Thermal and Electric Field-Dependent Evolution of Domain Structures in Polycrystalline BaTiO3 Using the 3D-XRD Technique

The evolution of ferroelectric domain structures inside a single grain embedded in a polycrystalline BaTiO3 ceramic was investigated under temperature and electric field using the three-dimensional X-ray diffraction (3D-XRD) method. The orientation of domains within the grain was studied during the phase transformation from the cubic to tetragonal crystal structure. The peak widths broadened from 0.10 ± 0.01∘ to 0.29±0.08∘ along the azimuthal direction during cooling. Four individual tetragonal domain structures were developed from the cubic grain. A twinning model based on {101} habit planes is discussed. While the twinning model predicts 89.47∘ misorientation between 90∘ domains and 1.049∘ misorientation between domain variants, the measured misorientations neither support the twinning model nor are the domain structures mutually orthogonal. The average misorientation of the domain structures at room temperature with respect to the cubic grain was about 0.3∘. Upon application of an electric field, the volume fractions of the domain structures changed systematically favoring growth of domain structures with small polarization angle with respect to applied field direction. No rotation of domain structures was observed upon application of an electric field which is consistent with domain boundary migration.

Using Individual Spectra Simulation for the Study of Pole Figures Errors

Crystallographic texture is described by pole figures. In this paper, we continue to study experimental pole figure errors. In other words it can be named pole figure measurement errors. These errors are connected with the experimental procedure and do not depend on any further computations. In our previous works it was shown that the qualitative behaviour of pole figure measurement errors is similar to peak width determination errors. To check this conclusion a set of diffraction spectra were measured for Mg + 4.5%Al + 1%Zn sample on the spectrometer for quantitative texture analysis (SKAT) at FLNP, JINR, Dubna. Then we simulated the individual spectra and used these spectra for the pole figure extraction and the pole figure error determination. Such simulation enabled to confirm conclusions concerning the main role of the peak width determination error in the pole figure error. Additionally, we simulated individual spectra using model pole figures and extracted pole figures and pole figures errors from those spectra. For this case we also confirmed the same qualitative behaviour of pole figure measurement errors and peak width determination errors. The model pole figures were calculated on the basis of normal distributions.

The Influence of Deposition Conditions on Structural Properties of PbI2

The effect of deposition environment conditions on the electrical and structural properties of deposited PbI2 layers were studied. The layers were deposited from solution under dark and room light illumination with and without applying magnetic field. XRD, electrical, and photo-electrical properties were measured at room temperature. An increase in the grain size versus the platelet area was noticed.The electrical properties revealed a dependence on deposition conditions. Dark conductivity increases from 1.7×10−10 to 5×10−9 (Ωcm)-1 when deposition was carried out in darkness. A gain factor (the ratio between photoconductivity and dark conductivity) of (23) was obtained. The results indicate that the increase in electrical conductivity is mainly due to the plane 001, where the average number of grain boundaries in this plane sharply decreases when deposition takes place in darkness. On the other hand, the increase in photoconductivity could be due to the decrease in the recombination of free carriers along the grain boundaries.

Mechanical Behaviour and Microstructure of Aluminum-Steel Sheets Joined by FSSW

At the prospect of a lightening of the automobile structures, welded spots have been realized on a stacking of two sheets (a 6008 aluminum alloy on steel) Friction Stir Spot welding (FSSW). Different process parameters have been tested, but only the influence of the dwell time will be described in the present paper. The dwell time corresponds to the time during which the probe stays in rotation at its bottom location before extracting. A study of the microstructures and textures associated to mechanical tests (tensile shear tests) allowed determining the best set of welding parameters. The recrystallized area around the welding spot has been characterized by electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD). A mechanism of continuous dynamic recrystallization has been identified since the misorientation of subboundaries increases close to the weld, and this is for all the dwell times tested. Elsewhere, the increase of the dwell time induced a larger recrystallized zone. It has also been found that a long dwell time induced a larger welded area but also a higher quantity of intermetallic compounds (especially FeAl, Fe2Al7, and FeAl2) with high-microhardness values (up to 800 Hv). Thus, the dwell time must not exceed a certain value, otherwise it can weaken the weld.

Texture Control During the Manufacturing of Nonoriented Electrical Steels

Methods of modern quantitative texture analysis are applied in order to characterize the crystallographic texture of various non-oriented electrical steel grades in view of their relation with the magnetic properties of the steel sheet. A texture parameter is defined which quantifies the density of ‹100› easy magnetic directions in the sheet planes. An extensive correlation study revealed the relation of this parameter with the hysteresis losses, determined at an induction of 1.5 T, and with the induction measured at an applied external field of 25 A/cm. It is shown that the latter magnetic property is the more texture dependent, whereas the former one is more sensitive to the grain size of the steel. Also various strategies for texture control are critically reviewed. It is shown that the conventional manufacturing process only provides poor tools for optimizing the texture of the final product. In order to obtain a quantum-leap improvement of the magnetic quality of the texture, in combination with other important microstructural features, nonstandard processing strategies are required, such as cross-rolling, two-stage cold rolling, or surface annealing.

Effect of a High Magnetic Field on Eutectoid Point Shift and Texture Evolution in 0.81C-Fe Steel

A 12 T magnetic field has been applied to the annealing process of a 0.81%C-Fe (wt.%). It is found that the magnetic field shifts the eutectoid carbon content from 0.77 wt.% to 0.83 wt.%. The statistical thermodynamic calculations were performed to calculate the eutectoid temperature change by the magnetic field. Calculation shows that the increase of the eutectoid temperature by a 12 T field is 29∘C. Synchrotron radiation measurements were performed to measure the pole figures of the samples and were analyzed by MAUD to determine the bulk texture of the ferrite phase In the field-treated and non field-treated samples. Results show that although there is no specific preferred orientation appearing by applying the magnetic field, slight enhancement of (001) fiber component occurs in both the sample normal direction (ND) and the transverse direction (TD). This effect might be related to the magnetic dipolar interaction between Fe atoms in the transverse field direction.

Investigation of the α−γ−α Phase Transformation in Steel: High-Temperature In Situ EBSD Measurements

A newly developed laser powered heating stage for commercial SEMs in combination with automated established electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data acquisition is presented. This novel experimental setup can be used to achieve more information about microstructure and orientation changes during grain growth, recrystallization, recovery, and phase transformations. First results on the α−γ−α phase transformation in steel within 886∘C–900∘C are presented.

Texture and Mechanical Anisotropy of Ultrafine-Grained Aluminum Alloy AA6016 Produced by Accumulative Roll Bonding

The texture of ultrafine-grained Al alloy AA6016 produced by accumulative roll bonding (ARB) has been measured by neutron diffraction. The starting texture consists of a strong cube component. During ARB, this texture breaks down and a texture typical for rolling of face-centered cubic metals with high stacking fault energy develops. The texture after 8 ARB cycles is characterised by the β-fiber with the Cu component dominating. Moreover, the rotated cube component is formed. This component is typical for simple shear, which takes place during rolling on the surfaces of the sheets. Based on the Taylor factor and calculated Lankford parameter, the mechanical anisotropy of the advanced metal sheets is discussed.