Morphotropic phase boundary tailoring of PZST–PMN system by compositional variation for shape memory effect

Samples with representative formula (1 − y)[Pb(Zr_0.7Sn_0.3)_0.938Ti_0.062O₃] (PZST)–y(PbMg_1/3Nb_2/3O₃) (PMN), with y = 0.01, 0.02, 0.05 and 0.07, were synthesized using conventional solid state ceramic route. Detailed studies on structural, dielectric, ferroelectric and shape memory related properties of the series are presented. Best results of remnant strain (shape memory) ∼0.2% at 45 °C is observed for y = 0.01 composition. Morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) for the present series, where maximum strain is obtained, is found to shift towards higher temperatures with increasing PMN content; making it possible to design temperature specific devices. Temperature dependent polarization versus electric field (P–E) measurements show that the phase transition in this series follows the thermodynamic model proposed by Yang and Payne. On the basis of these studies, a phase diagram for PZST–PMN system is worked out and reported here.     

Effect of uncoated calcium carbonate and stearic acid coated calcium carbonate on mechanical,thermal and structural properties of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)/calcium carbonate composites

PBT/CaCO₃ composites were prepared in a single screw extruder with particle content varying from 0–30% by weight. The influence of surface treatment of the particles, with and without stearic acid (SA), on the mechanical, thermal and structural properties was studied. The experiments included tensile tests, impact tests, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The composite systems containing SA coated CaCO₃ were found to exhibit better mechanical properties as compared to composite systems containing uncoated CaCO₃, with the S3 system (20% of SA coated CaCO₃) exhibiting best combination of mechanical properties. Thermal study revealed that particle type and content had no influence on the melting temperature but the crystallization temperature, % crystallinity and thermal stability increased on increasing the CaCO₃ content in PBT matrix. Morphological observation indicated that in PBT composites containing SA coated CaCO₃, the coupling agent favours a better polymer filler interaction rendering inorganic polymer interface compatible, which is also evident from better mechanical and thermal properties.     

Epitaxial film growth of chromium dioxide by low pressure chemical vapor deposition using chromium carbonyl

Epitaxial chromium dioxide (CrO₂) thin films have been deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) on (100) TiO₂ substrates using the precursor chromium hexacarbonyl (Cr(CO)₆) within a narrow temperature window of 380-400 °C. Normal θ-2θ Bragg x-ray diffraction results show that the predominant phase is CrO₂ with only a small amount of Cr₂O₃ present, mostly at the film surface. The LPCVD films have a reasonably smooth surface morphology with a root mean square roughness of 4 nm on a scale of 5 μm. Raman spectroscopy confirms the existence of rutile CrO₂ in the deposited films, while transmission electron microscopy confirms the single-crystalline nature of the films. The LPCVD films showing a dominant CrO₂ phase exhibit clear uniaxial magnetic anisotropy with the easy axis oriented along the c direction.     

Ion beam studies of multi-quantum wells of III-nitrides

III-Nitrides have attracted much attention due to their versatile and wide range of applications, such as blue/UV light emitting diodes. Strained layer super lattices offer extra degree of freedom to alter the band gap of lattice-mismatched heterostructures. Swift heavy ion irradiation is a post-growth technique to alter the band gap of semiconductors, spatially. In the present study, strained AlGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells (MQWs) were grown on sapphire with insertion of AlN and GaN as buffer layers between substrate and epilayers. Such grown AlGaN/GaN MQWs, AlGaN/GaN heterostructures and GaN layers were irradiated with 200 MeV Au and 150 MeV Ag ions at a fluence of 5 × 10¹¹ ions/cm² and 5 × 10¹² ions/cm² respectively. As-grown and irradiated samples have been characterized by high resolution XRD, photoluminescence and RBS/channelling. Measured strain values show that strain increases upon irradiation and the luminescence properties are enhanced. RBS/channelling confirms the increase in strain values upon irradiation. In this paper we describe the effects of swift heavy ion irradiation on structural and optical properties.     

Process and die profile design for tube extrusion of γ iron

This study is related to material modeling and die and process design of tube extrusion of γ iron. Strain dependent rate power law is used for material modeling whose coefficients are arrived at through genetic algorithm (GA). Die profile of the tube extrusion process is optimized to produce microstructurally sound product at maximum production speed and minimum left out material in the die. The design problem is formulated as a nonlinear programming problem which is solved using GA. Selection of the processing parameters is carried out using dynamic material modeling (DMM). Using this approach tube extrusion process of γ iron is successfully designed.     

Double diffraction by wedges in nonperfectly conducting surfaces

A high-frequency solution is obtained via an extended ray method for the field doubly diffracted in the far zone by a pair of parallel wedges with impedance faces, when they are illuminated by a plane wave perpendicularly incident on the edges. Except for a multiplying special function, this solution is expressed in closed form, which is valid for any incidence and observation aspects.     

Studying grain boundary regions in polycrystalline materials using spherical nano-indentation and orientation imaging microscopy

In this article, we report on the application of our spherical nanoindentation data analysis protocols to study the mechanical response of grain boundary regions in as-cast and 30% deformed polycrystalline Fe–3%Si steel. In particular, we demonstrate that it is possible to investigate the role of grain boundaries in the mechanical deformation of polycrystalline samples by systematically studying the changes in the indentation stress–strain curves as a function of the distance from the grain boundary. Such datasets, when combined with the local crystal lattice orientation information obtained using orientation imaging microscopy, open new avenues for characterizing the mechanical behavior of grain boundaries based on their misorientation angle, dislocation density content near the boundary, and their propensity for dislocation source/sink behavior.