Techniques microstructural models

Thus far, the discussion has assumed that the materials engineer has a desired micro-stmcture in mind. But how is it known which microstructure is optimal for a given application Microstructure design is an emerging field that focuses on producing microstructures that meet, or exceed, specified macroscale properties or performance criteria. This requires a combination of empirical techniques, mathematical modeling, and numerical simulation. A complicating factor has always been the enormous number... 

TFL is an important sub-discipline of nano tribology. TFL in an ultra-thin clearance exists extensively in micro/nano components, integrated circuit (IC), micro-electromechanical system (MEMS), computer hard disks, etc. The impressive developments of these techniques present a challenge to develop a theory of TFL with an ordered structure at nano scale. In TFL modeling, two factors to be addressed are the microstructure of the fluids and the surface effects due to the very small clearance between two solid walls in relative motion [40]. 

In the past three decades, industrial polymerization research and development aimed at controlling average polymer properties such as molecular weight averages, melt flow index and copolymer composition. These properties were modeled using either first principle models or empirical models represented by differential equations or statistical model equations. However, recent advances in polymerization chemistry, polymerization catalysis, polymer characterization techniques, and computational tools are making the molecular level design and control of polymer microstructure a reality. 

Advanced computational models are also developed to understand the formation of polymer microstructure and polymer morphology. Nonuniform compositional distribution in olefin copolymers can affect the chain solubility of highly crystalline polymers. When such compositional nonuniformity is present, hydrodynamic volume distribution measured by size exclusion chromatography does not match the exact copolymer molecular weight distribution. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate the hydrodynamic volume distribution from a copolymer kinetic model and to relate it to the copolymer molecular weight distribution. The finite molecular weight moment techniques that were developed for free radical homo- and co-polymerization processes can be used for such calculations [1,14,15]. 

Micro structures in heterogeneous catalysts are closely related to the catalytic properties. TEM and related microanalytic techniques are powerful tools in characterising catalysts at atomic level. The obtained structural information is essential to the understanding of correlations between microstructures and catalytic properties. In this lecture note, the general principle of characterization of catalysts by TEM is introduced and the applications on Pt/Si02 model system and on VPO catalysts are intensively described. 

In the past decade, many new techniques have been developed and applied to the study of interfaces. While earlier measurements involved only macroscopic characteristics of the interface (e.g., surface charge, surface tension, and overall potential drop), new spectroscopic techniques have opened a window to the microstructure of the interface, and insight at the atomic level in this important region is now possible. Parallel to these discoveries and supported by them, more realistic theoretical models of the interface have been developed that combine quantum mechanical theories of metal surfaces and the statistical mechanics of solutions. 

Detailed description of a porous microstructure is an essential prerequisite for unveiling the influence of pore morphology on the underlying two-phase behavior. This can be achieved either by 3-D volume imaging or by constructing a digital microstructure based on stochastic reconstruction models. Non-invasive techniques, such as X-ray micro-tomography, are the popular methods for 3-D... 

The steady-state flow numerical experiment was primarily designed to evaluate the phasic relative permeability relations. The numerical experiment is devised within the two-phase lattice Boltzmann modeling framework for the reconstructed CL microstructure, generated using the stochastic reconstruction technique described earlier. Briefly, in the steady-state flow experiment two immiscible fluids are allowed to flow simultaneously until equilibrium is attained and the corresponding saturations, fluid flow rates and pressure gradients can be directly measured and correlated using Darcy s law, defined below. 

It can be seen that ceramic multilayer structures have been produced with increments of the hardness of up to 60 GPa, increasing the hardness by up to a factor of almost 3. Initial work in this area has developed a number of ideas, such as the effect of modulus mismatch, which in some cases give good agreement with the models suggested but in many others do not. It is suggested that at least some of this discrepancy can be accounted for by differences in the microstructure and residual stress-state of the film, both of which are often poorly characterized. Furthermore there is very little direct evidence about how these structures deform and in particular about how different layers must be strained in order to accommodate the indenter when it is pressed into the sample. Further advances in this area will require the greater use of numerical techniques to analyse the complex stress and strain behaviour under the indentation, coupled with the use of recently developed techniques that allow the localized deformation behaviour to be observed in detail. 

Chapter 16 deals with the relationship between processing, structure, and properties of CN films. Such films potentially are believed to have attractive properties derived largely from their short covalent bonding. The status of current research on CN films is reviewed and the most widely used experimental techniques employed to produce them are presented. The theoretical models often used to optimize the processing are then described. Next, microstructural characterization of CN films are discussed followed by a discussion on the effect of processing and structure on film properties. 

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