Prof. Antonio R. de Arellano

The microstructure of a small-particle plasma spray (SPPS) aluminum oxide coating sprayed onto a prepared mild steel substrate has been characterized using a variety of microscopic techniques as part of a process optimization study. The coating was highly conforming to the substrate as evidenced in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, although some voids were present at the interface. The layered splat microstructure, characteristic of conventional plasma-sprayed coatings but smaller in size, was discerned in partially thinned samples in a focused-ion-beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM). Microcracks and microporosity, generally less than 0.5 µm in size, was also seen between splats using transmission electron microscopy. Cubic alumina of the crystallographic form gamma-Al2O3 was identified by electron diffraction.

New and published creep data obtained on a SiC-whisker-reinforced Al2O3 composite have been analyzed in terms of an effective grain size and a threshold/critical stress. These concepts allow the formation of a consistent picture of the high-temperature deformation of these composites. For low volume fractions of whiskers, before the formation of a point-contact percolative limit is reached, deformation proceeds via grain-boundary sliding after the applied stress exceeds a temperature-dependent threshold stress. In this regime, the nominal grain size is the most important microstructural feature. For larger volume fractions of whiskers, up to the critical volume fraction for formation of facet-to-facet contact, whiskers inhibit grain-boundary sliding and deformation proceeds by means of pure diffusion. In this regime, the most important microstructural feature is an effective grain size, i.e. the spacing between the whiskers. Deformation proceeds until the stress reaches a temperature-dependent critical stress. At this point, damage occurs by unaccommodated grain-boundary sliding and creep is no longer in a steady state.

Porous graphitic carbons were obtained from wood precursors using Ni as a graphitization catalyst during pyrolysis. The structure of the resulting material retains that of the original wood precursors with highly aligned, hierarchical porosity. Thermal characterization was performed by means of thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry, and the onset temperature for graphitization was determined to be ~900 °C. Structural and microstructural characterization was performed by means of electron microscopy, electron and x-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. The effect of maximum pyrolysis temperature on the degree of graphitization was assessed. No significant temperature effect was detected by means of Raman scattering in the range of 1000–1400 °C, but at temperatures over the melting point of the catalyst, the formation of graphite grains with long-range order was detected.

Single-crystal sapphire exhibits a highly anisotropic fracture behavior. The surfaces of specimens fractured along prismatic planes are wavy, with fractographic features appearing as small areas of contrast under an optical microscope. Optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray topography, and confocal microscopy are used to demonstrate a correlation between the areas of contrast and dislocations penetrating the sample surface. The surface features are argued to be a consequence of the stress field surrounding the dislocations, which deflect the crack approximately 10 nm normal to the surface as the crack cuts the dislocations. The lateral extent of measurable surface deflection is of the order of 5 μm. These images can be compared directly to show the equivalence of the position of the dislocations observed by X-ray topography and the surface contrast observed optically.

Fabrication and Properties of High Temperature Proton Conducting Perovskites, Martinez, Julian, López-Robledo, Manuel-Jesús, Ramírez-de-Arellano-López, Antonio, Real-Pérez, Concepción, Peña-Torre, José-Ignacio, Sayir, Ali