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At least 1,441 records · Page 80

Physical and electrical properties of melt-spun Fe-Si (3–8 wt.%) soft magnetic ribbons

Highlights: • Increasing processing wheel speed during melt spinning refined both the ribbon cross-sectional thickness and grain size. • Mössbauer studies indicated Si content influenced the number of Fe sites and the magnetic field/structural environments. • Vickers hardness and the elastic modulus were observed to increase in response to elevated Si content and wheel speed. • Increasing Si content diluted the magnetization. - Abstract: Fe-Si alloys ranging from 3 to 8 wt% Si were rapidly solidified using melt spinning. Wheel speeds of 30 m/s and 40 m/s were employed to vary cooling rates. Mössbauer spectroscopic studies indicated the Si content significantly influenced the number of Fe sites, relative abundance of various Fe species, and internal magnetic fields/structural environments. Wheel speed altered Fe speciation only in the 3 wt% sample. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that increasing the wheel speed refined both the ribbon thickness and grain size. Electron backscatter diffraction results suggest tailoring melt spinning process parameters and alloy chemistry may offer the ability to manipulate {001} texture development. Electrical resistivity measurements were observed to increase in response to elevated Si content. Increased hardness was correlated to elevated Si content and wheel speed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Effects of rolling processes on ridging generation of ferritic stainless steel

Highlights: • The effects of microstructural refinement and texture on ridging are analysed. • Optimal reduction during cold rolling benefits the enhancement of ridging resistance. • A Steckel-mill rolling method is proposed to improve ridging resistance of FSS 430. • 30% of ridging height reduction can be achieved with proposed rolling method. - Abstract: In order to reduce the ridging generation of ferritic stainless steel (FSS) during forming process, the crystallographic texture of the FSS was modified by optimisation of both rolling and annealing processes. A systematic study was carried out to improve the ridging resistance of the FSS by investigating the sequential changes in microstructure and texture during different rolling and annealing processes. The results show that the surface roughness of the final sheet strained by 20% along the rolling direction is decreased by 20% to 30% using Steckel-mill rolling compared to traditional tandem rolling. A direct correlation is found between the ridging resistance of the FSS and the rolling routines. It has been observed that an optimal reduction value during cold rolling process is critical to the microstructural refinement and surface quality improvement of the FSS. Reduction of the fraction of {001} <110> component by optimisation of the rolling processes is found to be effective in reducing the ridging height of the FSS during the formation process.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Abnormal grain growth driven by high-temperature proton irradiation in nanocrystalline Ni

In this research we examine a nanocrystalline Ni thin film exposed to high-temperature proton irradiation and compare it with as-deposited and annealed-only counterparts. Despite lacking thermal spikes typical of heavy ions, 400 °C proton irradiation drives pronounced grain growth in select grains, whereas annealing alone yields only modest coarsening. Grain-boundary statistics show fewer low-angle boundaries (10–20°) and more high-angle boundaries (55–60°), consistent with irradiation-enhanced mobility of high-misorientation boundaries. The irradiated films retain a random texture, with no evidence of texture development or sharpening. Mechanisms, such as radiation-enhanced grain boundary diffusion, beam-induced heating, and ion channeling-mediated selective grain growth, are unlikely to be the predominant drivers to explain the resultant microstructure. Instead, we suggest irradiation-induced modifications of grain-boundary structure, including possible complexion transitions, as one plausible explanation for this selective grain growth and retention of random texture. However, additional temperature–dose studies are required to confirm the mechanism.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Microstructural evolution of nanocrystalline nickel thin films due to high-energy heavy-ion irradiation

This initial feasibility study demonstrates that recent advancements in precession electron diffraction microscopy can be applied to nanostructured metals exposed to high displacement damage from a Tandem accelerator. In this study, high purity, nanocrystalline, free-standing nickel thin films produced by pulsed laser deposition were irradiated with approximately 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 14} ions/cm{sup 2} of 35 MeV Ni{sup 6+} ions resulting in an approximately uniform damage profile to approximately 16 dpa. Pristine and ionirradiated regions of the nanocrystalline Ni films were characterized by conventional transmission electron microscopy and precession electron diffraction microscopy. Precession electron diffraction microscopy provided additional insight into the texture, phase, and grain boundary distribution resulting from the displacement damage that could not be obtained from traditional electron microscopy techniques. For the nanocrystalline nickel film studied, this included the growth in number and percentage of a metastable hexagonal closed packed phase grains and the formation of large <001> textured face centered cubic grains. The application of precession electron diffraction microscopy to characterize other nanocrystalline metals, which are being considered for radiation tolerant applications, will permit a comparison of materials that goes beyond the dominant length scale to consider the effects of local phase, texture, and grain boundary or interface information.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Towards engineered branch placement: Unreal™ match between vapour-liquid-solid glancing angle deposition nanowire growth and simulation

The vapour-liquid-solid glancing angle deposition (VLS-GLAD) process is capable of producing complex nanotree structures with control over azimuthal branch orientation and height. We have developed a thin film growth simulation including ballistic deposition, simplified surface diffusion, and droplet-mediated cubic crystal growth for the VLS-GLAD process using the Unreal{sup TM} Development Kit. The use of a commercial game engine has provided an interactive environment while allowing a custom physics implementation. Our simulation's output is verified against experimental data, including a volumetric film reconstruction produced using focused ion beam and scanning-electron microscopy (SEM), crystallographic texture, and morphological characteristics such as branch orientation. We achieve excellent morphological and texture agreement with experimental data, as well as qualitative agreement with SEM imagery. The simplified physics in our model reproduces the experimental films, indicating that the dominant role flux geometry plays in the VLS-GLAD competitive growth process responsible for azimuthally oriented branches and biaxial crystal texture evolution. The simulation's successful reproduction of experimental data indicates that it should have predictive power in designing novel VLS-GLAD structures.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Orientation-controlled nonepitaxial L1{sub 0} FePt thin films

We report an orientation-controlled FePt thin films grown nonexpitaxially on oxidized Si substrates without using any underlayers. After 700 °C annealing, the FePt single layer with thickness less than 10 nm shows good (001) texture and perpendicular anisotropy. The scanning electron microscope images indicate that these films are composed of isolated islands. For the films thicker than 20 nm, the films become continuous and (111) orientation appears. The transition of film texture relates to the change of morphology of the films. Finally, a theoretical mode based on minimizing surface energy is proposed to explain the texture variation in the films.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Characterization of reactively sputtered c-axis aligned nanocrystalline InGaZnO{sub 4}

Crystallinity and texturing of RF sputtered c-axis aligned crystal InGaZnO{sub 4} (CAAC IGZO) thin films were quantified using X-ray diffraction techniques. Above 190 °C, nanocrystalline films with an X-ray peak at 2θ = 30° (009 planes) developed with increasing c-axis normal texturing up to 310 °C. Under optimal conditions (310 °C, 10% O{sub 2}), films exhibited a c-axis texture full-width half-maximum of 20°. Cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy confirmed these results, showing alignment variation of ±9° over a 15 × 15 nm field of view and indicating formation of much larger aligned domains than previously reported. At higher deposition temperatures, c-axis alignment was gradually lost as polycrystalline films developed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

On the pressure effect in energetic deposition of Cu thin films by modulated pulsed power magnetron sputtering: A global plasma model and experiments

The modulated pulsed power magnetron sputtering (MPPMS) discharge processes are numerically modeled and experimentally investigated, in order to explore the effect of the pressure on MPPMS discharges as well as on the microstructure of the deposited thin films. A global plasma model has been developed based on a volume-averaged global description of the ionization region, considering the loss of electrons by cross-B diffusion. The temporal variations of internal plasma parameters at different pressures from 0.1 to 0.7 Pa are obtained by fitting the model to duplicate the experimental discharge data, and Cu thin films are deposited by MPPMS at the corresponding pressures. The surface morphology, grain size and orientation, and microstructure of the deposited thin films are investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. By increasing the pressure from 0.1 to 0.7 Pa, both the ion bombardment energy and substrate temperature which are estimated by the modeled plasma parameters decrease, corresponding to the observed transition of the deposited thin films from a void free structure with a wide distribution of grain size (zone T) into an underdense structure with a fine fiber texture (zone 1) in the extended structure zone diagram (SZD). The microstructure and texture transition of Cu thin films are well-explained by the extended SZD, suggesting that the primary plasma processes are properly incorporated in the model. The results contribute to the understanding of the characteristics of MPPMS discharges, as well as its correlation with the microstructure and texture of deposited Cu thin films.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Atomistic modeling of dropwise condensation

The basic aim of the atomistic modeling of condensation of water is to determine the size of the stable cluster and connect phenomena occurring at atomic scale to the macroscale. In this paper, a population balance model is described in terms of the rate equations to obtain the number density distribution of the resulting clusters. The residence time is taken to be large enough so that sufficient time is available for all the adatoms existing in vapor-phase to loose their latent heat and get condensed. The simulation assumes clusters of a given size to be formed from clusters of smaller sizes, but not by the disintegration of the larger clusters. The largest stable cluster size in the number density distribution is taken to be representative of the minimum drop radius formed in a dropwise condensation process. A numerical confirmation of this result against predictions based on a thermodynamic model has been obtained. Results show that the number density distribution is sensitive to the surface diffusion coefficient and the rate of vapor flux impinging on the substrate. The minimum drop radius increases with the diffusion coefficient and the impinging vapor flux; however, the dependence is weak. The minimum drop radius predicted from thermodynamic considerations matches the prediction of the cluster model, though the former does not take into account the effect of the surface properties on the nucleation phenomena. For a chemically passive surface, the diffusion coefficient and the residence time are dependent on the surface texture via the coefficient of friction. Thus, physical texturing provides a means of changing, within limits, the minimum drop radius. The study reveals that surface texturing at the scale of the minimum drop radius does not provide controllability of the macro-scale dropwise condensation at large timescales when a dynamic steady-state is reached.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Evolution of magnetic bubble domains in the uniaxial ferromaget CeRu 2 Ga 2 B inferred from the Hall effect and ac magnetic susceptibility

We study the Hall effect, AC magnetic susceptibility (χ ac ), and magnetic force microscopy of the uniaxial ferromagnet CeRu 2 Ga 2 B with a centrosymmetric crystal structure. We observe a finite topological Hall effect (THE) within the ordered phase, before the magnetization is polarized by applied field. By comparing the field dependences of the area fraction of the magnetic bubbles, the derivative of χ ac , and the THE signal, we deduce that the magnetic bubbles in CeRu 2 Ga 2 B evolve from the trivial to topological spin texture with field. Our findings enable the expansion of the search for magnetic materials hosting topological spin textures to include uniaxial ferromagnets and open a new possibility to tailor the topological spin texture.

AC magnetic susceptibility↗

Defatted Microalgae-Mediated Enrichment of n–3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Chicken Muscle Is Not Affected by Dietary Selenium, Vitamin E, or Corn Oil

We previously showed enrichments of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in broiler chicks fed defatted microalgae. The aims of this study were to determine 1) if the enrichments affected meat texture and were enhanced by manipulating dietary corn oil, selenium, and vitamin E concentrations and 2) how the enrichments corroborated with hepatic gene expression involved in biosynthesis and oxidation of EPA and DHA. Day-old hatching Cornish Giant cockerels (n= 216) were divided into 6 groups (6 cages/group and 6 chicks/cage). Chicks were fed 1 of the 6 diets: a control diet containing 4% corn oil, 25 IU vitamin E/kg, and 0.2 mg Se/kg (4CO), 4CO + 10% microalgae (defatted Nannochloropsis oceanica; 4CO+ MA), 4CO+ MA – 2% corn oil (2CO+MA), 2CO+MA + 75 IU vitamin E/kg (2CO+MA+E), 2CO+MA + 0.3 mg Se/kg (2CO+MA+Se), and 2CO+MA+E + 0.3 mg Se/kg (2CO+MA+E+Se). After 6 wk, fatty acid profiles, DHA and EPA biosynthesis and oxidation, gene expression, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant status, and meat texture were measured in liver, muscles, or both. Compared with the control diet, defatted microalgae (4CO+MA) enriched (P< 0.05) DHA and EPA by ≤116 and 24 mg/100 g tissue in the liver and muscles, respectively, and downregulated (41–76%, P< 0.01) hepatic mRNA abundance of 4 cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (CYP2C23b, CYP2D6, CYP3A5, CYP4V2). Supplemental microalgae decreased (50–82%, P< 0.05) lipid peroxidation and improved (16–28%, P< 0.05) antioxidant status in the liver, muscles, or both. Furthermore, the microalgae-mediated enrichments in the muscles were not elevated by altering dietary corn oil, vitamin E, or selenium and did not affect meat texture. The microalgae-mediated enrichments of DHA and EPA in the chicken muscles were associated with decreased hepatic gene expression of their oxidation, but were not further enhanced by altering dietary corn oil, vitamin E, or selenium.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Self-stabilizing exchange-mediated spin transport

We report that long-range spin transport in magnetic systems can be achieved by means of exchange-mediated spin textures with robust topological winding, a phenomenon referred to as spin superfluidity. Its experimental signatures have been discussed in antiferromagnets, which are nearly free of dipolar interaction. However, in ferromagnets, which possess non-negligible dipole fields, realization of such spin transport has remained a challenge. Using micromagnetic simulations, we investigate coherent exchange-mediated spin transport in extended thin ferromagnetic films. We uncover a two-fluid state in which the long-range spin transport by spin textures coexists with spin waves, as well as a soliton-screened spin transport regime at high spin injection biases. Both states are associated with distinct spin texture reconstructions near the spin injection region and sustain spin transport over large distances.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Discretized evolution of solitons in the achiral stripe phase of a Fe/Gd thin film

Understanding magnetic phase transitions from stripe to skyrmion textures provide fundamental scientific insights into the details of the intermediate topologies through which the system evolves. The solitonic nature of spin texture in both stripe and skyrmion phases has been observed in materials with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. In this study we show that the field evolution in a dipolar interaction mediated Fe/Gd multilayer that exhibits achiral stripe textures behaves similar to a finite-sized chiral soliton lattice. As a function of magnetic field, the stripes exhibit discrete jumps in periodicity indicative of intermediate topologies as the stripes get wound into skyrmions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

MO-DE-207B-05: Predicting Gene Mutations in Renal Cell Carcinoma Based On CT Imaging Features: Validation Using TCGA-TCIA Datasets

Purpose: The goal of this work is to investigate the use of contrast enhanced computed tomographic (CT) features for the prediction of mutations of BAP1, PBRM1, and VHL genes in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Methods: For this study, we used two patient databases with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The first one consisted of 33 patients from our institution (UT Southwestern Medical Center, UTSW). The second one consisted of 24 patients from the Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA), where each patient is connected by a unique identi?er to the tissue samples from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). From the contrast enhanced CT image of each patient, tumor contour was first delineated by a physician. Geometry, intensity, and texture features were extracted from the delineated tumor. Based on UTSW dataset, we completed feature selection and trained a support vector machine (SVM) classifier to predict mutations of BAP1, PBRM1 and VHL genes. We then used TCIA-TCGA dataset to validate the predictive model build upon UTSW dataset. Results: The prediction accuracy of gene expression of TCIA-TCGA patients was 0.83 (20 of 24), 0.83 (20 of 24), and 0.75 (18 of 24) for BAP1, PBRM1, and VHL respectively. For BAP1 gene, texture feature was the most prominent feature type. For PBRM1 gene, intensity feature was the most prominent. For VHL gene, geometry, intensity, and texture features were all important. Conclusion: Using our feature selection strategy and models, we achieved predictive accuracy over 0.75 for all three genes under the condition of using patient data from one institution for training and data from other institutions for testing. These results suggest that radiogenomics can be used to aid in prognosis and used as convenient surrogates for expensive and time consuming gene assay procedures.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Structure of Ultrathin Polycrystalline Iron Films Grown on SiO{sub 2}/Si(001)

The structure of polycrystalline Fe films grown on an oxidized Si(001) surface at room temperature has been studied by the technique of high-energy electron diffraction. It has been found that the grain orientation in the films depends of the amount of deposited iron. In Fe films less than 5 nm thick, grains have been found to be randomly oriented. Fe films more than 5 nm in thickness exhibit the (111) texture with an axis coinciding with the surface normal. The angular dispersion of the [111] direction in the Fe lattice from the surface normal is ±25°. It has been found that as the Fe films become thicker, the (111) texture changes to the (110) texture.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Deformation and strength of mantle relevant garnets: Implications for the subduction of basaltic-rich crust

Garnet is an important mineral phase in the upper mantle as it is both a key component in bulk mantle rocks, and a primary phase at high pressure within subducted basalt. In this work, we focus on the strength of garnet and the texture that develops within garnet during accommodation of differential deformational strain. We use X-ray diffraction in a radial geometry to analyze texture development in situ in three garnet compositions under pressure at 300 K: a natural garnet (Prp 60 Alm 37 ) to 30 GPa, and two synthetic majorite-bearing compositions (Prp 59 Maj 41 and Prp 42 Maj 58 ) to 44 GPa. All three garnets develop a modest (100) texture at elevated pressure under axial compression. Elasto-viscoplastic self-consistent (EVPSC) modeling suggests that two slip systems are active in the three garnet compositions at all pressures studied: {110}<$1\bar{1}1$> and {001}<110>. We determine a flow strength of ~5 GPa at pressures between 10 to 15 GPa for all three garnets; these values are higher than previously reported yield strengths measured on natural and majoritic garnets. Strengths calculated using the experimental lattice strain differ from the strength generated from those calculated using EVPSC. Prp 67 Alm 33 , Prp 59 Maj 41 , and Prp 42 Maj 58 are of comparable strength to each other at room temperature, which indicates that majorite substitution does not greatly affect the strength of garnets. Additionally, all three garnets are of similar strength as lower mantle phases such as bridgmanite and ferropericlase, suggesting that garnet may not be notably stronger than the surrounding lower mantle/deep upper mantle phases at the base of the upper mantle.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Through-Thickness Microstructure Characterization in a Centrifugally Cast Austenitic Stainless Steel Nuclear Reactor Primary Loop Pipe Using Time-of-Flight Neutron Diffraction

The US code of Federal Regulations mandates regular inspection of centrifugally cast austenitic stainless steel pipe, commonly used in primary cooling loops in light-water nuclear power plants. These pipes typically have a wall thickness of ~8 cm. Unfortunately, inspection using conventional ultrasonic techniques is not reliable as the microstructure strongly attenuates ultrasonic waves. Work is ongoing to simulate the behavior of acoustic waves in this microstructure and ultimately develop an acoustic inspection method for reactor inspections. In order to account for elastic anisotropy in the material, the texture in the steel was measured as a function of radial distance though the pipe wall. Experiments were conducted on two 10 × 12.7 × 80 mm radial sections of a cast pipe using neutron diffraction scans of 2 mm slices using the HIPPO time-of-flight neutron diffractometer at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE, Los Alamos, NM, USA). Strong textures dominated by a small number of austenite grains with their (100) direction aligned in the radial direction of the pipe were observed. ODF analysis indicated that up to 70% of the probed volume was occupied by just three single-grain orientations, consistent with grain sizes of almost 1 cm. Texture and phase fraction of both ferrite and austenite phases were measured along the length of the samples. These results will inform the development of a more robust diagnostic tool for regular inspection of this material.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Characterization of nuclear graphite elastic properties using laser ultrasonic methods

Laser ultrasonic methods have been used to characterize the elastic behaviors of commercially-available and legacy nuclear graphites. Since ultrasonic techniques are sensitive to various aspects of graphite microstructure including preferred grain orientation, microcrack orientation and porosity, laser ultrasonics is a candidate technique for monitoring graphite degradation and structural integrity in environments expected in high-temperature, gas-cooled nuclear reactors. Aspects of materials texture can be assessed by studying ultrasonic wavespeeds as a function of propagation direction and polarization. Shear wave birefringence measurements, in particular, can be used to evaluate elastic anisotropy. In this work, laser ultrasonic measurements of graphite moduli have been made to provide insight into the relationship between the microstructures and the macroscopic stiffnesses of these materials. In particular, laser ultrasonic measurements have been made using laser line sources to produce shear waves with specific polarizations. By varying the line orientation relative to the sample, shear wave birefringence measurements have been recorded. Results from shear wave birefringence measurements show that an isostatically molded graphite, such as PCIB, behaves isotropically, while an extruded graphite, such as H-451, displays significant ultrasonic texture. Graphites have complicated microstructures that depend on the manufacturing processes used, and ultrasonic texture in these materials could originate from grain orientation and preferred microcrack alignment. Effects on material isotropy due to service related microstructural changes are possible and the ultimate aim of this work is to determine the degree to which these changes can be assessed nondestructively using laser ultrasonics measurements

anisotropy↗