Research Experience Questions

1. What are the key questions being addressed by the research and why are they important?

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of certain compounds, pyrochlores in this case, as thermographic phosphors. These pyrochlores are already known as compounds that can withstand high temperatures (~1300 degrees Celsius) which gives them a wide range of applications in thermal barrier coatings. The research was conducted to see if the pyrochlores could act as thermographic phosphors at such high temperatures so that the material used as insulation on a machine part could also be used to make temperature measurements. Finding a material that could physically withstand such high temperatures and be used as a thermographic phosphor at those temperatures would be a very important find. It would allow much more convenience in the insulation of machine parts, particularly parts in gas turbines, and lower costs as well. Gas turbines are able to run more efficiently the higher the operating temperature is. A material that can insulate against higher operating temperatures while also providing a way of very accurately monitoring those temperatures is very desirable. The primary goal of this research was to see if any of the pyrochlores that were tested would be able to satisfy both of these goals.


2. What did you learn about the potential applications of this research?

After the testing, I found that unfortunately the tested pyrochlores would not be usable at temperatures needed to improve average gas turbine efficiency. However, the pyrochlores still have some application as thermal barrier coatings for manufacturing processes and machinery that only go up to about 700 degrees Celsius. Although this doesn't provide a new utility to the industry (other compounds can currently be used for the same function), it does increase the amount of options available for that use and potentially lowers costs and increases customizability. For example, different excitation sources and receptors can be used for different types of thermographic phosphors. Another benefit of this research is simply that it tested a few pyrochlores and found that they weren't suitable. As mentioned in the abstract, pyrochlores are a very broad field of compounds. Many experts feel that pyrochlores are a group worth looking into for the purpose of finding a material that can provide excellent insulation and temperature measurements at very high temperatures. However, the group is extremely large and grows in size when considering dopants and dopant percentages which can vastly affect the material characteristics. Thus, testing different pyrochlores is the only way to see if a material with the desired properties can be found. The pyrochlores we tested had not been tested before with the same dopant at the same dopant percentage. Thus, we were able to narrow, albeit slightly, the field of pyrochlores to be tested in the future.


3. Discuss the potential impact - positive or negative - of the work your performed on a particular population (i.e.: women, Hispanics, economically disadvantaged, immigrants, etc.).

This research cannot easily be characterized as benefitting some specific group of people. The closest fit would be that this research and the field helps the economically disadvantaged. As mentioned above, finding a material that can insulate and provide temperature measurements at very high temperatures (above 1300 degrees Celsius) would be an important discovery. This is because it would make it more efficient and easier to operate gas turbines by allowing for higher temperatures and a convenient method of measuring those temperatures. Gas turbines are commonly used in electrical generators to provide electrical power. If gas turbines can operate more efficiently, electrical generators can as well. This lowers the operating costs of power companies. In many cases, the savings can be passed on to consumers as the power companies lower costs to attract more customers. This potential lower cost of energy is the most tangible benefit of research in this field. For the economically disadvantaged, being able to save additional money in any way possible is a great benefit. The economically disadvantaged have scarce financial resources and benefit the most from any decrease in the cost of living associated with energy costs.