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Abstract: Recent advances in experimental studies of nanoparticle-driven stabilization of chiral liquid-crystalline phases are highlighted. The stabilization is achieved via the nanoparticles’ assembly in the defect lattices of the soft liquid-crystalline hosts. This is of significant importance for understanding the interactions of nanoparticles with topological defects and for envisioned technological applications. We demonstrate that blue phases are stabilized and twist-grain boundary phases are induced by dispersing surface-functionalized CdSSe quantum dots, spherical Au nanoparticles, as well as MoS2 nanoplatelets and reduced-graphene oxide nanosheets in chiral liquid crystals. Phase diagrams are shown based on calorimetric and optical measurements. Our findings related to the role of the nanoparticle core composition, size, shape, and surface coating on the stabilization effect are presented, followed by an overview of and comparison with other related studies in the literature. Moreover, the key points of the underlying mechanisms are summarized and prospects in the field are briefly discussed.
Keywords: liquid crystals, nanoparticles, quantum dots, reduced-graphene oxide, calorimetry, microscopy, blue phases, twist-grain boundary phases, disclination lines, screw dislocations
Published in DKUM: 09.08.2024; Views: 97; Downloads: 9
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Abstract: This research presents two possibilities to prepare and test the Fine Grain of a Heat Affected Zone, which, practically, could be considered as the weakest part of welded joints in the presence of any microdefect. It is a narrow zone located between the fusion zone and the unaffected base material; therefore, only a few methods are suitable to test its mechanical properties. The 18CrNiMo7-6 steel was used as the base material. As this steel is usually used for the production of dynamically loaded components, testing of its fatigue behaviour and fracture toughness was crucial, but also measurement of its hardness and impact toughness. To investigate the mechanical properties of a Fine-Grain Heat-Affected Zone (FG HAZ), two different methods for simulation of as-welded microstructures were used in this research: A weld thermal cycle simulator (WTCS) and austenitising in a laboratory furnace +
Keywords: weld joint, Fine Grain Heat Affected Zone, mechanical properties, fatigue crack growth
Published in DKUM: 06.10.2023; Views: 458; Downloads: 49
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Abstract: Image-processing technology includes storing the images of objects in a computer and processing them with the computer for a specified purpose. Image analysis is the numerical expression of the images of objects by means of mimicking the functioning of the human visual system and the generation of numerical data for calculations that will be made later. Digital image analysis provides the capability for rapid measurement, which can be made in near-real time, for numerous engineering parameters of materials. Recently, image analysis has been used in geotechnical engineering practices. Grain size distribution and grain shape are the most fundamental properties used to interpret the origin and behaviour of soils. Mechanical sieving has some limitations, e.g., it does not measure the axial dimension of a particle, particle shape is not taken into consideration, and especially for elongated and flat particles a sieve analysis will not yield a reliable measure. In this study the grain size distribution of sands has been determined following image-analysis techniques, using simple apparatus, non-professional cameras and open-code software. The sample is put on a transparent plate that is illuminated with a white backlight. The digital images were acquired with a CCD DSLR camera. The segmentation of the particles is achieved by image thresholding, binary coding and particle labeling. The geometrical measurements of each particle are obtained using an automated pixel-counting technique. Local contacts or limited overlaps were overcome using a watershed split. The same sample was tested by traditional sieve analysis. An image-analysis-based grain size distribution has been compared with a sieve-analysis distribution. The results show that the grain size distribution of the image-based analysis and the sieve analysis are in good agreement.
Keywords: image analysis, image processing, grain size, sand
Published in DKUM: 18.06.2018; Views: 1533; Downloads: 160
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Abstract: Geophysics has been developed in order to supply indicative estimations in soil mechanics like the grain size distribution of finely grained soils as day, silt and fine sands. The paper describes the attempt to characterize porous and saturated marine sediments with a non destructive technique which is the acoustic wave, in order to determine the correlation with geotechnical measurements. The characterization of physical parameters of marine sediments was based on research methods which permit to describe the parameters defining different types of sediment and zones of sedimentation; to determine fundamental parameters that influence the propagation of the acoustic waves in saturated and porous means; to define quick and indicative methods for characterization of physical parameters of analysed means. The acoustic measurements were carried out at SACLANT-NATO of La Spezia (I), where the Vertical Multi Sensor Core Logger (V-MSCL) was used. The results of acoustic tests were compared to the grain size curves of the sediments and the propagation characteristics such as velocity, density, porosity and absorption of experimentally determined data. The analyses are based 011 various mathematical models presented in. literature, in order to predict and to describe physical mechanisms of the wave propagation using a simplification of the sediment structure. The target of the study was to determine a new mathematical law that linked the mean grain size to a directly measurable parameter such as the spectral amplitude, and to offer the possibility to obtain the first indicative value of the sediment mean grain size. The determined exponential law represents an innovative and quick approach to determine a physical characteristic of saturated and porous sediments such as the grain size in a non destructive way based on the spectral analysis of the wave propagation form.
Keywords: soil mechanics, marine sediments, finely grained soil, acoustic waves, grain size curve
Published in DKUM: 17.05.2018; Views: 1211; Downloads: 174
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Abstract: This work presents the results of the microstructure observation of six different types of NiTi orthodontic wires by using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Within these analyses the chemical compositions of each wire were observed in different places by applying the EDS detector. Namely, the chemical composition in the orthodontic wires is very important because it shows the dependence between the phase temperatures and mechanical properties. Micro- structure observations showed that orthodontic wires consist of nano-sized grains containing precipitates of Ti2Ni and/or TiC. The first precipitated Ti2Ni are rich in Ti, while the precipitated TiC is rich in C. Further investigation showed that there was a difference in average grain size in the NiTi matrix. The sizes of grains in orthodontic wires are in the range from approximately 50 to 160 nm and the sizes of precipitate are in the range from 0,3 μm to 5 μm.
Keywords: orthodontic wires, nickel-titanium orthodontic wire, NiTi wire, shape memory alloys, SMA wires, microstructure, transmission electron microscopy, TEM, average grain size
Published in DKUM: 03.07.2017; Views: 1524; Downloads: 127
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