New Furnace for High Temperature X-Ray Diffraction

A compact furnace combined with high-energy x-rays is enabling researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory at Iowa State to directly record the chemical and structural changes of complex materials under real processing conditions. This information, which is crucial to understanding and controlling the composition and microstructure of new materials, previously took months or years to collect. The researchers who designed the furnace now can gather data in a few days while getting a more detailed picture of the changes in a material's crystal structure as it heats and cools. "We're seeing details of the phase transitions that I don't think anybody has ever described before," says Ames Lab scientist Matt Kramer.

The new furnace is a scaled-down version of a standard laboratory tube furnace, measuring about 18 inches (46 cm) tall and 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter. It allows x-ray diffraction measurements to be performed at temperatures up to 1500 C (2730 F) under flexible environments, duplicating the conditions used in materials processing. The reactions are monitored with a time resolution of less than two seconds, fast enough to make a virtual movie of the material's structural transformation during temperature-driven processing.

Kramer said the new system is providing highly precise information about complex materials such as structural ceramics, superconducting wires and nanostructured materials. For more information, contact Kramer at (515) 294-0276, or Susan Dieterle, Ames Lab Public Affairs, (515) 294-1405.