EAGER: Self-Repairable Glass-Ceramic Composites for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

非技术描述：玻璃在真空技术、微电子和电力电子等众多技术应用中用于密封和连接材料。密封件还需要用于新的和更有效的能量产生装置，例如固体氧化物燃料电池（SOFC），以保护用于能量产生的有限自然资源。固体氧化物燃料电池的密封件在非常高的温度下工作，并且在使用中容易开裂。这项研究工作有望开发出一种新型的玻璃和玻璃复合材料，能够自我修复裂纹或损坏，从而为SOFC密封件提供长寿命和具有成本效益的解决方案。这项研究也有潜力通过以下方式获得巨大的回报：（1）培训学生掌握适用于学术界和工业界的宝贵技术和研究技能;（2）通过加强现有的高科技应用玻璃和玻璃复合材料合成设施来促进机构资源的发展。技术规格：虽然玻璃有希望用于制造SOFC的密封件，但是当暴露于热瞬变时，它们由于其固有的脆性而遭受破裂。最近，一个变革性的概念，自愈合/自修复玻璃作为密封的SOFC被发现，这需要一个基本的理解在玻璃和玻璃陶瓷复合材料的裂纹愈合的动力学和机制。因此，本研究的主要重点是在有前途的玻璃和玻璃陶瓷复合材料显示自我修复的裂纹愈合机制和动力学的基础研究，以进一步推进这一变革性的概念，自修复密封SOFC。有了这样的理解，人们可以识别裂纹愈合机制，并能够预测实现自我修复所需的愈合时间。该方法包括合成致密的玻璃和玻璃陶瓷复合材料含有结晶陶瓷相，并研究愈合和裂纹愈合动力学的裂纹的形态演变。这种裂纹愈合研究的方法涉及使用维氏显微压头创建受控几何形状的裂纹，然后通过测量裂纹形状和裂纹长度作为不同温度下时间的函数来确定裂纹愈合动力学。这项研究是新颖的和变革性的，因为结果将是第一次全面研究玻璃和玻璃陶瓷复合材料的裂纹愈合行为，可用作SOFC的主动自修复密封件。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Glasses are used for sealing and joining materials in a myriad of technological applications such as vacuum technology, microelectronics and power electronics. Seals are also needed for new and more efficient energy producing devices such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) for conservation of limited natural resources for energy production. The seals for SOFCs function at very high temperatures and are susceptible to cracking in service. The research work is expected to develop a new class of glass and glass-composites that self-repair cracks or damage thereby providing long-life and cost-effective solutions to seals for SOFCs. The research also has potentials for enormous payoffs by (1) training students in invaluable technical and research skills applicable to both academia and industry, and (2) advance enhancing the institutional the resources of institution by the enhancement of existing facilities for the synthesis of glasses and glass-composites for high-technology applications. TECHNICAL DETAILS: While glasses are promising for making seals for SOFCs, they suffer from cracking because of their inherent brittleness when exposed to thermal transients. Recently, a transformative concept of self-healing/self-repairable glasses as seals for SOFCs was discovered, which requires a fundamental understanding of the kinetics and mechanism of crack healing in glasses and glass-ceramic composites. Therefore, the primary focus of this research is a basic investigation of the crack-healing mechanism and kinetics in promising glass and glass-ceramic composites displaying self-repair in order to further advance this transformative concept of self-repairable seals for SOFCs. With such an understanding one can identify the crack-healing mechanism and be able to predict the healing time required for achieving self-repair. The approach involves the synthesis of dense glass and glass-ceramic composites containing a crystalline ceramic phase, and studying the morphological evolution of cracks upon healing and crack-healing kinetics. The approach to this crack-healing study involves creating cracks of controlled geometry using a Vickers microindenter and then determining the crack-healing kinetics via measuring the crack shape and crack length as a function of time at different temperatures. The research is novel and transformative because the results will be the first comprehensive study of the crack-healing behaviors of glasses and glass-ceramic composites useful as active self-repairable seals for SOFCs.