Le calcul de la réponse macroscopique des agrégats polycristallins à partir des propriétés de leurs constituants est un problème important en mécanique des matériaux. Lors de la déformation plastique, les grains du matériau sont réorientés. Une texture cristallographique, responsable de l'anisotropie, peut alors se développer. Donc, la modélisation de l'évolution de la texture est importante afin de prévoir les effets d'anisotropie lors des procédés industriels.La formulation de la plasticité des polycristaux métalliques a fait l'objet de nombreuses études et différentes approches d’homogénéisation ont été proposées. En 2008, Ahzi et M'Guil ont développé un modèle viscoplastique, baptisé le modèle-phi. Ce modèle prend en compte les effets d'interaction entre les grains sans passer par la théorie de l'inclusion d’Eshelby. Dans ce travail, le modèle-phi a été appliqué à différentes structures cristallographiques et sous différentes conditions de chargement. Le mécanisme de maclage a été pris en compte. Pour le laminage des métaux CFC, la transition de texture du type cuivre au type laiton a été étudiée. L’essai de cisaillement des métaux CFC a été également étudié. Nous montrons que le modèle est capable de prédire une transition de texture de cisaillement caractérisant une gamme de métaux CFC ayant une EDE élevée/moyenne à une EDE faible. Dans une étude dédiée aux métaux CC, nous avons comparé nos résultats à ceux prédits par un modèle auto-cohérent. Nous présentons également une comparaison avec des textures expérimentales de laminage à froid issues de la littérature. Le modèle a également été étendu aux métaux HC. Nous avons simulé le comportement de déformation d’un alliage de magnésium pour différentes niveaux d'interaction inter-granulaire. Nous montrons que le modèle prédit des résultats en bon accord avec les résultats expérimentaux. / The computation of the macroscopic response of polycrystalline aggregates from the properties of their single-crystal is a main problem in materials mechanics. During the mechanical deformation processing, all the grains in the polycrystalline material sample are reoriented. A crystallographic texture may thus be developed which is responsible for the material anisotropy. Therefore, the modeling of the texture evolution is important to predict the anisotropy effects present in industrial processes. The formulation of polycrystals plasticity has been the subject of many studies and different approaches have been proposed. Ahzi and M’Guil developed a viscoplastic phi-model. This model takes into account the grains interaction effects without involving the Eshelby inclusion problems.In this thesis, the phi-model was applied to different crystallographic structures and under different loading conditions. The mechanical twinning has been taken into account in the model. The FCC rolling texture transition from copper-type to brass-type texture is studied. The shear tests in FCC metals are also studied. The predicted results are compared with experimental shear textures for a range of metals having a high SFE to low SFE. For BCC metal, we compare our predicted results with those predicted by the VPSC model. We study the slip activities, texture evolutions and the evolution of yield loci. We also present a comparison with experimental textures from literatures for several BCC metals under cold rolling tests. The model has also been extended to HCP metals. We predict the deformation behavior of the magnesium alloy for different interaction strengths. We also compare our predicted results with experimental data from literatures. We show that the results predicted by the phi-model are in good agreement with the experimental ones.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T19:26:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cristiano Santos Lopes.pdf: 13551286 bytes, checksum: 1ba67329a96370d271e71e39f117ec62 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-11-19 / In this work we report on conductivity fluctuation measurements in polycrystalline samples of the Er1xPrxBa2Cu3O7 and Gd1xPrxBa2Cu3O7superconductor. Pr contents are 0.00, 0.05 and 0.10. Samples were prepared by the standard solid-state reaction technique and characterized by SEM, X-ray diffraction and electrical transport experiments. The samples were granular and homogeneous. The results were analyzed in terms of the temperature derivative of the resistivity and of the logarithmic temperature derivative of the conductivity, what allowed identifying power-law divergences of the conductivity. For Er1−xPrxBa2Cu3O7 samples, the results show that the transition proceeds in two stages: pairing and coherence transition. Also, our results, from the critical exponent analysis, show a two-peak splitting at pairing transition, indicating possibly a phase separation. On approaching the zero resistance state, our results show a power-law behavior that corresponds to a phase transition from paracoherent to a coherent state of the granular array. For Gd1−xPrxBa2Cu3O7 samples, it was observed that the critical temperature decreases and that the transition width increases with increasing Pr doping. Systematic measurements of fluctuation conductivity are reported and special attention is taken above the critical temperature, where Gaussian and critical regimes are observed. Below the critical temperature, on approaching the zero resistance state, our results show a power-law behavior consistent with a phase transition from a paracoherent to a coherent state of the granular array. / Neste trabalho foram estudados os efeitos das flutuações térmicas na condutividade elétrica de amostras policristalinas com base nos supercondutores Er1xPrxBa2Cu3O7 e Gd1xPrx Ba2Cu3O7. A quantidade de Pr considerada foi x = 0, 00, 0, 05 e 0, 10. As amostras foram preparadas pela técnica padrão de reação de estado sólido e caracterizadas por microscopia eletrônica de varredura, difração de raios-X e medidas de transporte eletrônico. As amostras são homogêneas e granulares. Para a obtenção dos expoentes críticos, os dados foram analisados em termos da derivada da resistividade em função da temperatura e da derivada logarítmica da resistividade em função da temperatura. Essa análise permitiu identificar regimes em lei de potência na paracondutividade durante a transição normal-supercondutora. Para a amostra de Er1−xPrxBa2Cu3O7, os resultados mostraram que a transição ocorre em dois estágios: transição de pareamento e transição de coerência. Contudo, os resultados obtidos através da análise dos expoentes críticos mostraram o desdobramento em dois picos da transição de pareamento, indicando uma possível separação de fase. Na aproximação do estado de resistência nula, os resultados mostraram um comportamento em lei de potência que corresponde à transição de fase paracoerente-coerente, típica de sistemas granulares. Para a amostra de Gd1−xPrxBa2Cu3O7, foi observado que a temperatura crítica diminuiu e que a largura da transição aumentou com o acréscimo da dopagem de Pr. Medidas sistemáticas na condutividade são apresentadas e é dada atenção especial em temperaturas ligeiramente acima da temperatura crítica, região na qual regimes Gaussianos e críticos são observados. Abaixo da temperatura crítica, na aproximação ao estado de resistência nula, os resultados mostram claramente regimes em lei de potência consistentes com a transição de fase paracoerente-coerente.

L’objectif de ce travail de thèse est l’élaboration du silicium polycristallin en phase liquide, sur substrat de verre borosilicate, en utilisant l’irradiation par laser continu de forte puissance d’un film de silicium amorphe. Des simulations numériques modélisant l’interaction laser-silicium amorphe ont été effectuées grâce à un modèle que nous avons développé sur l’outil COMSOL. Nous avons ainsi pu suivre l’évolution des transferts thermiques dans les différentes structures Si/verre irradiées par laser et ainsi pu évaluer l’impact des paramètres expérimentaux tels que la vitesse de balayage, la puissance du laser, la température du substrat sur les seuils de transition de phase du Si amorphe (fusion, cristallisation, évaporation). Ces résultats de simulation ont été confrontés à des données réelles obtenues en réalisant différentes expériences d’irradiation de films Si amorphe. Les résultats de cette comparaison ont été largement discutés. Dans une deuxième partie, nous avons étudié les propriétés structurales et morphologiques de films Si polycristallin obtenus par l’irradiation laser de films Si amorphe. En particulier, nous avons mis en évidence les effets de la présence d’impuretés tels que l’hydrogène ou l’argon présent dans les couches Si amorphe préalablement au traitement laser. Nous avons également montré que la croissance des cristaux silicium s’opère par épitaxie à partir d’un effet de gradient thermique latéral et longitudinal, produit respectivement par le profil énergétique du faisceau laser et la diffusion thermique par conduction, et par convection thermique dans la direction de balayage. L’optimisation des conditions opératoires nous a permis de réaliser des films Si polycristallin à larges grains, jusqu’à plusieurs centaines de µm de long sur plusieurs dizaines de µm de large. Ces structures sont très intéressantes pour des applications en électronique et en photovoltaïque. / The objective of this thesis is the elaboration of polycrystalline silicon, on borosilicate glass substrate, by a Continuous Wave laser annealing of amorphous silicon operating in the liquid phase regime. Numerical simulations of the laser-amorphous silicon interaction have been carried out using COMSOL tool. We were able to monitor the evolution of the heat transfer in the different laser irradiated Si/glass structures. Thus, we have evaluated the effects of experimental parameters such as the scan speed, the laser power, the substrate temperature on the phase transition thresholds (melting, crystallization, evaporation). The modeling data were compared to the experimental data obtained on laser irradiated amorphous Si films, and the results were thoroughly discussed. In a second part, we have investigated the structural and morphological properties of polysilicon films prepared by CW laser irradiation of different amorphous silicon. We have shown that the presence of impurities such as hydrogen or argon in the amorphous silicon affects strongly the quality of the formed polysilicon film. We also found that the Si crystal growth occurs epitaxially from lateral and longitudinal thermal gradient produced respectively by the laser beam profile and thermal conduction, and by thermal convection in the scanning direction. The optimization of the experimental procedure led to the formation of polysilicon films with large grains up to several hundred microns long and tens microns in width. Such materials are of great interest to electronic and photovoltaic devices.

L’acier 316L(N) est le matériau de référence pour les structures du circuit primaire des réacteurs nucléaires de quatrième génération, en raison de leur résistance mécanique à la température de fonctionnement, de l’ordre de 550°C. La thèse a permis de développer un modèle polycristallin, capable de prédire le comportement de ces aciers, basé sur la description du glissement viscoplastique des dislocation à haute température, de mise en œuvre simple et avec l’identification d’un nombre de paramètres matériau limité. La démarche de modélisation a été progressive. Lors de la première étape, nous avons proposé et validé une loi d'homogénéisation élasto-viscoplastique à champs moyens, grâce à de nombreux calculs par éléments finis, en considérant des durcissements plastique et des viscosités cristallines. Ensuite, un modèle de viscoplasticité cristalline, reposant sur les lois d’évolution des densités de différents types de dislocations, a été implémenté et les prédictions ont été validés en considérant un très grand nombre de résultats expérimentaux à faible. Le modèle a ensuite été enrichi afin de prendre en compte les mécanismes physiques supplémentaires observés à température élevée, comme la montée des dislocations, le vieillissement dynamique et l’apparition d’une structure de dislocation très hétérogène. Le modèle proposé nécessite uniquement l’ajustement de trois paramètres par identification inverse, utilisant seulement des essais de traction monotone avec saut de vitesse. Les prédictions du comportement mécanique en chargement uniaxial et cyclique sont également en bon accord avec les mesures expérimentales aux températures élevées. / The 316L(N) stainless steels is the reference material for the primary circuit structures of fourth-generation nuclear reactors. This alloy present high mechanical resistance at the operation temperature range of these reactors, of the order of 550 °C. This PhD allowed to develop a polycrystalline model based on the description of the viscoplastic dislocation slip at high temperatures, with straightforward implementation and with identification of a limited number of material parameters. The modeling process was progressive. In a first step, we proposed and validated a mean-field elastic-viscoplastic homogenization law, in comparison to numerous finite element calculations, considering crystalline plastic hardening and crystalline viscosity. Then, a model of crystalline viscoplasticity, based on the evolution laws of the different dislocations densities was implemented and the predictions were validated considering a very large number of experimental results at low temperature. The model was then enhanced to take into account the additional physical mechanisms observed at high temperature, such as dislocation climb, dynamic strain aging and the appearance of a very heterogeneous dislocation structure. The proposed model requires the adjustment of only three parameters by inverse identification, using only monotonic tensile tests at different strain rates. The mechanical behavior predictions in uniaxial and cyclic loading are also in good agreement with experimental measurements at high temperature.

Des techniques combinées d'analyse/synthèse d'images et de simulation atomistique ont permis d’étudier la nanostructure/-texture de matériaux carbonés anisotropes et denses de type pyrocarbone (PyC) laminaire hautement texturé. Des représentations atomiques d’un PyC laminaire rugueux tel que préparé (AP) ainsi que d’un PyC laminaire régénéré AP et après plusieurs traitements thermiques (HT) ont été reconstruites pour mieux caractériser ces matériaux. Ces modèles comportent des domaines graphéniques de quelques nanomètres, joints entre eux par des lignes de défauts formées de paires de cycles à 5 et 7 carbones dans le plan et par des dislocations vis et des atomes tétravalents entre les plans. Les modèles les plus ordonnés ont des domaines plus étendus et un plus faible taux de connexions inter-plan. Les propriétés mécaniques et thermiques prédites à partir de ces modèles sont proches de celles du graphite et augmentent avec la cohérence intra-plan et la densité de connexions inter-plans. Des modèles de graphène polycristallins ont aussi été générés. Ils sont apparus, du point de vue structural et des propriétés mécaniques, très proches des feuillets de carbones des PyCs. Ils ont permis d'étudier la réorganisation structurale se produisant au cours du HT : formation de lignes de défauts, réparation de lacunes, … Il s'agit d'un premier pas vers l'étude de la graphitation des PyCs. La méthode de reconstruction a enfin été adaptée à l'étude de l'évolution structurale d'un graphite au cours de son irradiation par les électrons. Cela a permis d'observer à l'échelle atomique la création et la propagation des défauts au cours de l'irradiation. / Combined images analysis/synthesis techniques and atomistic simulation methods have allowed studying the nanostructure/-texture of anisotropic dense carbons of the highly textured laminar pyrocarbon (PyC) type.Atomic representations of an as-prepared (AP) rough laminar PyC as well as a regenerative laminar PyC AP and after several heat treatments (HT) were reconstructed to better characterize these materials.The models contain nanosized graphene domains connected between them by line defects formed by pairs of rings with 5 and 7 carbons inside layers and by screw dislocations and fourfold atoms between layers. The most ordered models have larger domains and a lower percentage of connections between the layers.Mechanical and thermal properties predicted from these models are close to those of graphite and increase with the coherence inside layers and the density of connections between layers.Models of polycrystalline graphene were also generated, showing structure and mechanical properties very close to those of the carbon layers extracted from PyCs. The structural reorganization occurring during the HT of such materials was studied: thinning of line defects and vacancy healing were observed. This represents a first step towards the study of the graphitization of PyCs.The reconstruction method was eventually adapted to study the structural evolution of a nuclear-grade graphite during its irradiation by electrons, allowing us to observe how defects are created and propagate during irradiation.

In order to understand and predict the fracture behaviour of polycrystalline materials from a fundamental perspective, it is important to first investigate plastic deformation at a crack tip in a ductile single crystal. In this context, it may be noted that when the crack opening displacement is much less than the grain size, the crack tip fields are entirely contained in a single grain. Further, some key structural components are being fabricated in single crystal form. For example, blades in high pressure turbines of jet engines are made of single crystals of Nickel-based superalloys. In view of the above considerations, a combined experimental and computational study of the crack tip stress and strain fields in FCC single crystal is carried out in the present work. The effect of constraint level, which is characterized by the T-stress under mode I, plane strain small scale yielding conditions, on the near-tip response is first analyzed for a crystal orientation in which the crack plane coincides with (010) and ¯the crack front lies along[101]direction. A family of finite element solutions are generated by employing a boundary layer approach within continuum crystal plasticity framework. The results show that the near-tip deformation field, especially the development of kink and slip shear bands, is sensitive to the constraint level. On imposition of negative T-stress, a significant drop in the hydrostatic stress level is noticed in the region ahead of the tip. This suggests loss of crack tip constraint with negative T-stress, which is akin to isotropic plastic solids. The reason for the loss of crack tip constraint is traced to the occurrence of an elastic sector near the notch tip. The results also show that a two-parameter (such as K-T or J-Q) characterization of near-tip fields is necessary to accommodate different constraint levels in FCC single crystals. The results of the boundary layer formulation are used to guide the construction of asymptotic solutions near the crack tip corresponding to various constraint levels in elastic-perfectly plastic FCC single crystal. Two families of alternate asymptotic solutions are constructed by introducing an elastic near-tip sector. These families of stress fields are parameterized by the normalized opening stress ahead of the tip, τA22/τo, where τo is the critical resolved shear stress, and a quantity (p) which characterizes the coordinates of the point where elastic unloading commences in stress plane. The results show that the stress distribution corresponding to each member of these families, as well as the trajectories in stress plane as the crack tip is traversed, agree well with finite element results for a certain value of T-stress. In order to validate the above numerical and analytical solutions, the nature of crack tip deformation in aluminium single crystals is examined experimentally in a high constraint three point bend (TPB) specimen and in a low constraint single edge notch tensile (SENT) geometry. These experiments provide evidence, based on in-situ Electron Back Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) of the existence of kink shear bands (involving lattice rotation) exactly as predicted by Rice [J.R. Rice, Mech. Mater. 6 (1987) 317] and the present finite element analysis. The experimental investigation of a low constraint SENT geometry is also supplemented by 3D finite element computations based on continuum crystal plasticity. These computational results enable assessment of 3D effects near the tip. Finally, the effects of different lattice orientations (especially ones for which the slip systems are not symmetric with respect to the notch line) on the near-tip fields are studied pertaining to various constraint levels. The results obtained for different orientations show that the near-tip deformation field is sensitive to the constraint level. The stress distribution and the size and shape of plastic zone near the notch tip are also strongly influenced by the level of T-stress. It is clearly established that ductile single crystal fracture geometries, would progressively lose stress triaxiality with increase in negative T-stress irrespective of lattice orientation. Also, the near-tip field is shown to be part of a family which can be characterized by two parameters (such as K – T or J - Q).

Amorphous Silicon(a-Si) films have attracted the attention of several investigators as it is an economical material for devices. One of the problems that is addressed is the doping of these films after they are prepared. In this thesis, we investigated the effects of doping amorphous Sil­icon films(prepared by r.f. sputtering) with Aluminium(Al) by ther­mal diffusion. Amorphous Silicon films have been prepared on glass substrates at optimal process parameters. Then, the a-Si films are coated with Al by vacuum evaporation and subjected to heating in N2 atmosphere in the temperature range 300°C to 600°C for different durations. After etching Al layer, it has been found that some of the films which are heated around 550°C contain filament like polycrystalline regions surrounding islands of a-Si. This structure has been confirmed through Scanning Electron Mi-croscope(SEM) photographs and electrical conductivity measurements. SEM photographs indicate that, bright regions of amorphous mate­rial are surrounded by dark regions of relatively higher conducting boundaries. The electrical conductivity study shows that there is sharp increase in conductivity of Al doped films, which is attributed to the conduct­ing polycrystalUne filament. A simple model has been proposed to explain the variation of con­ductivity of these transformed films, with process parameters and with temperature. Schottky barrier diodes have been fabricated using these trans­formed materials and their characteristics explained.

Studies on ac losses in superconductors have been a subject of great interest for a long time not only as an important topic in fundamental science, but also as a basic requirement for the application of superconductors. A proper understanding of the mechanisms of ac losses and their quantitative knowledge is an essential requirement for any application. Such studies not only yield information on the material parameters crucial for applications but can also provide a test for any possible microscopic theory of superconductivity. The main focus of the current thesis is to understand the mechanisms of ac losses in superconductors and to gain more knowledge on the ac dissipative behavior of type II superconductors. In this thesis we report our investigations on the ac losses in certain type II superconductors at different ranges of frequency through different experimental techniques. We have investigated the ac losses that arise in high Tc superconducting single crystals at rf frequency (8 MHz) using a simple LC oscillator technique. The result shows a surprising ac dissipation behavior in which the loss in the superconducting state is more than the normal state loss. Even though the superconducting state is defined as the zero resistive state, this is true only for dc transport. The ac resistivity studies have been made also on high Tc polycrystalline samples using the standard four-probe technique using a lock-in amplifier (100 kHz). The result shows different ac resistive behavior for samples with different microstructures. Non-resonant microwave absorption (NRMA) studies in MgB2 thin films is reported for the first time. The experiment has been performed using a continuous wave X band EPR spectrometer. The recorded signals give information on the ac losses that occurs at microwave frequency (9.43 GHz). The effects of ac magnetic field on the superconductors have been investigated through a dc four-probe resistivity measurements in the presence of an ac field of different magnitudes applied at different frequencies. Also a simple experimental technique based on the concept of kinetic inductance designed to study the ac losses that arise due to vortex motion is reported. In the following a chapter-wise summary of the thesis is presented.m Chapter 1 surveys the related literature on experimental and theoretical reports on ac losses in superconductors. In this chapter a brief introduction to superconductors is given with an emphasis on the high Tc superconductors. The superconducting materials studied in the thesis are described in detail along with their superconducting parameters and the form of the specimen. The origins of ac losses are discussed with various models proposed so far to explain the ac losses in superconductors. Since most of the ac losses reported in this thesis arise due to the Josephson junctions and vortex motion, they are discussed in detail. The occurrence of Josephson junctions and the various models used to describe the junctions’ characteristics are discussed. The formation of vortices their various forms in layered superconductors and the mechanisms of flux flow and flux creep are discussed. Chapter 2 describes the studies on ac losses in superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals [1,2]. Generally in the superconducting state the dissipation is expected to be less compared with that in the normal state. However, we observe that the ac losses in the superconducting state are larger than the normal state losses. In this chapter we report on the ac losses in superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals at radio frequencies determined from direct measurement of the absorbed power using an rf oscillator [3]. The ac response of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals is investigated as a function of temperature from the measured shift in current and the frequency of the oscillator. The studies are carried out at different rf amplitudes by varying the supply voltage to the oscillator circuit. To understand the magnetic field dependent behavior of ac losses, studies have been performed in the presence of magnetic field of various magnitudes applied parallel to the c-axis of the crystal. In the presence of the magnetic field two peaks are observed in ac losses in the superconducting state as a function of temperature. The presence of the peaks and their behavior are studied in detail by varying the orientation of the applied field with respect to the c-axis of the crystal. The results are discussed in terms of a new model proposed recently by us [4], which explains ac losses as a consequence of cumulative effect of the energy spent in repetitive decoupling of the Josephson junctions and in terms of Lorentz force driven motion of vortices. In Chapter 3, we discuss the ac resistivity behavior of the polycrystalline superconducting samples with different microstructures. Measurement of resistivity is the basic characterization method not only for superconductors but for any material. The superconducting state is defined as the zero resistive state; but this statement is true only for dc and not for ac. The presence of ac resistance in superconductors leads to losses. In the present work we report on the behavior of ac resistance in the superconductors. The application of a magnetic field and the variation of temperature alter the AC penetration depth of the superconducting sample, which in turn changes the AC impedance associated with it. In this chapter we report the results on the complex AC conductivity that has been measured in two types of polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7 samples at frequencies starting from 100 Hz to 100 kHz and at temperatures from 10 K to 300 K. In the first pellet which is sintered, the possibility of presence of extrinsic Josephson junctions is less, but a large number of Josephson junctions is present in the second non-sintered pellet. In general it is expected that the AC or the DC resistivity in superconductors should decrease below Tc. In the case of DC resistivity the value of resistance goes exactly to zero and in the case of AC resistivity it keeps on decreasing towards zero with decreasing temperature. But surprisingly we find that in superconducting samples with Josephson junctions, the AC resistivity drops very close to zero at the critical temperature and instead of decreasing it increases slowly with decreasing temperature below the critical temperature. This property is also strongly dependent on the applied AC frequency. Investigation of the above phenomenon gives information regarding the contribution of JJ decoupling towards the AC resistivity of superconducting samples. The observed ac resistive behavior is well fitted with the Ambegaokar-Baratoff model for temperature dependence of critical current in the Josephson junction. In Chapter 4, the possibility of the presence of weak links in the intermetallic superconductor MgB2 is reported. The role of weak links in superconductors has been studied for a long time. Understanding the behavior of weak links has great importance for the applications of superconductors. Presence of weak links in high Tc materials due to its insulating grain boundaries limits the application potential of those materials. These weak links lead to lower critical current density and lower critical field of superconductors and lead to losses. The discovery of superconductivity in the simple intermetallic compound MgB2 has created a lot of interest from both application aspects and of fundamental science. MgB2 differs from high Tc materials and is considered as a potential candidate for applications, because of its high critical current density which arises due to the absence of weak links in MgB2. Absence of weak links is reported in most of the MgB2 literature and only in a very few studies possibility of the presence of weak links is reported. Here, our NRMA studies on the MgB2 thin films show the presence of weak links [5]. NRMA is a highly sensitive, non-invasive technique, which has proven to be a valuable tool for detecting weak links in superconductors and their characterization [6]. In this technique the sample is studied using a continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer, by recording the magnetic field dependence of the power absorption. The NRMA studies on the MgB2 thin film shows the presence of weak links and hysteresis in the signal. The origin of weak links is discussed as being due to the presence of oxygen in the grain boundaries. The hysteresis appears because of remnant magnetization and due to the pinning of flux lines when there is a change in the sweeping field direction. The NRMA studies are carried out as a function of temperature, modulation field, microwave power and the scan range and the results are reported in this Chapter. In chapter 5 we report on the resistive behavior of superconducting MgB2 film in the presence of an ac field using a novel technique. In this simple technique the resistive measurements are done using the general four-probe method, but a coil is wound over the sample and connected to an ac source to generate the ac field. The resistivity measurements are carried out as a function of temperature, amplitude and the frequency of ac field. The ac field shifts the Tc towards lower temperature and increases the broadening in transition from normal to superconducting state. In the absence of Lorentz force due to the parallel orientation of ac field with the transport current, we find that Josephson junction decoupling is one of the main origins of resistivity. The results are compared with the resistive behavior of YBCO film. The epitaxial YBCO film which is free from weak links shows a different frequency dependent resistive behavior, which is explained in terms of flux-creep. In the MgB2 film the studies are carried out in the presence of a dc field that is applied perpendicular to direction of transport current in the film along with the presence and the absence of the ac field. The studies show that in superconductors the presence of ac field leads to more loss than that of dc field. Chapter 6 describes a simple experimental technique using the property of kinetic inductance to measure the vortex resistivity arising from the ac current. Since the discovery of the superconductors much attention has been given to the dynamics of the vortices because of their importance from both scientific and application point of view. When a magnetic field of amplitude more than Hc1 is applied the type II superconductors enter in to the ‘mixed state’ due to the presence of vortices. In the presence of a current, the vortices experience Lorentz force of magnitude F = J x B normal to the current and the field. The vortices move under the influence of the Lorentz force along its direction which leads to resistivity. The electric field generated by the vortex movement has two components, one acting along the current direction and the other normal to the current direction. But most of the vortex resistivity measurements are carried out either in the presence of high magnetic field or at temperatures closer to Tc due to the limitation of experimental techniques. In this chapter we are reporting a simple experimental technique to measure vortex resistivity with very high resolution even at low temperatures and fields based on the concept of kinetic inductance. Kinetic inductance is the property which arises mostly in superconductors due to the inertial mass of the charge carriers. In our measurement kinetic inductance is measured through a simple four-probe ac impedance technique, which is more commonly used for measuring resistivity. The penetration depth due to vortices is related to their resistivity and from the relation between the measured kinetic inductance and penetration depth vortex resistivity is calculated. In this report we discuss the experimental setup, principle of the method and present the results of our measurements carried out on YBa2Cu3O7 thin films.

The computation of the macroscopic response of polycrystalline aggregates from the properties of their single-crystal is a main problem in materials mechanics. During the mechanical deformation processing, all the grains in the polycrystalline material sample are reoriented. A crystallographic texture may thus be developed which is responsible for the material anisotropy. Therefore, the modeling of the texture evolution is important to predict the anisotropy effects present in industrial processes. The formulation of polycrystals plasticity has been the subject of many studies and different approaches have been proposed. Ahzi and M'Guil developed a viscoplastic phi-model. This model takes into account the grains interaction effects without involving the Eshelby inclusion problems.In this thesis, the phi-model was applied to different crystallographic structures and under different loading conditions. The mechanical twinning has been taken into account in the model. The FCC rolling texture transition from copper-type to brass-type texture is studied. The shear tests in FCC metals are also studied. The predicted results are compared with experimental shear textures for a range of metals having a high SFE to low SFE. For BCC metal, we compare our predicted results with those predicted by the VPSC model. We study the slip activities, texture evolutions and the evolution of yield loci. We also present a comparison with experimental textures from literatures for several BCC metals under cold rolling tests. The model has also been extended to HCP metals. We predict the deformation behavior of the magnesium alloy for different interaction strengths. We also compare our predicted results with experimental data from literatures. We show that the results predicted by the phi-model are in good agreement with the experimental ones.

The work presented in this doctoral thesis employs colloidal suspensions to explore key open problems in condensed matter physics. Colloidal suspensions, along with gels, polymers, emulsions and liquid crystals belong to a family of materials that are collectively labelled as soft matter. Compositionally, colloidal suspensions consist of particles whose size ranges from a few nanometers to a few microns, dispersed in a solvent. A hallmark feature of these systems is that they exhibit Brownian motion, which makes them suitable for investigating statistical mechanical phenomena. Over the last fifteen years or so, colloids have been used extensively as model systems to shed light on a wide array of such phenomena typically observed in atomic systems. The chief reason why colloids are good mimics of atomic systems is their large size and slow dynamics. Unlike atomic systems, the dynamics of colloids can be probed in real time with single-particle resolution, which allows one to establish the link between macroscopic behavior and the microscopic processes that give rise to it. Yet another important feature is that colloidal systems exhibit various phases of matter such as crystals, liquids and glasses, which makes them versatile model systems that can probe a broad class of condensed matter physics problems. The work described in this thesis takes advantage of these lucrative features of colloidal suspensions to gain deeper insights into the physics of glass formation as well as shear-induced anisotropic grain growth in polycrystalline materials. The thesis is organized into two preliminary chapters, four work chapters and a concluding chapter, as follows. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to colloidal suspensions and reviews the chief theo-retical concepts regarding glass formation and grain boundary dynamics that form an integral part of subsequent chapters. Chapter 2 describes the experimental methods used for performing the work presented in the thesis and consists of two parts. The first part describes the protocols followed for synthesizing the size-tunable poly (N-isoprolypacrylamide) (PNIPAm) particles used in our study of shear-induced grain growth. The second part describes the instrumentation and techniques, such as holographic optical tweezers, confocal microscopy, rheology and Bragg diffraction microscopy, used to perform the measurements described in the thesis. Chapter 3 deals with our work on the dynamical facilitation (DF) theory of glass forma-tion. Despite decades of research, it remains to be established whether the transformation of a liquid into a glass is fundamentally thermodynamic or dynamic in origin. While obser-vations of growing length scales are consistent with thermodynamic perspectives, the purely dynamic approach of the DF theory has thus far lacked experimental support. Further, for glass transitions induced by randomly freezing a subset of particles in the liquid phase, theory and simulations support the existence of an underlying thermodynamic phase transi-tion, whereas the DF theory remains unexplored. In Chapter 3, using video microscopy and holographic optical tweezers, we show that dynamical facilitation in a colloidal glass-forming liquid grows with density as well as the fraction of pinned particles. In addition, we observe that heterogeneous dynamics in the form of string-like cooperative motion, which is consid-ered to be consistent with thermodynamic theories, can also emerge naturally within the framework of facilitation. These findings suggest that a deeper understanding of the glass transition necessitates an amalgamation of existing theoretical approaches. In Chapter 4, we further explore the question of whether glass formation is an intrinsi-cally thermodynamic or dynamic phenomenon. A major obstacle in answering this question lies in determining whether relaxation close to the glass transition is dominated by activated hopping, as espoused by various thermodynamic theories, or by the correlated motion of localized excitations, as proposed in the Dynamical Facilitation (DF) approach. In Chapter 4, we surmount this central challenge by developing a scheme based on real space micro-scopic analysis of particle dynamics and applying it to ascertain the relative importance of hopping and facilitation in a colloidal glass-former. By analysing the spatial organization of excitations within cooperatively rearranging regions (CRRs) and examining their parti-tioning into shell-like and core-like regions, we establish the existence of a crossover from a facilitation-dominated regime at low area fractions to a hopping-dominated one close to the glass transition. Remarkably, this crossover coincides with the change in morphology of CRRs predicted by the Random First-Order Transition theory (RFOT), a prominent ther-modynamic framework. Further, we analyse the variation of the concentration of excitations with distance from an amorphous wall and find that the evolution of these concentration profiles with area fraction is consistent with the presence of a crossover in the relaxation mechanism. By identifying regimes dominated by distinct dynamical processes, our study offers microscopic insights into the nature of structural relaxation close to the glass transi-tion. In Chapter 5, we extend our investigation of the glass transition to systems composed of anisotropic particles. The primary motivation for this is to bridge a long-standing di-vide between theories and simulations on one hand, and experiments on molecular liquids on the other. In particular, theories and simulations predominantly focus on simple glass-formers composed of spherical particles interacting via isotropic interactions. Indeed, even the prominent theory of Dynamical Facilitation has not even been formulated to account for anisotropic shapes or interactions. On the other hand, an overwhelming majority of liquids possess considerable anisotropy, both in particle shape as well as interactions. In Chapter 5, we mitigate this situation by developing the DF theory further and applying it to systems with orientational degrees of freedom as well as anisotropic attractive interactions. By analyzing data from experiments on colloidal ellipsoids, we show that facilitation plays a pivotal role in translational as well as orientational relaxation. Further, we demonstrate that the introduction of attractive interactions leads to spatial decoupling of translational and rotational facilitation, which subsequently results in the decoupling of dynamical het-erogeneities. Most strikingly, the DF theory can predict the existence of reentrant glass transitions based on the statistics of localized dynamical events, called excitations, whose duration is substantially smaller than the structural relaxation time. Our findings pave the way for systematically testing the DF approach in complex glass-formers and also establish the significance of facilitation in governing structural relaxation in supercooled liquids. In Chapter 6, we turn our attention away from the glass transition and address the problem of grain growth in sheared polycrystalline materials. The fabrication of functional materials via grain growth engineering implicitly relies on altering the mobilities of grain boundaries (GBs) by applying external fields. While computer simulations have alluded to kinetic roughening as a potential mechanism for modifying GB mobilities, its implications for grain growth have remained largely unexplored owing to difficulties in bridging the disparate length and time scales involved. In Chapter 6, by imaging GB particle dynamics as well as grain network evolution under shear, we present direct evidence for kinetic roughening of GBs and unravel its connection to grain growth in driven colloidal polycrystals. The capillary fluctuation method allows us to quantitatively extract shear-dependent effective mobilities. Remarkably, our experiments reveal that for sufficiently large strains, GBs with normals parallel to shear undergo preferential kinetic roughening resulting in anisotropic enhancement of effective mobilities and hence directional grain growth. Single-particle level analysis shows that the anisotropy in mobility emerges from strain-induced directional enhancement of activated particle hops normal to the GB plane. Finally, in Chapter 7, we present our conclusions and discuss possible future directions.