SusChEM: Ceramic Based Nanocomposite Films and Sensors for Life Cycle Monitoring of Materials in High Temperature Harsh Environments

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NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Significant cost savings can be achieved by optimizing the maintenance and servicing of machinery that is used in high temperature harsh industrial environments, such as those found in turbine engines, petrochemical processing plants, combustion burners, power plant boilers, oil/gas drilling, metals smelting and refining, and ceramic manufacturing. Unfortunately, currently available thin film materials rapidly degrade in the high temperature harsh conditions of interest to the high temperature industry sector, making sensors and other monitoring devices unstable and short-lived. This project focuses on developing a new class of ceramic-based thin film materials that are stable in these extreme high temperature harsh environments. The development of these high temperature components will improve sustainability by enabling the deployment of miniaturized sensors, actuators, and other electronic components that can be used to reduce overall energy usage and increase the longevity of complex, expensive high temperature machinery. TECHNICAL DETAILS: Investigations are being carried out on nanocomposite multilayer thin film structures consisting of oxides, borides, or silicides integrated with Pt-based materials on sapphire, langasite, and Inconel substrates. Rapid materials screening experiments are used to determine the most stable nanocomposite architectures consisting of diffusion barriers, adhesion layers, conducting electrodes, and capping passivation layers. Experiments on the most promising nanocomposite systems focus on probing materials processes such as surface reactivity, interdiffusion, phase formation, oxidation, recrystallization, agglomeration, and roughening. Prototype sensor devices comprised of the ceramic-based nanocomposite films are being evaluated within controlled environment furnaces and small scale turbine engines. The project is educating and training three graduate students and four undergraduates in the areas of ceramic film synthesis, high temperature materials, and characterization of sensor devices. The students are also learning about materials sustainability strategies and technology transfer to the sensor community.