Natural microstructures

Burnability also depends on the nature, microstructures and intimacy of mixing of the raw materials and on the contents of minor components. Silica i present as quartz is less reactive than that present in clay minerals, and a i limestone high in silica or silicate minerals is likely to be more reactive than one that is nearly pure calcite. Inadequate mixing of the particles of the i different constituent rocks present in the raw mix has effects broadly similar to those of too high a proportion of coarse particles. Petersen and Johansen (PI5) discussed the mixing of particles from a statistical viewpoint. 

Consequently to the above, some surface treatments are performed as oxidation or nitriding. The use of coatings and surface treatments on this material by laser radiation processes, as well as the introduction of interstitial elements results in the formation of surfaces with specific nature microstructures [4,7]. This diversity in the surface microstructure is mainly due to hydrodynamic instabilities and optical interference in the radiation process. 

Physical and mechanical properties of filled rubber composites are strongly influenced by chemical nature, microstructure and molecular weight of the... 

The electromagnetic properties of steels depend on their composition, their microstructures and applied stresses. It is therefore natural to try to use magnetic and electrical parameters of steels to evaluate their microstructure. 

The sequence just outlined provides a salutary lesson in the nature of explanation in materials science. At first the process was a pure mystery. Then the relationship to the shape of the solid-solubility curve was uncovered that was a partial explanation. Next it was found that the microstructural process that leads to age-hardening involves a succession of intermediate phases, none of them in equilibrium (a very common situation in materials science as we now know). An understanding of how these intermediate phases interact with dislocations was a further stage in explanation. Then came an nnderstanding of the shape of the GP zones (planar in some alloys, globniar in others). Next, the kinetics of the hardening needed to be... 

This chapter is entitled Precursors of Materials Science and the foregoing major Sections have focused on the atomic hypothesis, crystallography, phase equilibria and microstructure, which I have presented as the main supports that made possible the emergence of modern materials. science. In what follows, some other fields of study that made substantial contributions are more brielly discussed. It should be remembered that this is in no way a le.xihnok, my task is not to explain the detailed nature of various phenomena and entitities, but only to outline how they came to be invented or recognised and how they have contributed to the edifice of modern materials science. The reader may well think that I have paid too much attention, up to now, to metals that was inevitable, but I shall do my best to redress the balance in due course. 

A special mention is in order of high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM), a variant that permits columns of atoms normal to the specimen surface to be imaged the resolution is better than an atomic diameter, but the nature of the image is not safely interpretable without the use of computer simulation of images to check whether the assumed interpretation matches what is actually seen. Solid-state chemists studying complex, non-stoichiometric oxides found this image simulation approach essential for their work. The technique has proved immensely powerful, especially with respect to the many types of defect that are found in microstructures. 

As with chemical etches, developing optimum conversion coatings requires assessment of the microstructure of the steel. Correlations have been found between the microstructure of the substrate material and the nature of the phosphate films formed. Aloru et al. demonstrated that the type of phosphate crystal formed varies with the orientation of the underlying steel crystal lattice [154]. Fig. 32 illustrates the different phosphate crystal morphologies that formed on two heat-treated surfaces. The fine flake structure formed on the tempered martensite surface promotes adhesion more effectively than the knobby protrusions formed on the cold-rolled steel. 

One may now ask whether natural systems have the necessary structural evolution needed to incorporate high-performance properties. An attempt is made here to compare the structure of some of the advanced polymers with a few natural polymers. Figure 1 gives the cross-sectional microstructure of a liquid crystalline (LC) copolyester, an advanced polymer with high-performance applications [33]. A hierarchically ordered arrangement of fibrils can be seen. This is compared with the microstructure of a tendon [5] (Fig. 2). The complexity and higher order of molecular arrangement of natural materi-... 

Most materials, be they natural or synthetic, have limited utility. However, technical ingenuity has increased the utility of these materials beyond anyone s wildest imagination. The enormous range of steel that can be produced by adding carbon or other elements to give it the required balance of properties, such as strength and hardness, related to changes in their microstructure [1-3] is just one example. 

In the previous sections, it was shown how thermodynamic and kinetic considerations govern a CVD reaction. In this section, the nature of the deposit, i.e., its microstructure and how it is controlled by the deposition conditions, is examined. 

Obviously the various transient microstructures realized in a given system and their relative populations are not decided solely by the nature of the amphiphile, but are the result... 

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