Surface morphologies and internal fine structures of bast fibers

Fiber surface morphologies and associated internal structures are closely related to its properties. Unlike other fibers including cotton, bast fibers possess transverse nodes and fissures in cross-sectional and longitudinal directions. Their morphologies and associated internal structures were anatomically examined under the scanning electron microscope. The results showed that the morphologies of the nodes and the fissures of bast fibers varied depending on the construction of the inner fibril cellular layers. The transverse nodes and fissures were formed by the folding and spiralling of the cellular layers during plant growth. The dimensions of nodes and fissures were determined by the dislocations of the cellular layers. There were also many longitudinal fissures in bast fibers. Some deep longitudinal fissures even opened the fiber lumen for a short way along the fiber. In addition, the lumen channel of the bast fibers could be disturbed or disrupted by the nodes and the spirals of the internal cellular layers. The existence of the transverse nodes and fissures in the bast fibers could degrade the fiber mechanical properties, whereas the longitudinal fissures may contribute to the very rapid moisture absorption and desorption.

A physical based modeling approach for the dynamic behavior of ultrafine grained structures

This paper discusses some experimental results on the influence of grain refinement on the final mechanical properties of IF and microalloyed steels designed for auto-body components. It shows also some modeling approaches to understanding the dynamic behavior of fine-rained materials. The Zerilli–Armstrong (Z–A) and Khan–Huang–Liang (KHL) models for studied steels were implemented into FEM code in order to simulate the dynamic compression tests with different strain rates.

Fine structure of shear bands formed during hot deformation of two austenitic steels

Shear bands formed during both cold and hot plastic deformation have been linked with several proposed mechanisms for the formation of ultrafine grains. The aim of the present work was to undertake a detailed investigation of the microstructural and crystallographic characteristics of the shear bands formed during hot deformation of a 22Cr-19Ni-3Mo (mass%) austenitic stainless steel and a Fe-30 mass%Ni based austenitic model alloy. These alloys were subjected to deformation in torsion and plane strain compression (PSC), respectively, at temperatures of 900°C and 950°C and strain rates of 0.7s_-1 and 10s_-1, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction in conjunction with scanning electron microscopy were employed in the investigation. It has been observed that shear bands already started to form at moderate strains in a matrix of pre-existing microbands and were composed of fine, slightly elongated subgrains (fragments). These bands propagated along a similar macroscopic path and the subgrains, present within their substructure, were rotated relative to the surrounding matrix about axes approximately parallel to the sample radial and transverse directions for deformation in torsion and PSC, respectively. The subgrain boundaries were largely observed to be non-crystallographic, suggesting that the subgrains generally formed via multiple slip processes. Shear bands appeared to form through a co-operative nucleation of originally isolated subgrains that gradually interconnected with the others to form long, thin bands that subsequently thickened via the formation of new subgrains. The observed small dimensions of the subgrains present within shear bands and their large misorientations clearly indicate that these subgrains can serve as potent nucleation sites for the formation of ultrafine grain structures during both subsequent recrystallisation, as observed during the present PSC experiments, and phase transformation.

Chemisorbed and physisorbed Structures for 1,10-Phenanthroline and Dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine on Au(111)

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images of 1,10-phenanthroline (PHEN) and dipyrido[3,2-a:2‘,3‘-c]phenazine (DPPZ) on Au(111) are recorded using both in situ and ex situ techniques. The images of PHEN depict regimes of physisorption and chemisorption, whereas DPPZ is only physisorbed. All physisorbed structures are not pitted and fluctuate dynamically, involving aligned (4 × 4) surface domains with short-range (ca. 20 molecules) order for PHEN but unaligned chains with medium-range (ca. 100 molecules) order for DPPZ. In contrast, the chemisorbed PHEN monolayers remain stable for days, are associated with surface pitting, and form a (4 × √13)R46° lattice with long-range order. The density of pitted atoms on large gold terraces is shown to match the density of chemisorbed molecules, suggesting that gold adatoms link PHEN to the surface. For PHEN, chemisorbed and physisorbed adsorbate structures are optimized using plane-wave density-functional theory (DFT) calculations for the surface structure. Realistic binding energies are then obtained adding dispersive corrections determined using complete-active-space self-consistent field calculations using second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) applied to cluster-interaction models. A fine balance between the large adsorbate−adsorbate dispersive forces, adsorbate−surface dispersive forces, gold ligation energy, and surface mining energy is shown to dictate the observed phenomena, leading to high surface mobility and substrate/surface lattice incommensurability. Increasing the magnitude of the dispersive forces through use of DPPZ, rather than PHEN, to disturb this balance produced physisorbed monolayers without pits and/or surface registration but with much longer-range order. Analogies are drawn with similar but poorly understood processes involved in the binding of thiols to Au(111).

The Production of novel structures from high strength and ultrafine-grained sheet metal through roll forming.

This work addresses the development of new ultra-fine grained/ nano-structured high strength aluminium alloys designed for automotive applications and explores the frontiers of the roll forming process.