenization techniques are invoked to construct unified macroscopic models for nonhomogeneous, polycrystalline compounds exhibiting nonuniform effective fields. The combination of energy analysis and homogenization techniques produces low-order models in which a number of parameters can be correlated with physical attributes of measured data. Furthermore, the development of a unified modeling framework applicable to a broad range of ferroic compounds facilitates material characterization, transducer development, and model-based control design. Attributes of the models are illustrated through comparison with piezoceramic, magnetostrictive and shape memory alloy data and prediction of material behavior.     

Kinematics and elasticity framework for materials with two fiber families

A kinematics framework is developed for materials with two fiber families that are not necessarily orthogonal or mechanically equivalent. These two latter conditions represent important subclasses that are analyzed. To succinctly define the strain, six scalar strain attributes are developed that have direct physical interpretation. In the hyperelastic limit, this approach allows the Cauchy stress t to be expressed as the sum of six response terms, almost all of which are mutually orthogonal (i.e. 14 of the 15 inner products vanish). For small deformations, the response terms are entirely orthogonal (i.e. all 15 inner products vanish). Experimental advantage is demonstrated for finite strain hyperelastic materials by showing that common tests, for the first time, can directly determine terms in the strain energy function of two fiber composites.Received: 18 September 2002, Accepted: 5 May 2003, Published online: 29 July 2003     

A one-step method for producing microencapsulated phase change materials

This short communication reports our recent work on the synthesis and characterisation ofmicrocapsules of phase change materials using silica as the shell material through a one-step method. The method uses no surfactants or dispersants for stabilising the capsules. The results show that the one-step method allows the tuning of the size and polydispersity of the capsules, and the use of different core materials. Analyses of the capsules show that they contain about 65% phase change materials. The results also suggest no need for a stabilising agent due to self-stabilisation by the amine groups. Further work is underway to investigate the mechanical and thermal properties of the microcapsules and the scale-up of the method.     

Rigid biological composite materials: Structural examples for biomimetic design

Biological hard tissues are composites of inorganics and biopolymers, and, therefore, represent hybrid systems. The inorganic components may be oxides (e.g., SiO₂, Fe₃O₄), carbonates (e.g., CaCO₃) sulfides (e.g., FeS, CdS), or others, mostly in crystalline forms but also occasionally in glassy forms. The biopolymer is often proteinaceous, but can also involve lipids and especially polysaccharides (e.g., chitin). These hybrid materials can be found in single celled organisms (such as bacteria and protozoa), invertebrates (such as mollusks), insects (such as beetles), and vertebrates (such as mammals). A common denominator of all hard tissues is that they are hierarchically structured from the nanometer scale to the microscale and the macroscale. It is these controlled structures that give biological hard tissues their unique and highly evolved functional properties. The engineering properties include mechanical, piezoelectric, optical, and magnetic. The hard tissues can be in the form of nanoparticles, spines, spicules, skeletons, and shells. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate mechanical aspects of some of these hard tissues, to discuss their structure-function relationships (with examples from the literature as well as from our research), and to reveal their potential utility in materials science and engineering applications.     

Interrelation of creep and relaxation for nonlinearly viscoelastic materials: application to ligament and metal

Creep and stress relaxation are known to be interrelated in linearly viscoelastic materials by an exact analytical expression. In this article, analytical interrelations are derived for nonlinearly viscoelastic materials which obey a single integral nonlinear superposition constitutive equation. The kernel is not assumed to be separable as a product of strain and time dependent parts. Superposition is fully taken into account within the single integral formulation used. Specific formulations based on power law time dependence and truncated expansions are developed. These are appropriate for weak stress and strain dependence. The interrelated constitutive formulation is applied to ligaments, in which stiffness increases with strain, stress relaxation proceeds faster than creep, and rate of creep is a function of stress and rate of relaxation is a function of strain. An interrelation was also constructed for a commercial die-cast aluminum alloy currently used in small engine applications.