Orozco-Palencia, Omar D.

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  • Publication
    A method of fabrication of ultra-high temperature ceramic nanoparticles using acoustic cavitation
    (2020-12-11) Orozco-Palencia, Omar D.; Cancelos, Silvina; College of Engineering; Gutiérrez, Gustavo; Marín-Martín, Carlos; Department of Mechanical Engineering; Santana-Morant, Dámaris
    Production of ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) has been studied for several decades, especially for applications on the aerospace industry that require materials for extreme environments. Traditional methods of production of starting powders require high purity and homogeneous size distribution. Nanostructured ceramics are known to have improved mechanical properties at extreme conditions. However, to manufacture this type of ceramics required higher purity and narrower size distribution. This research seeks to establish a method of production of UHTC nanopowders with a narrow particle size distribution using a cavitation prototype that forces the interparticle collisions. The cavitation prototype was characterized to determine the first mechanical resonant mode to achieve the greatest pressure level. Micrometer particles were processed using the prototype under resonant conditions varying the power and time of exposure. Experiments samples produced at different operational parameters were characterized using nanoparticle tracking analysis and electron microscopy. The results were correlated with the monitored electrical signals recorded to determine the cavitation activity. Experiment results show that UHTCs particles can be produced using the acoustic cavitation prototype. The mean particle size was found in the range of 100 – 250 nanometers, independent of the processing time and the power dissipated. Also, particles below 10 nm were produced. It was noticed that a larger amount of particles was produced with power dissipation above 20 Watts and cavitation rates over 20 events by second. Also, the narrower size distribution was achieved under these conditions.