Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Ceramatec, Inc.

University of Utah Research Foundation

Terratek, Inc.

Washington Mills Management, Inc.

Cerametec, Inc.

Raymond Ashton Cutler

Michael Francis Carolan

Merrill Anderson Wilson

Dale M Taylor

Robin Edward Richards

Anil Vasudeo Virkar

Dinesh Shetty

Darryl Paul Butt

Paul N Dyer

Brett Tamatea Henderson

Stuart Adler

Steven Walton Rynders

Jimmy Ludlow

Michael M Sygnatowicz

Kent Neal Hutchings

Roger L Matsumoto

Steven Lee Russek

Eric Minford

Arfon H Jones

David W Prouse

Ronald Almy Hollis

Roger Marc Flinders

Rene Hendrick Elias Van Doorn

Brian Paul Kleinlein

Darin Ray

Shane Verhoef

Kenneth Hackett

Andrew C Hurford

Darryl P Butt

Rene Hendrik Van Doorn

Paul Nigel Dyer

Jeffrey Donald Bright

A thermal interface material is made by dispersing in a polymer, such as epoxy, silicone, or urethane, silicon carbide particles which have been previously oxidized to form a strongly adherent insulating layer. The attractive combination of high thermal conductivity and high electrical resistivity is achieved by controlling the thickness of the oxide layer and the loading of the ceramic particles in the polymer matrix.

SiC-filled polymers with high electrical resistivity and high thermal conductivity

A functionally graded carbide body () can include a group 5 metal carbide substrate having a bulk composition region () that contains at least 70 wt % of a rhombohedral &#x3b6;-phase carbide. A &#x3b3;-phase-rich region () having a &#x3b3;-phase-rich composition can be at a surface () of the substrate, and a phase composition gradient region () can transition from the &#x3b3;-phase-rich composition region at the surface to the bulk composition region at a gradient depth () below the surface.

Functionally graded carbides

A method of forming a sintered &#x3b6;-phase tantalum carbide can include assembling a particulate mixture including a tantalum hydride powder and a carbon source powder. The particulate mixture can be sintered to form a tantalum carbide having at least 70 wt. % of a &#x3b6;-phase with at least about 90% densification. After sintering, the tantalum carbide can be cooled to substantially retain the &#x3b6;-phase.

Methods of sintering dense zeta-phase tantalum carbide

A ceramic material having a high toughness can include carbon and a transition metal. The transition metal can have an elemental body centered cubic structure at room temperature. A substantial amount of the ceramic can be of a rhombohedral &#x3b6; phase of the transition metal and carbon. These materials can have a high thermal shock resistance, high fracture toughness, and good high temperature performance. A particulate mixture of a carbon source and a transition metal source can be assembled () and reacted () under high pressure and high temperature. The transition metal source can include a transition metal of a metal which has an elemental BCC structure at room temperature. The particulate mixture carbon to transition metal ratio is chosen so as to achieve a zeta phase carbide and processing is affected in order to retain the zeta phase at a substantial weight percent of the material (i.e. greater than about 5 wt %). The carbide ceramic can be cooled () and depressurized () to acquire the ceramic material.

High-toughness zeta-phase carbides

Pressureless sintering of silicon carbide with fracture toughness in excess of about 4 MPa-mas measured by the single-edge precracked beam (SEPB) technique while maintaining a density greater than 3.1 g/cc for compositions with SiC greater than about 94 wt. % is made possible through the use of metallic Al to promote sintering and grain growth. Boron and carbon may be used as traditional sintering aids, with nitrogen to suppress grain growth, and additions of yttrium and/or lanthanide elements to promote intergranular fracture.

Toughened silicon carbide and method for making the same

A method of joining at least two sintered bodies to form a composite structure, includes: providing a joint material between joining surfaces of first and second sintered bodies; applying pressure from 1 kP to less than 5 MPa to provide an assembly; heating the assembly to a conforming temperature sufficient to allow the joint material to conform to the joining surfaces; and further heating the assembly to a joining temperature below a minimum sintering temperature of the first and second sintered bodies. The joint material includes organic component(s) and ceramic particles. The ceramic particles constitute 40-75 vol. % of the joint material, and include at least one element of the first and/or second sintered bodies. Composite structures produced by the method are also disclosed.

Method of forming a ceramic to ceramic joint

Method of making an electrochemical device for the recovery of oxygen from an oxygen-containing feed gas comprising (a) preparing a green electrochemical device by assembling a green electrolyte layer, a green anode layer in contact with the green electrolyte layer, a green cathode layer in contact with the green electrolyte layer, a green anode-side gas collection interconnect layer in contact with the green anode layer, and a green cathode-side feed gas distribution interconnect layer in contact with the green cathode layer; and (b) sintering-the green electrochemical device by heating to yield a sintered electrochemical device comprising a plurality of sintered layers including a sintered anode-side gas collection interconnect layer in contact with the anode layer and adapted to collect oxygen permeate gas, wherein each sintered layer is bonded to an adjacent sintered layer during sintering.

Method of making an ion transport membrane oxygen separation device

A method of joining at least two sintered bodies to form a composite structure, including providing a first multicomponent metallic oxide having a perovskitic or fluorite crystal structure; providing a second sintered body including a second multicomponent metallic oxide having a crystal structure of the same type as the first; and providing at an interface a joint material containing at least one metal oxide containing at least one metal identically contained in at least one of the first and second multicomponent metallic oxides. The joint material is free of cations of Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, P and Te and has a melting point below the sintering temperatures of both sintered bodies. The joint material is heated to a temperature above the melting point of the metal oxide(s) and below the sintering temperatures of the sintered bodies to form the joint. Structures containing such joints are also disclosed.

Method of forming a joint

A method of forming a composite structure includes: (1) providing first and second sintered bodies containing first and second multicomponent metallic oxides having first and second identical crystal structures that are perovskitic or fluoritic; (2) providing a joint material containing at least one metal oxide: (a) containing (i) at least one metal of an identical IUPAC Group as at least one sintered body metal in one of the multicomponent metallic oxides, (ii) a first row D-Block transition metal not contained in the multicomponent metallic oxides, and/or (iii) a lanthanide not contained in the multicomponent metallic oxides; (b) free of metals contained in the multicomponent metallic oxides; (c) free of cations of boron, silicon, germanium, tin, lead, arsenic, antimony, phosphorus and tellurium; and (d) having a melting point below the sintering temperatures of the sintered bodies; and (3) heating to a joining temperature above the melting point and below the sintering temperatures.

Method of joining ITM materials using a partially or fully-transient liquid phase

Ceria based solid electrolytes

This invention presents a new class of multicomponent metallic oxides which are particularly suited toward use in fabricating components used in processes for producing syngas. The non-stoichiometric, A-site rich compositions of the present invention are represented by the formula (Ln Ca ) FeO wherein Ln is La or a mixture of lanthanides comprising La, and wherein 1.0>x>0.5, 1.1&gE;y>1.0 and &dgr; is a number which renders the composition of matter charge neutral. Solid-state membranes formed from these compositions provide a favorable balance of oxygen permeance and resistance to degradation when employed in processes for producing syngas. This invention also presents a process for making syngas which utilizes such membranes.

Mixed conducting membranes for syngas production

An electrochemical device for separating oxygen from an oxygen-containing gas comprises a plurality of planar ion-conductive solid electrolyte plates and electrically-conductive gas-impermeable interconnects assembled in a multi-cell stack. Electrically-conductive anode and cathode material is applied to opposite sides of each electrolyte plate. A gas-tight anode seal is bonded between the anode side of each electrolyte plate and the anode side of the adjacent interconnect. A biasing electrode, applied to the anode side of each electrolyte plate between the anode seal and the edge of the anode, eliminates anode seal failure by minimizing the electrical potential across the seal. The seal potential is maintained below about 40 mV and preferably below about 25 mV. A gas-tight seal is applied between the cathode sides of each electrolyte plate and the adjacent interconnect such that the anode and cathode seals are radially offset on opposite sides of the plate. The combination of biasing electrodes and offset seals is particularly effective in eliminating anode seal failure.

Insulating support for ion conductor stack

Ion conductor stack with offset seals and biasing electrodes

A binderless coarse-grained WC substrate is coated with a chemical vapor deposition ('CVD') diamond layer in order to give a coating with improved adherence relative to WC--Co-based substrates and high compressive residual stress relative to Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 -based substrates. The elimination of Co from the WC improves the adherence of the diamond coating, allowing thicker coatings to be produced than for WC--Co substrates. Thin coatings (&lt;30 .mu.m) are acceptable for applications where the coating is under low applied stress. Thicker coatings (&gt;30 .mu.m) are used to give enhanced damage resistance for stresses localized at the surface of the diamond-coated component. Applying the diamond coating to a WC/WC--Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 /WC graded composite allows materials with high damage resistance to be fabricated. Deposition of a substantially continuous diamond film may be accomplished by CVD and PVD techniques. WC ceramics allow faster deposition rates since Co in WC--Co enhances back-conversion of diamond to graphite, and diamond can therefore be deposited on WC at higher temperatures than WC--Co substrates.

Diamond coated WC and WC-based composites with high apparent toughness

Planar solid-state membrane modules for separating oxygen from an oxygen-containing gaseous mixture which provide improved pneumatic and structural integrity and ease of manifolding. The modules are formed from a plurality of planar membrane units, each membrane unit which comprises a channel-free porous support having connected through porosity which is in contact with a contiguous dense mixed conducting oxide layer having no connected through porosity. The dense mixed conducting oxide layer is placed in flow communication with the oxygen-containing gaseous mixture to be separated and the channel-free porous support of each membrane unit is placed in flow communication with one or more manifolds or conduits for discharging oxygen which has been separated from the oxygen-containing gaseous mixture by permeation through the dense mixed conducting oxide layer of each membrane unit and passage into the manifolds or conduits via the channel-free porous support of each membrane unit.

Planar solid-state membrane module

Growing community of inventors

Bountiful, UT, United States of America

Raymond Ashton Cutler