The issue of non-destructive characterization of material microstructure with respect to precursors to macroscale damage initiation is addressed. Ultrasonic guided waves are known to be sensitive to material nonlinearity, which is evident through the generation of higher harmonic modes. Thus, nonlinear guided waves have strong potential to identify precursors to macroscale damage and revolution...

Pectin-based gelled systems have gained increasing attention for the design of newly developed food products. For this reason, the characterization of such formulas is a necessity in order to present scientific data and to introduce an appropriate finished product to the industry. Various analytical techniques are available for the evaluation of the systems formulated on the basis of pectin and...

The detailed structural characterization of complex polymer architectures, like copolymers and polymer mixtures, by mass spectrometry presents a challenge. Even though soft ionization analyses revolutionized the characterization of large molecules and provided a means for determining the polymer's molecular weight distribution, polydispersity, and end groups, full microstructure elucidation and...

Blown-powder laser surface alloying was performed on the magnesium alloy AZ91D with Al-Si alloy powder to improve corrosion resistance. Characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that intermetallic compounds (IMCs) of Mg2Si, Al12Mg17 and Al3Mg2 were formed in the matrix of α-Mg and Al solid solutions...

This paper presents the development of wood flour (WF)-filled polylactic acid (PLA) composite filaments for a fused deposition modeling (FDM) process with the aim of application to 3D printing. The composite filament consists of wood flour (5 wt %) in a PLA matrix. The detailed formulation and characterization of the composite filament were investigated experimentally, including tensile propert...

The shells/coats of nuts and seeds are often very hard to crack. This is particularly the case with Macadamia seed coats, known to exhibit astoundingly high strength and toughness. We performed an extensive materials science characterization of the complex hierarchical structure of these coats, using light and scanning electron microscopy in 2D as well as microCT for 3D characterization. We dif...

Amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films possess special chemical and physical properties such as high chemical inertness, diamond-like properties, and favorable tribological proprieties. The materials usually consist of graphite and diamond microstructures and thus possess properties that lie between the two. Amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films can exist in different kinds of matrices...

A standardized microstructure characterization tool for solid oxide cell (SOC) electrodes is presented, allowing the automatic determination of a large number characteristics relevant performance.

Applications of nanowires into future generation nanodevices require a complete understanding of the mechanical properties of the nanowires. A great research effort has been made in the past two decades to understand the deformation physics and mechanical behaviors of nanowires, and to interpret the discrepancies between experimental measurements and theoretical predictions. This review focused...

In situ analysis of physicochemical processes occurring during pyrolysis synthesis a TMO/C nanocomposite, including microstructure via (S)TEM. Characterization materials as electrodes for lithium intercalation and conversion reactions.