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Tribological and neutron radiation properties of boron nitride nanotubes reinforced titanium composites under lunar environment

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  • FOCUS ISSUE: Boron Nitride Nanotubes
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Abstract

The present study reports the tribological behavior, and radiation shielding performance of a multifunctional boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) reinforced titanium metal matrix composite (MMC) for applications in lunar exploration. BNNT-Ti MMCs showed 10.2 and 25.5% improvements in wear volume loss compared to pristine Ti samples with and without lunar simulant, respectively. For neutron radiation shielding evaluation, an additional set of samples with similar compositions was sintered at 750 °C. The decreased sintering temperature from 950 to 750 °C prevented BNNTs from interfacial reactions with the Ti matrix during sintering. The highest neutron attenuation was observed in BNNT-Ti MMC sintered at 750 °C, followed by the one sintered at 950 °C and pristine Ti sample. Maximum 45 and 50% improvements in linear and mass absorption coefficient were shown, respectively. This study proves that adding BNNTs to the Ti alloy matrix greatly enhanced the wear resistance, yield strength, and radiation shielding performance.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support from NASA through grant 80NSSC20M0175 and the characterization facilities provided by Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute (AMERI) at FIU.

Funding

Arvind Agarwal acknowledges the funding received from NASA through grant 80NSSC20M0175.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plasma Forming Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Florida International University, 10555 West Flagler Street, Miami, FL, 33174, USA

    Nicole Bacca, Cheng Zhang, Tanaji Paul, Abhijith Kunneparambil Sukumaran, Denny John & Arvind Agarwal

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, 110 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Nicole Bacca

  3. Materials Test, Chemistry and Contamination Control Branch, NASA MSFC, Huntsville, AL, 35808, USA

    Sara Rengifo & Matthew Mazurkivich

  4. Advanced Materials and Processing Branch, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, 23681, USA

    Cheol Park

  5. National Institute of Aerospace, 100 Exploration Way, Hampton, VA, 23666, USA

    Sang-Hyon Chu

  6. ERC Inc., Jacobs Space Exploration Group, Huntsville, AL, 35806, USA

    William Scott

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  1. Nicole Bacca
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Bacca, N., Zhang, C., Paul, T. et al. Tribological and neutron radiation properties of boron nitride nanotubes reinforced titanium composites under lunar environment. Journal of Materials Research 37, 4582–4593 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-022-00708-w

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