Papers by Author: Kiyoshi Aoki

Abstract: In general, hydrogen permeabilityΦ of the alloy membrane is expressed as the product of the hydrogen diffusion coefficient D and the hydrogen solution coefficient K. Therefore, to improve the hydrogen permeability efficiently, the values of K and D should be separately considered. In the present study, hydrogen absorption and permeation behaviors of the Nb19Ti40Ni41 alloy consisting of the eutectic phase are investigated by measuring pressure-composition-isotherm (PCI) and by the hydrogen flow method and compared with those of palladium. The hydrogen absorption in the Nb19Ti40Ni41 alloy does not obey the Sieverts’ law in the pressure region of 0-1.0MPa at 523K, but it shows linear relationship between the difference in the square root of hydrogen pressure and hydrogen content between 0.1 and 0.4MPa. Although the value of D for the Nb19Ti40Ni41 alloy is considerably lower than that of palladium, its high K value enhances the hydrogen permeability Φ. It is suggested that the enhancement of D by microstructural control for Nb19Ti40Ni41 alloy is effective for improvement of Φ.

Abstract: Nb-NiTi and Nb-CoTi eutectic alloys were directionally solidified in an optical floating zone furnace. Rod-type eutectic structures with Nb rods aligned parallel to the growth direction are obtained for Nb-41Ni-40Ti grown at relatively slow growth rates below 1.0mm/h, while lamellar-type eutectic structures are obtained for Nb-35Co-34Ti grown at the same condition. The hydrogen permeability for the Nb-41Ni-40Ti DS alloy with Nb rods perpendicular to the membrane surface is 2.60×10-8mol H2 m-1 Pa-1/2 at 673K, which is about 2.5 times higher than that of as-cast sample. No hydrogen embrittlement is observed between 573 and 673K, indicating that the Nb-NiTi rod-type eutectic structure effectively suppresses the hydrogen embrittlement of Nb during hydrogen permeation.

Abstract: Microscopic deformation of each crystal of duplex phases of Ni-Ti-Nb alloy due to hydrogen absorption was investigated by X-ray diffraction technique. Ni30Ti30Nb40 which is hydrogen permeation alloy and consists of the primary phase, NbTi, and the eutectic phases, NiTi + NbTi, was used as a specimen. The change of lattice spacing of the specimen during hydrogen absorption was measured by Cu-Kα characteristic X-ray. As a result, the lattice spacing of crystal of NbTi phase increased extremely, while that of NiTi phase increased slightly. It was pointed out that the NbTi phase is responsible for hydrogen absorption in the Ni-Ti-Nb alloy. When hydrogen gas was released from the specimen at high temperature, both lattice spacing returned nearly to those of them before hydrogen absorption, and the specimen kept its original shape. Therefore, it was confirmed that the volume expansion of crystal of the Ni-Ti-Nb alloy due to hydrogen absorption was elastic deformation.

Abstract: Structural changes in C15 Laves phase DyCo2 on heating using a pressure differential scanning calorimeter (PDSC) in a hydrogen atmosphere between 0.1 and 5.0 MPa were investigated by a powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD), a differential scanning calorimeter under an argon flow atmosphere (Ar-DSC), a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and a hydrogen analyzer. As the temperature of DyCo2 increases, the reactions such as hydrogen absorption in a crystalline state, HIA (hydrogen-induced amorphization), precipitation of DyH3 and decomposition of the remaining amorphous phase into β-Co + DyH3 occurred exothermically for every hydrogen pressure. The mechanism of HIA in DyCo2 is discussed on the basis of the experimental results.