On the nature of plastic strain localization in solids

Theoretical and experimental investigation is performed into the relation between plastic strain localizations of different scale in solids and the respective stress concentrators arising in the surface layer and at internal interfaces. It is found that localized plastic flow of any kind may form and propagate only under strongly nonequilibrium conditions in the zones of normal tensile stress. In the presence of excessive atomic volume, virtual nodes of a structure with higher energy emerge in the space of interstitials and a local structural transformation occurs via collective atom-vacancy configuration excitations. It is concluded that the nature of the plastic flow localization should be described on the basis of representation of strained solid as a multilevel system.     

Refraction of shear zones in granular materials

We study strain localization in slow shear flow focusing on layered granular materials. A heretofore unknown effect is presented here. We show that shear zones are refracted at material interfaces in analogy with refraction of light beams in optics. This phenomenon can be obtained as a consequence of a recent variational model of shear zones. The predictions of the model are tested and confirmed by 3D discrete element simulations. We found that shear zones follow Snell's law of light refraction.     

Three-dimensional strain localization of water-saturated clay and numerical simulation using an elasto-viscoplastic model

Since strain localization is a precursor of failure, it is an important subject to address in the field of geomechanics. Strain localization has been analysed for geomaterials by several researchers. Many of the studies, however, treated the problems brought about by strain localization as two-dimensional problems, although the phenomena are generally three-dimensional. In the present study, undrained triaxial compression tests using rectangular specimens and their numerical simulation are conducted in order to investigate the strain localization behaviour of geomaterials under three-dimensional conditions. In the experiments, both normally consolidated and over-consolidated clay samples are tested with different strain rates. Using the distribution of shear strain obtained by an image analysis of digital photographs taken during deformation, the effects of the strain rates, the dilation, and the over-consolidation on strain localization are studied in detail. The analysis method used in the numerical simulation is a coupled fluid-structure finite element method. The method is based on the finite deformation theory, in which an elasto-viscoplastic model for water-saturated clay, which can consider structural changes, is adopted. The results of the simulation include not only the distribution of shear strain on the surfaces of the specimens, but also the distributions of strain, stress, and pore water pressure inside the specimens. Through a comparison of the experimental results and the simulation results, the mechanisms of strain localization are studied under three-dimensional conditions.     

Computational mesomechanics of titanium surface-hardened by ultrasonic treatment

This paper studies plastic strain localization and stress-strain evolution in commercial titanium specimens with an ultrasonically treated surface. A dynamic plane strain boundary-value problem is numerically solved by the finite difference method. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the composition are specified in the calculations based on microhardness measurements, mechanical tensile tests, and metallographic studies. The dependences of the plastic flow localization characteristics on the geometry and mechanical properties of ultrasonically treated surface layers have been established. Plastic strain localization is found to depend on the geometry and mechanical properties of ultrasonically treated surface layers.     

Effect of surface roughness on determination of bulk tissue optical parameters

Monte Carlo simulations have been conducted to investigate the effect of surface roughness on the inverse determination of bulk optical parameters. Results show that mus, mua, and g can be overestimated by an order of magnitude for thin slab tissue samples with a moderate index mismatch at the interfaces if typical surface roughness is neglected. Measurements of Intralipid samples between glass windows with smooth and rough surfaces have been carried out and agreement was found between the numerical and the experimental data. This study suggests that the surface roughness should be taken into account for both in vitro and in vivo determination of bulk tissue optical parameters.     

Strain-induced changes in epitaxial layer morphology of highly-strained III/V-semiconductor heterostructures

We present a study of changes in the layer morphology of symmetrically strained (GaIn)As/Ga(PAs) superlattices as a function of strain and off-orientation of substrates. The samples were deposited by metal-organic vapour-phase epitaxy (MOVPE). For samples grown on exactly oriented (100) GaAs substrates sharp 2-dimensional interfaces are observed up to a lattice mismatch (Δd/d)^⊥ = 2.4 · 10^-2. The use of off-oriented (100) substrates leads to a strain induced surface roughening (3-dimensional growth mode) and the formation of laterally ordered thickness modulations during further growth. The surface steps due to the substrate off-orientation are regarded as a cause for this effect. We discuss the structural properties of the samples investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD) as a function of the strain in the individual layers for samples grown on (100) GaAs substrates exactly oriented, 2° off towards [110] and 1.7° off towards [011], respectively.     

The effect of strain and interfaces on the orbital moment in Fe/V superlattices

The dependence of the Fe orbital moment on strain and interfaces in Fe/V superlattices has been investigated by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). The orbital moment was determined to be lower at the interfaces than in the bulk, which we attribute to Fe–V hybridization. An enhancement of the orbital moment with increasing strain in the Fe layers was observed. This enhancement is attributed to an unquenching of the orbital moment. Consequently, the orbital moment of Fe in Fe/V is concluded to be influenced by two competing parameters. It is lowered by increasing interface density, and enhanced by increasing strain.     

Structure and formation stages of a fault zone in a geomedium layer in strike-slip displacement of the basement

The paper reports on numerical modeling of fault structure formation in a geomedium layer under strike-slip displacement of the basement. Consideration is given to structural peculiarities of strain localization zones at different stages of evolution: from nucleation to formation of a main fault. It is found that the localization zones from a rupture in the basement develop as pairs of surfaces similar to oyster valves. It is shown that different types of flower structures can be formed depending on the material properties and layer thickness. One type of flower structures is mostly characterized by Riedel shear surfaces. In another, the initial fracture zones are the surfaces oriented at an angle of ～40° in the horizontal plane relative to the displacement axis. A main fault forms from top to bottom after the inclined localization zones reach the free surface.     

Interferometric studies of interfaces at milliKelvin temperatures

A brief review of our recent work on interfaces in quantum systems at millikelvin temperatures is presented. In this paper, we concentrate on high-resolution interferometry on superfluid/solid interface in⁴He. Our results show a novel surface transition at small inclination angles off the c-axis, slow facet growth which cannot be assigned to the regular screw-dislocation-mediated mechanism, and fast spiral growth moderated by step localization.     

Plastic distortion as a fundamental mechanism in nonlinear mesomechanics of plastic deformation and fracture

Any deformed solid represents two self-consistent functional subsystems: a 3D crystal subsystem and a 2D planar subsystem (surface layers and all internal interfaces). In the planar subsystem, which lacks thermodynamic equilibrium and translation invariance, a primary plastic flow develops as nonlinear waves of structural transformations. At the nanoscale, such planar nonlinear transformations create lattice curvature in the 3D subsystem, resulting in bifurcational interstitial states there. The bifurcational states give rise to a fundamentally new mechanism of plastic deformation and fracture—plastic distortion—which is allowed for neither in continuum mechanics nor in fracture mechanics. The paper substantiates that plastic distortion plays a leading role in dislocation generation and glide, plasticity and superplasticity, plastic strain localization and fracture.     

Strain localization and percolation of stable structure in amorphous solids

Spontaneous strain localization occurs during mechanical tests of a model amorphous solid simulated using molecular dynamics. The degree of localization depends upon the extent of structural relaxation prior to mechanical testing. In the most rapidly quenched samples higher strain rates lead to increased localization, while the more gradually quenched samples exhibit the opposite strain rate dependence. This transition coincides with the k-core percolation of atoms with quasi-crystal-like short range order. The authors infer the existence of a related microstructural length scale.     

On the influence of extrinsic point defects on irradiation-induced point-defect distributions in silicon

A semi-quantitave model describing the influence of interfaces and stress fields on {113}-defect generation in silicon during 1-MeV electron irradiation, is further developed to take into account also the role of extrinsic point defects. It is shown that the observed distribution of {113}-defects in high-flux electron-irradiated silicon and its dependence on irradiation temperature and dopant concentration can be understood by taking into account not only the influence of the surfaces and interfaces as sinks for intrinsic point defects but also the thermal stability of the bulk sinks for intrinsic point defects. In heavily doped silicon the bulk sinks are related with pairing reactions of the dopant atoms with the generated intrinsic point defects or related with enhanced recombination of vacancies and self-interstitials at extrinsic point defects. The obtained theoretical results are correlated with published experimental data on boron-and phosphorus-doped silicon and are illustrated with observations obtained by irradiating cross-section transmission electron microscopy samples of wafers with highly doped surface layers.     

Energy Minigaps in the Quantum Wires with Lateral Surface Structures

Energy minigaps caused by lateral surface structures in quasi-one-dimensional GaAs/AlAs quantum wires are calculated with the variational and degenerate-pert urbational approaches. By a coordinate transformation, the structured interfaces of wires are transformed into planar ones so that the boundary conditions of the electronic wave functions can be satisfied exactly on the interfaces. The dependence of energy minigaps on lateral surface structures are discussed.     

酞菁铜/金属薄膜界面电位与光二次谐波特性分析

采用Kalvin探针和光二次谐波 (SecondHarmonicGeneration ,SHG)方法研究了铜酞菁衍生物 (Coppertetra tert butylPhthalocyanine ,CuttbPc )LB(Langmuir Blodgentt)膜与金属 (Al、Au)界面的空间电荷现象与非线性光学效应 .检测到空间电荷感应电场 (SpaceChargeInducedElectricField ,SCIEF)形成的表面电位与金属功函数有关 ,并随膜厚变化趋于饱和值 .尽管酞菁分子为中心对称体系 ,但仍有SHG效应 ,并观察到CuttbPc/Al样品在 12 6 0nm附近有异常增强的SH信号 ,而CuttbPc/Au样品未见该峰 .根据样品结构的物理模型 ,运用电磁场理论分析了界面电介质的非线性极化特性和光学效应产生机制 ,初步认为CuttbPc/Al的SH增强峰源于SCIEF形成的较强表面电位 ,说明SH信号的产生与界面静电现象有密切关系 .     

Structure and defects at Y2BaCuO5 interfaces in melt-textured YBa2Cu3Ox superconductors

Y₂BaCuO₅ (211) inclusions are prominent microstructural features found in melt-textured YBa₂Cu₃O_x (123) superconductors. These particles are of interest because the 123/211 interfaces and the interface-associated defects have been proposed to be flux pinning centers. In addition, the 211 particles are believed to be heterogeneous nucleation centers of dislocation which can increase the critical current density of 123. Unfortunately, only limited studies have been performed on these particles to ascertain their roles in flux pinning. In this investigation, 211 particles, the interfacial structure and defects in undeformed and mechanically deformed melt-textured 123 have been studied by transmission electron microscopy. It was found that there appears to be a preferred orientation between large oblong 211 particles and the 123 matrix. In addition, while the 123/211 interfaces in undeformed 123 are sharp and relatively undistorted, the interfaces in deformed 123 samples are much thicker. Also, the distribution of strained regions and dislocations around oblong 211 particles in undeformed 123 is nonuniform; the interfaces of low surface curvature are relatively free of defects while the surfaces of high curvature are abundant in dislocations. In contrast, the 123/211 interfaces in deformed 123 samples contain high density of dislocations regardless of interface curvature.     

Surface science studies of environmentally relevant iron (oxy)hydroxides ranging from the nano to the macro-regime

In this prospective, new developments in the study of the structure and reactivity of iron oxyhydroxides are reviewed. These materials are of particular interest, since their surfaces control an extraordinary amount of environmental chemistry. Understanding the environmental interfaces at a molecular level often appears to be a daunting scientific endeavor at first glance. Surfaces of interest range from the nano to micron regime and appear in the environment in varying shapes and sizes. Often the powerful suite of vacuum-based surface science tools are not applicable, since the surfaces of environmental particles can vary from amorphous to semi-crystalline and their surface reactivity is often affected by varying levels of surface hydration. However, the introduction of new and powerful surface probes and advancements in computational chemistry are allowing surface scientists to shed light on these hidden interfaces and how they control environmental chemistry.     

Adsorption of polymer chains at penetrable interfaces

We investigate the problem of adsorption (localization) of polymer chains in the system of two penetrable interfaces within the mean-field approximation. The saturation of the polymer system in the limit case of zero bulk concentration is studied. We find the exact solution of this mean-field polymer adsorption problem that opens the possibility to treat various localization problems for polymer chains in such environments using appropriate boundary conditions. The exact solution is controlled by a single scaling variable that describes the coupling between the interfaces due to the polymer chains. We obtain a nonmonotonic behavior of the amount of adsorbed polymers as a function of the distance between the interfaces. This leads to a high-energy and a low-energy phase for the double layer with respect to the amount of polymers localized. At the saturation point, we find the total energy of the system and determine the force acting between the interfaces to be strictly attractive and to monotonically decay to zero when the interface distance increases.     

Effect of alloy disorder and structural defects on excitonic properties in (100)- and (311)-Oriented InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells

The properties of excitonic states in pseudomorphic, (100)- and (311)-oriented In_0.2Ga_0.8As/GaAs quantum well (QW) structures are investigated. Strained QW's with different states of strain and segregation were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. No growth interruption was carried out at the interfaces. This approach allows us to reduce the segregation effects in samples having (311)A orientation. As a result, quite sharp gaussian shaped excitonic transitions with line width of about 0.8 meV have been demonstrated. We find significant differences in the optical properties, growth kinetic and defect formation of samples for the three orientations. The alloy disorder is smaller in the (311)A orientations than in the (311)B and (100) ones. An anomalous broadening of the excitonic line width is observed in case of samples having (311)B orientation and is accounted for structural defects other than those produced by alloy disorder. Surface wells are used in conjunction with In surface segregation and evaporation effects. Different activation energies for the indium desorption from the (311)A and B surfaces are obtained. We state that the different alloy and defect states are originated in the different strain relaxation mechanism and surface reaction kinetic in the three non equivalent (311) and (100) surfaces.     

Oxygen photo-adsorption related quenching of photoluminescence in group-III nitride nanocolumns

GaN and InGaN nanocolumns of various compositions are studied by room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) under different ambient conditions. GaN nanocolumns exhibit a reversible quenching upon exposure to air under constant UV excitation, following a t^−1/2 time dependence and resulting in a total reduction of intensity by 85–90%, as compared to PL measured in vacuum, with no spectral change. This effect is not observed when exposing the samples to pure nitrogen. We attribute this effect to photoabsorption and photodesorption of oxygen that modifies the surface potential bending. InGaN nanocolumns, under the same experimental conditions do not show the same quenching features: The high-energy part of the broad PL line is not modified by exposure to air, whereas a lower-energy part, which does quench by 80–90%, can now be distinguished. We discuss the different behaviors in terms of carrier localization and possible composition or strain gradients in the InGaN nanocolumns.