Characteristics of present-day active strain field of Chinese mainland

In zirconium-hydrogen alloys, rapid cooling from an elevated temperature causes precipitation of the face-centred tetragonal (fct) phase, γZrH, in the form of needles, parallel to the close-packed <1120>zr directions (1). With low hydrogen concentrations, the hydride solvus is sufficiently low that zirconium atom diffusion cannot occur. For example, with 6 μg/g hydrogen, the solvus temperature is approximately 370 K (2), at which only the hydrogen diffuses readily. Shears are therefore necessary to produce the crystallographic transformation from hexagonal close-packed (hep) zirconium to fct hydride.The simplest mechanism for the transformation is the passage of Shockley partial dislocations having Burgers vectors (b) of the type 1/3<0110> on every second (0001)Zr plane. If the partial dislocations are in the form of loops with the same b, the crosssection of a hydride precipitate will be as shown in fig.1. A consequence of this type of transformation is that a cumulative shear, S, is produced that leads to a strain field in the surrounding zirconium matrix, as illustrated in fig.2a.

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Strain analysis in composite ceramics

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100144012 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

pp. 494-497

Author(s):

W. M. Kriven

Keyword(s):

Strain Field ◽

Strain Analysis ◽

Processing Temperature ◽

Transformation Toughening ◽

Zirconia Ceramics ◽

Volume Increase ◽

Analysis Technique ◽

Fundamental Understanding ◽

Contrast Analysis ◽

Elastic Strain Field

Significant progress towards a fundamental understanding of transformation toughening in composite zirconia ceramics was made possible by the application of a TEM contrast analysis technique for imaging elastic strains. Spherical zirconia particles dispersed in a large-grained alumina matrix were examined by 1 MeV HVEM to simulate bulk conditions. A thermal contraction mismatch arose on cooling from the processing temperature of 1500°C to RT. Tetragonal ZrO2 contracted amisotropically with α(ct) = 16 X 10-6/°C and α(at) = 11 X 10-6/°C and faster than Al2O3 which contracted relatively isotropically at α = 8 X 10-6/°C. A volume increase of +4.9% accompanied the transformation to monoclinic symmetry at room temperature. The elastic strain field surrounding a particle before transformation was 3-dimensionally correlated with the internal crystallographic orientation of the particle and with the strain field after transformation. The aim of this paper is to theoretically and experimentally describe this technique using the ZrO2 as an example and thereby to illustrate the experimental requirements Tor such an analysis in other systems.

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Strain analysis with nanometer resolution using a conventional transmission electron microsopy technique: electron diffraction contrast imaging revisited

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100137215 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 53 ◽

pp. 168-169

Author(s):

Koenraad G F Janssens ◽

Omer Van der Biest ◽

Jan Vanhellemont ◽

Herman E Maes ◽

Robert Hull

Keyword(s):

Electron Diffraction ◽

Strain Field ◽

Elastic Strain ◽

Strain Analysis ◽

Local Strain ◽

Contrast Imaging ◽

Strain Characterization ◽

Physical Mechanisms ◽

Diffraction Contrast ◽

Transmission Electron

There is a growing need for elastic strain characterization techniques with submicrometer resolution in several engineering technologies. In advanced material science and engineering the quantitative knowledge of elastic strain, e.g. at small particles or fibers in reinforced composite materials, can lead to a better understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms and thus to an optimization of material production processes. In advanced semiconductor processing and technology, the current size of micro-electronic devices requires an increasing effort in the analysis and characterization of localized strain. More than 30 years have passed since electron diffraction contrast imaging (EDCI) was used for the first time to analyse the local strain field in and around small coherent precipitates1. In later stages the same technique was used to identify straight dislocations by simulating the EDCI contrast resulting from the strain field of a dislocation and comparing it with experimental observations. Since then the technique was developed further by a small number of researchers, most of whom programmed their own dedicated algorithms to solve the problem of EDCI image simulation for the particular problem they were studying at the time.

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A study of twinning in YBa2Cu3O7−x by large-angle convergent-beam electron diffraction

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100173236 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (4) ◽

pp. 20-21

Author(s):

P.A. Midgley ◽

R. Vincent ◽

D. Cherns

Keyword(s):

Electron Diffraction ◽

Oxygen Atom ◽

Strain Field ◽

Large Angle ◽

Convergent Beam Electron Diffraction ◽

Orthorhombic Distortion ◽

Beam Electron ◽

Resultant Powder ◽

Convergent Beam ◽

Mesh Grid

The oxygenation of YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) leads to an orthorhombic distortion of the unit cell to accommodate the extra oxygen atom. This makes the formation of twins energetically favourable with CuO4 planar unit chains running alternately along the a and b axes of the parent tetragonal structure. The geometry of this twinning is such that four possible twin variants may co-exist with the twin boundaries lying in the (110) or (110) planes of the deformed structure. The traces of these planes are not mutually perpendicular and thus the crystal is strained to allow for the mismatch. It is to the nature of this strain field that this work has been addressed.Sintered samples were prepared by crushing and dispersing the resultant powder onto a very fine Cu mesh grid. Single crystals were chemically thinned to perforation. No discernible artefacts were seen and similar results were obtained with either method.

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