Twin roll casting (TRC) offers a promising route for the economic production of Mg sheet, but unfortunately, it produces strip with coarse and non-uniform microstructures and severe centre line segregation. Recently, a novel magnesium strip casting process termed melt conditioned twin roll casting (MC-TRC) was developed that, compared with the conventional TRC process, emphasizes solidification control at the casting stage rather than hot rolling. This was achieved by melt conditioning under intensive forced convection prior to twin roll casting resulting in enhanced heterogeneous nucleation followed by equiaxed growth. In this study the development of TRC and MC-TRC processes and a microstructural comparison of the MC-TRC Mg-alloy strip with that of conventional TRC strip, have been investigated. Emphasis has been focused on the solidification behaviour of the intensively sheared liquid metal, and on the mechanisms for microstructural refinement and compositional uniformity in the MCTRC process. The results of the process development indicate that the MC-TRC process reduces considerably or eliminates defects such as the centre line segregation, voids and cracks at or near the strip surface that are always present in conventional TRC strip. The newly-designed homogenization treatment investigated for TRC and MC-TRC magnesium alloy strips was based on microstructural evolution obtained during heat treatment. The results of the MC-TRC strips showed a much faster recrystallization rate with finer recrystallized grains, which are due to more homogeneous and a finer grain size of the as-cast MC-TRC strips compared with the as-cast TRC strips. During down-stream processing, the effects of MC-TRC process on microstructural evolution of hot-rolled magnesium strips have been understood thoroughly by accurate control of the hot-rolling procedure during each step of strip thickness reduction. This study indicates that the MC-TRC strip requires fewer rolling steps when compared to TRC strip, thus offering reduced processing cost and carbon footprint. Mechanical properties at room temperature of MC-TRC as-cast and rolled sheets are much improved when compared with the conventional TRC as-cast and rolled sheets which can result in a higher quality of final components. The mechanical properties at elevated temperature shows for the first time that the higher elongation and lower yield strength of MC-TRC as-cast strips at a temperature close to its optimised hot-rolling temperature results in better ability for rolling and higher ductility of MC-TRC Mg strip compared with the TRC Mg strip.

No description available.

Research focused on the selective laser melting (SLM) of stainless steels and aluminium alloys. For steels, the possibility of creating a magnetically graded material was demonstrated as well as the ability to improve consolidation with austenitic and martensitic stainless steel powder mixtures. Stainless Steel/CoCr hybrid samples were also manufactured and tested to investigate the advantages of functionally graded materials (FGMs). Al alloy research began with examining the requirements for successful Al alloy consolidation in SLM and through experimentation it was found that Al alloys with good welding properties were the best choice: pure Al was found to be completely unsuitable. 6061 Al alloy was then used as a base material to manufacture Al-Cu alloy samples. Single layer SLM samples were produced first, which resulted in recognised Al-Cu microstructures forming. Multilayer Al alloy SLM research resulted in the discovery of the theorised ability to manufacture Al-Cu alloy parts with a nanocrystalline Al matrix with dispersed Al2Cu quasicrystals, resulting in a material comparable to a metal matrix composite that showed excellent corrosion resistance and compressive strength. Finally, a demonstration part was made to test the capability of the SLM process producing an aerospace type geometry using a customised Al alloy. Observations during manufacture and post process analysis showed that Al alloys were susceptible to changes in mechanical properties due to the geometry of the manufactured part.

It is highly desirable to be able to make predictions of properties in metallic materials based upon the composition of the material and the microstructure. Unfortunately, the complexity of real, multi-component, multi-phase engineering alloys makes the provision of constituent-based (i.e., composition or microstructure) phenomenological equations extremely difficult. Due to these difficulties, qualitative predictions are frequently used to study the influence of microstructure or composition on the properties. Neural networks were used as a tool to get a quantitative model from a database. However, the developed model is not a phenomenological model. In this study, a new method based upon the integration of three separate modeling approaches, specifically artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms, and monte carlo was proposed. These three methods, when coupled in the manner described in this study, allows for the extraction of phenomenological equations with a concurrent analysis of uncertainty. This approach has been applied to a multi-component, multi-phase microstructure exhibiting phases with varying spatial and morphological distributions. Specifically, this approach has been applied to derive a phenomenological equation for the prediction of yield strength in a+b processed Ti-6-4. The equation is consistent with not only the current dataset but also, where available, the limited information regarding certain parameters such as intrinsic yield strength of pure hexagonal close-packed alpha titanium.

Block copolymers have attracted interests for potential application ranging from dynamic photonic sensors to solid-state ion conductors. However, due to nucleation and growth mechanism, block copolymer inherently forms granular microstructure with defects such as grain boundaries. Understanding the microstructure of block copolymer is thus crucial in many applications because the microstructure determines the transport property of functional fillers such as ions in block copolymer template. Previous research has shown that athermal filler segregated to grain boundary of lamellae block copolymer and retards the grain coarsening. However, the kinetics of this grain boundary segregation during thermal annealing has not been revealed. Polystyrene-b-polyisoprene blended with deuterated polystyrene is used for neutron scattering study on studying the kinetics of grain boundary segregation. Deuterated polystyrene will segregate to grain boundaries, therefore, decorate grain boundary. The filler segregation behavior will be studied by comparing neutron scattering of polystyrene-b-polyisoprene/deuterated polystyrene with different annealing times (at T=130 deg C, duration of 0hr, 3hr, 1day, 3day and 7day, respectively). Invariant (Q) analysis along with grain mapping is conducted to quantitatively analyze the kinetics of grain boundary segregation. This kinetic was in good agreement with the McLean’s kinetic model for grain boundary segregation in metals. By applying Langmuir-Mclean’s segregation isotherm equation, we have predicted the equilibrium concentration of filler in grain boundary by calculating the strain energy stored in grain boundary.

This study combines structural field data with microstructural observations in an analysis of a mid-crustal shear zone related to the emplacement of the Misty pluton during a high-flux magmatic event in Northern Fiordland, New Zealand. These high-flux magmatic events transport massive amounts of heat and material as they develop along accretionary continental margins, and represent a primary source of continental crust. Fiordland, New Zealand possesses, perhaps, the most extensive middle and lower crustal exposure of these systems on earth. Therefore, this study area provides a significant opportunity to understand processes of continental crust formation in the mid-crust and how these events relate to the broader construction of continents. Herein, I document the four-stage geologic history of the Cozette Burn field area. Pre-existing structures along the Gondwana accretionary margin hosted a regional flare-up magmatic event that produced the Misty pluton and several other large plutons of the West Fiordland Orthogneiss (WFO). This study primarily focuses on the mid-crustal emplacement of the Misty pluton during oblique convergence along the accretionary margin, forming the upper-amphibolite facies Misty Shear Zone (MSZ). The exposures of the MSZ within the Cozette Burn preserve rare structural relationships between host rock and the intrusive Misty pluton. Together, these structures developed during end-stage contractional tectonics that constructed a long-lived (~270+ Ma) composite batholith. Heterogeneous ductile shearing defines the MSZ, with microstructural evidence indicating an interplay of high-temperature crystal plastic deformation along with partial melting of host rock and melt channeling. This resulted in focused, melt-assisted shearing under regional transpressive deformation. These accommodative processes provided an efficient mechanism for moving heat, fluids and magma sourced from the lower crust/mantle boundary into the mid-crust during 15-25 km of crustal thickening related to arc flare-up magmatism. This flare up magmatism and MSZ formation occurred during the final stages of crustal thickening along Gondwana continental margin. High-strain, mylonitic- ultramylonitic shear zones developed in a later phase of deformation, cutting MSZ fabrics near contacts between the Misty pluton and host rock. These more localized shear zones can be attributed to either accommodation of localized melt-pressure buildup or the shift to extensional tectonics. Brittle faulting cut these structures with oblique-thrust in the Tertiary. These mid-crustal structures carry economic relevance: thickened-crust events along accretionary continental margins produce deep-crustal sourced, metal-bearing magmas that are transferred into mid-crust prior to their hydrothermal emplacement as ore deposits in the upper crust. The lasting influence of these processes warrants consideration when assessing continental crust architecture at all scales.

The master's thesis Theoretical Problems of Spanish Lexicography introduces issues associated with creating general monolingual dictionaries. The thesis has two main objectives. Firstly, it aims to summarise the most frequent lexicographic issues and attempt to find their suitable solutions in practice through an analysis of significant research studies dealing with this subject. The issues have been divided into two groups depending on whether they regard the macrostructure (collection of dictionary entries) or microstructure (collection of headword information). As for the macrostructure, one of the main issues is posed by determining the criteria for the selection of dictionary entries. Modern descriptive lexicography considers lexical unit usage frequency to be the main criterion. The macrostructure of general monolingual dictionaries should generally not include proper nouns while productive affixes and affixoids, phraseological units with a high degree of idiomaticity, abbreviations and frequently used neologisms should be included. The thesis also explores the issue of distinguishing between cases of homonymy and polysemy and its impact on lexicographic practice. The chapter on microstructure focuses primarily on the issues of constructing lexicographic definitions with user...

La relaxométrie RMN bas champ du proton (20 MHz) a été utilisée au cours de ce travail pour étudier d’une part, les phénomènes mis en jeu dans les composites bois/ciment (CBC) lors de la phase d’hydratation, et d’autre part, le comportement des composites durcis conditionnés en atmosphère humide ou immergés dans l’eau. Dans une première partie, la relaxométrie a permis de suivre simultanément la transformation de l’eau évaporable en hydrates, et l’évolution de la microstructure du ciment, tout au long de la prise. Elle a également permis d’observer les transferts d’eau entre la matière végétale et la matrice de ciment et d’évaluer la compatibilité entre les différentes essences de bois et le ciment. Dans une deuxième partie, l’impact de certaines modifications chimiques du bois ou de la matrice sur l’hydratation du ciment a été étudié. Différents comportements ont été observés en fonction des fonctions chimiques greffées à l’intérieur du bois ou de l’adjuvant chimique incorporé dans la matrice. Enfin, dans une troisième partie, le comportement des composites durcis vis-à-vis de l’eau, ainsi que leurs performances mécaniques, ont été évalués. / In this work, low field proton NMR relaxometry (20 MHz) was applied to study wood-bonded cement composites hydration and the behaviour of hardened composites conditioned in humid atmosphere or immersed in water. In a first part, relaxometry was used to simultaneously follow the transformation of evaporable water into hydrates and the microstructure development during cement setting and hardening. This technique was also used to observe water transfer from wood to the cement matrix and to evaluate wood cement compatibility. In the second part, the influence of wood or matrix chemical modification on cement hydration was studied. Different behaviours were observed depending on the chemical group grafted unto wood or the chemical admixture added to the matrix. In the third part, the effect of moisture and the mechanical properties of hardened composites were evaluated.

The overarching goal of this research was to generate a menu of shape memory alloys (SMAs) actuator materials capable of meeting the demands of aerospace applications. Material requirements were recognized to meet the demand for high temperature SMAs with actuating temperatures above 85 °C and provide material options capable of performing over 100K actuation cycles. The first study is a preliminary characterization for the down selection of Ni-rich NiTiHf15 compositions chosen for a more in-depth examination of the nano-precipitation and evolution of the H-phase. To make this selection, the effect of Ni content in Ni-rich NiTiHf high temperature shape memory alloys (HTSMAs) on processability, microstructure, and hardness was analyzed for three compositions (Ni50.1TiHf15, Ni50.3TiHf15, Ni50.5TiHf15). Each composition was characterized under three conditions: homogenized, 25%, and 50% thickness reduction through hot-rolling. The second study emphasized the processing and aging response of an industrially produced, hot-extruded Ni50.3Ti29.7Hf20 (at%) HTSMA. The samples were sectioned into two halves with half remaining as-extruded and the other half hot-rolled to a 25% reduction in thickness. A portion of both conditions underwent conventional aging for 3 hours at various temperatures ranging from 450-750 °C, and the other portion was pre-aged for 12 hours at 300 °C followed by conventional aging treatments. After processing, the samples were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Vickers hardness (HV) testing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction (SR-XRD). The relationship between the introduction of texturing, pre-aging, and aging on Ni-rich and high Hf-content compositions was investigated.

<p>Vertically aligned nanocomposite (VAN) configuration has been recognized as the state-of-the-art architecture in the complex oxide epitaxial thin films, which are constructed by two immiscible phases simultaneously and vertically growing on a given substrate and forming various columnar microstructures, such as nanopillars embedded in matrix, nanomaze, and nanocheckboard. Due to its architectural features, VAN structure enables a powerful control on the multifunctionalities via vertical strain engineering, microstructural variations, and interfacial coupling. It provides flexibility in complex oxide designs with various functionalities (e.g., electrical, magnetic, optical, etc.), as well as a platform to explore the correlations between strain, microstructure, and multifunctionalities of the nanocomposite thin films.</p> <p>In this dissertation, integrated VAN systems with multilayer configuration have been constructed as a new three-dimensional (3D) framework, e.g., inserting 1-3 layers of CeO₂ (or LSMO) interlayers into the La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO)-CeO₂ VAN system and forming 3D interconnected CeO₂ (or LSMO) skeleton embedded in LSMO matrix. This new VAN 3D framework enables both lateral and vertical strain engineering simultaneously within the films and obtains highly enhanced magnetotransport properties, such as the record high magnetoresistance (MR) value of ~51-66%, compared with its VAN single layer counterpart. In order to demonstrate the flexibility of this design, other systems such as 3D ZnO framework embedded in LSMO matrix have been constructed to explore the thickness effects of the ZnO interlayers on the magnetotransport properties of the LSMO-ZnO system. The maximum MR value is obtained at the ZnO interlayer thickness of ~2 nm, which enables the optimal magnetoresistance tunneling effect. Meanwhile, the significance of the interlayer selection in the microstructure and magnetoresistance properties of the LSMO-ZnO system has been investigated by varying the interlayer materials yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), CeO₂, SrTiO₃, BaTiO₃, and MgO. The formed 3D heterogeneous framework provides a new dimension to tailor the microstructure, strain and functionalities within the films.</p> <p>Moreover, a new strain engineering approach with engineered tilted interfaces has been demonstrated by multilayering different VAN layers with various two phase ratio and creating a hybrid nanodumbbell structure within the LSMO-CeO₂ VAN thin films. The nanodumbbell structure accomplishes a more efficient strain engineering and exhibits highly enhanced magnetic and magnetoresistance properties, compared with its VAN single layer and interlayer counterparts. </p> <p>These examples presented in the thesis demonstrate the flexibility and potential of 3D strain engineering in complex VAN systems and a higher level of property control, coupled with unique microstructures and interfaces. Beyond perovskites, these 3D designs can be extended to other material systems for a broader range of applications, such as energy conversion and storage related applications.</p>