Sharon G. Torres

Trace Metal Source Terms in Carbon Sequestration Environments

Carbon dioxide sequestration in deep saline and depleted oil geologic formations is feasible and promising; however, possible CO(2) or CO(2)-saturated brine leakage to overlying aquifers may pose environmental and health impacts. The purpose of this study was to experimentally define a range of concentrations that can be used as the trace element source term for reservoirs and leakage pathways in risk simulations. Storage source terms for trace metals are needed to evaluate the impact of brines leaking into overlying drinking water aquifers. The trace metal release was measured from cements and sandstones, shales, carbonates, evaporites, and basalts from the Frio, In Salah, Illinois Basin, Decatur, Lower Tuscaloosa, Weyburn-Midale, Bass Islands, and Grand Ronde carbon sequestration geologic formations. Trace metal dissolution was tracked by measuring solution concentrations over time under conditions (e.g., pressures, temperatures, and initial brine compositions) specific to the sequestration projects. Existing metrics for maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for drinking water as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) were used to categorize the relative significance of metal concentration changes in storage environments because of the presence of CO(2). Results indicate that Cr and Pb released from sandstone reservoir and shale cap rocks exceed the MCLs by an order of magnitude, while Cd and Cu were at or below drinking water thresholds. In carbonate reservoirs As exceeds the MCLs by an order of magnitude, while Cd, Cu, and Pb were at or below drinking water standards. Results from this study can be used as a reasonable estimate of the trace element source term for reservoirs and leakage pathways in risk simulations to further evaluate the impact of leakage on groundwater quality.

Influence of Heat Input on Friction Stir Welding for the ODS Steel MA956

The oxide dispersion strengthened steel MA956 was friction stir welded using eight different rotational speed/translational speed combinations using a polycrystalline cubic boron nitride tool. Weld parameter conditions with high thermal input produced defect-free, full penetration welds. Electron backscatter diffraction showed a significant increase in grain size in the stir zone, a body centered cubic torsional texture in the stir zone, and a sharp transition in grain size across the thermo-mechanically affected zone. Micro-indentation results showed an asymmetric reduction in hardness across the transverse section of the weld that was sensitive to the heat input. This change in hardness is explained by the increase in grain size and may be described using a Hall-Petch type relationship.

Second Phase Precipitation in As-Welded and Solution Annealed Alloy 22 Welds

The precipitation characteristics of tetrahedrally close-packed (TCP) phases during the welding and the subsequent solution annealing process of Alloy 22 1 1/2 inch thick plate double-U prototypical welds are investigated. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was used to provide large scale microstructural observation of the weld cross section, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to map the location of the TCP phases. Analysis shows that TCP precipitation occurs congruent to the weld passes, with the solution annealing reducing the sizes of coarser precipitates.

High-kinetic inductance additive manufactured superconducting microwave cavity

Investigations into the microwave surface impedance of superconducting resonators have led to the development of single photon counters that rely on kinetic inductance for their operation, while concurrent progress in additive manufacturing, “3D printing,” opens up a previously inaccessible design space for waveguide resonators. In this manuscript, we present results from the synthesis of these two technologies in a titanium, aluminum, vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) superconducting radio frequency resonator which exploits a design unattainable through conventional fabrication means. We find that Ti-6Al-4V has two distinct superconducting transition temperatures observable in heat capacity measurements. The higher transition temperature is in agreement with DC resistance measurements, while the lower transition temperature, not previously known in the literature, is consistent with the observed temperature dependence of the superconducting microwave surface impedance. From the surface reactance, we extract a London ...

Electron Backscatter Diffraction in Low Vacuum Conditions

Most current scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) have the ability to analyze samples in a low vacuum mode, whereby a partial pressure of water vapor is introduced into the SEM chamber, allowing the characterization of nonconductive samples without any special preparation. Although the presence of water vapor in the chamber degrades electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) patterns, the potential of this setup for EBSD characterization of nonconductive samples is immense. In this chapter we discuss the requirements, advantages and limitations of low vacuum EBSD (LV-EBSD), and present how this technique can be applied to a two-phase ceramic composite as well as hydrated biominerals as specific examples of when LV-EBSD can be invaluable.