Structural phase transition and negative thermal expansion in Cu1.8Zn0.2V2–x P x O7 solid solutions

Negative thermal expansion (NTE) is exhibited over the entire x range for Cu1.8Zn0.2V2–xPxO7. In particular, dilatometric measurements using epoxy resin matrix composites containing the spray-dried powder demonstrated that the thermal expansion suppressive capability was almost unchanged for x≤0.1. With increasing x, the x-ray diffraction peak position moves systematically, but some peaks are extremely broad and/or asymmetric, suggesting disorder in the internal structure. The crystallographic analysis confirmed NTE enhancement by microstructural effects at least for x=0.2. Preliminary measurements suggest higher resistivity and lower dielectric constant than that of pure vanadate, which is suitable for application to electronic devices.

X-ray powder diffraction in education. Part I. Bragg peak profiles

A collection of scholarly scripts dealing with the mathematics and physics of peak profile functions in X-ray powder diffraction has been written using the Wolfram language in Mathematica. Common distribution functions, the concept of convolution in real and Fourier space, instrumental aberrations, and microstructural effects are visualized in an interactive manner and explained in detail. This paper is the first part of a series dealing with the mathematical description of powder diffraction patterns for teaching and education purposes.

Microscale size effects in piezomagnetic material for the anti-plane problem

A continuum model of piezomagnetic material with strain, magnetic and piezomagnetic coupling gradient effects is proposed using a variational principle in this work. This model is employed to an anti-plane problem, and a general solution is constructed in polar coordinates. Special attention is paid to microstructural effects on the magnetic and mechanical response in an infinite piezomagnetic medium with a void. It is found that the microstructural length scales have a significant influence on the mechanic and magnetic fields. The three length scales (corresponding to strain, magnetic and piezomagnetic coupling gradients) are indispensable to describe the nonlocal effects of piezomagnetism. Additionally, controlling the direction and magnitude of the magnetic field at the edge of the void can be achieved by adjusting the microstructural length scales of the piezomagnetic medium.

The Inclusion of the Food Microstructural Influence in Predictive Microbiology: State-of-the-Art

Predictive microbiology has steadily evolved into one of the most important tools to assess and control the microbiological safety of food products. Predictive models were traditionally developed based on experiments in liquid laboratory media, meaning that food microstructural effects were not represented in these models. Since food microstructure is known to exert a significant effect on microbial growth and inactivation dynamics, the applicability of predictive models is limited if food microstructure is not taken into account. Over the last 10–20 years, researchers, therefore, developed a variety of models that do include certain food microstructural influences. This review provides an overview of the most notable microstructure-including models which were developed over the years, both for microbial growth and inactivation.