Changes In Anisotropy Research Articles

Effect of Fluorine Substitution on Magnetizabilities: Insights from Density Functional Theory and Benchmark Coupled-Cluster Calculations.

The quantitative calculation of the magnetizability tensor of fluorine-containing molecules has been a longstanding challenge for quantum chemistry. We report a benchmark study on the effect of fluorine substitution on the magnetizability (both isotropic and anisotropic) of 24 small closed-shell molecules using coupled-cluster (CCSD(T)) theory, large basis sets, and London atomic orbitals. By extrapolation to a complete basis set (CBS) result, we establish the CCSD(T)/CBS limit and take the opportunity to assess the performance of various density functional theory approximations. Correcting for zero-point vibration further allows us to directly compare theory with (gas-phase) experimental data. We revisit Flygare's hypothesis on molecular magnetizabilities, which relates the successive replacement of hydrogen by fluorine atoms to changes in the magnetizability anisotropy. Some exceptions to this hypothesis are documented, and we rationalize these observations on the basis of hybridization on carbon.

Terahertz Crystal-Field Transitions and Quasi Ferromagnetic Magnon Excitations in a Noncollinear Magnet for Hybrid Spin-Wave Computation.

The complexity of interactions between the crystal-field and unusual noncollinear spin arrangement in nontrivial magnets demands novel tools to unravel the mystery underneath. In this work, we study such interaction dynamics of crystal-field excitations (CFE) and low-energy magnetic excitations in orthochromite TmCrO3 with controls of temperature and magnetic field using high-resolution magneto-terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy. The THz energy spectrum spanning 0.5-10 meV possesses a low-frequency spin-excitation (magnon) mode and a multitude of CFE modes at 10 K, all of which uniquely embody a range of phenomena. For the magnon mode, a temperature dependence of peak frequency is induced by magnetic interactions between Tm and Cr subsystems. While a change from blue to red shift of peak frequency of this mode marks the magnetization reversal transition, the spin-reorientation temperature and change of magnetic anisotropy are depicted by different features of field and temperature dependent peak frequency dynamics. The modes corresponding to CFE are robust and laden with a multitude of submodes, which are attributes of nontrivial interactions across different transitions. These modes are suppressed only upon substitution of Tb3+ at the Tm3+ site, which suggests a dominant role of single-ion anisotropy in controlling entire THz excitation spectra. Overall, this remarkable range of phenomena seen through the unique lens of all-optical THz tools provides deeper insights into the origin of magnetic phases in systems with complex interactions between rare-earth and transition metal ions and provides a multitude of novel combinations of closely spaced modes for emerging hybrid spin-wave computation.

Strain Measurement on a PBX during Temperature Cycling Using Fibre Bragg Gauges

AbstractThe anisotropic and irreversible expansion properties of polymer‐bonded explosives (PBX) can significantly influence the utility and reliability of associated equipment. The physical state of PBX under temperature cycling affects the strain distribution across the surface of cylindrical specimens. This strain is indicative of the irreversible growth and anisotropic expansion of the specimens. In this study, fiber Bragg grating sensors are employed to monitor the strain of PBX throughout the temperature cycling process, and our focus was on analyzing the changes in anisotropy and strain distribution during the cycle. The relationships between strain, temperature, material properties, and differences among various materials are examined. Experimental results indicate that the strain along the height and radial directions of the PBX specimens displayed a monotonic gradient distribution, increasing progressively in areas of higher density. TATB‐based PBX exhibited anisotropic expansion throughout the temperature cycling, with the degree of anisotropy increasing during heating and decreasing upon cooling. Conversely, HMX‐based PBX showed greater expansion in the height direction during both the heating and cooling phases, but it did not display noticeable anisotropy following the temperature cycling. At the highest temperature‐holding stage (100°C), the HMX‐based PBX was isotropic. The extent of strain in PBX was correlated with the thermal expansion coefficient of the crystal, although the final degree of expansion was not dependent on the initial range of strain. The ratchet growth of TATB‐based PBX was approximately 31 μϵ greater than that of HMX‐based PBX.

Development of white matter in young adulthood: The speed of brain aging and its relationship with changes in fractional anisotropy

White matter (WM) development has been studied extensively, but most studies used cross-sectional data, and to the best of our knowledge, none of them considered the possible effects of biological (vs. chronological) age. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal multimodal study of WM development and studied changes in fractional anisotropy (FA) in the different WM tracts and their relationship with cortical thickness-based measures of brain aging in young adulthood. A total of 105 participants from the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC) prenatal birth cohort underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the age of 23-24, and the age of 28-30 years. At both time points, FA in the different WM tracts was extracted using the JHU atlas, and brain age gap estimate (BrainAGE) was calculated using the Neuroanatomical Age Prediction using R (NAPR) model based on cortical thickness maps. Changes in FA and the speed of cortical brain aging were calculated as the difference between the respective variables in the late vs. early 20s. We demonstrated tract-specific increases as well as decreases in FA, which indicate that the WM microstructure continues to develop in the third decade of life. Moreover, the significant interaction between the speed of cortical brain aging, tract, and sex on mean FA revealed that a greater speed of cortical brain aging in young adulthood predicted greater decreases in FA in the bilateral cingulum and left superior longitudinal fasciculus in young adult men. Overall, these changes in FA in the WM tracts in young adulthood point out the protracted development of WM microstructure, particularly in men.

White Matter Magnetic Resonance Diffusion Measures in Multiple Sclerosis with Overactive Bladder.

Lower urinary tract (LUT) symptoms are reported in more than 80% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), most commonly an overactive bladder (OAB). The relationship between brain white matter (WM) changes in MS and OAB symptoms is poorly understood. We aim to evaluate (i) microstructural WM differences across MS patients (pwMS) with OAB symptoms, patients without LUT symptoms, and healthy subjects using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and (ii) associations between clinical OAB symptom scores and DTI indices. Twenty-nine female pwMS [mean age (SD) 43.3 years (9.4)], including seventeen with OAB [mean age (SD) 46.1 years (8.6)] and nine without LUT symptoms [mean age (SD) 37.5 years (8.9)], and fourteen healthy controls (HCs) [mean age (SD) 48.5 years (20)] were scanned in a 3T MRI with a DTI protocol. Additionally, clinical scans were performed for WM lesion segmentation. Group differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) were evaluated using tract-based spatial statistics. The Urinary Symptom Profile questionnaire assessed OAB severity. A statistically significant reduction in FA (p = 0.004) was identified in microstructural WM in pwMS, compared with HCs. An inverse correlation was found between FA in frontal and parietal WM lobes and OAB scores (p = 0.021) in pwMS. Areas of lower FA, although this did not reach statistical significance, were found in both frontal lobes and the rest of the non-dominant hemisphere in pwMS with OAB compared with pwMS without LUT symptoms (p = 0.072). This study identified that lesions affecting different WM tracts in MS can result in OAB symptoms and demonstrated the role of the WM in the neural control of LUT functions. By using DTI, the association between OAB symptom severity and WM changes were identified, adding knowledge to the current LUT working model. As MS is predominantly a WM disease, these findings suggest that regional WM involvement, including of the anterior corona radiata, anterior thalamic radiation, superior longitudinal fasciculus, and superior frontal-occipital fasciculus and a non-dominant prevalence in WM, can result in OAB symptoms. OAB symptoms in MS correlate with anisotropy changes in different white matter tracts as demonstrated by DTI. Structural impairment in WM tracts plays an important role in LUT symptoms in MS.

Rehabilitating homonymous visual field deficits: white matter markers of recovery-stage 2 registered report.

Damage to the primary visual cortex or its afferent white matter tracts results in loss of vision in the contralateral visual field that can present as homonymous visual field deficits. Evidence suggests that visual training in the blind field can partially reverse blindness at trained locations. However, the efficacy of visual training is highly variable across participants, and the reasons for this are poorly understood. It is likely that variance in residual neural circuitry following the insult may underlie the variation among patients. Many stroke survivors with visual field deficits retain residual visual processing in their blind field despite a lack of awareness. Previous research indicates that intact structural and functional connections between the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and the human extrastriate visual motion-processing area hMT+ are necessary for blindsight to occur. We therefore hypothesized that changes in this white matter pathway may underlie improvements resulting from motion discrimination training. Eighteen stroke survivors with long-standing, unilateral, homonymous field defects from retro-geniculate brain lesions completed 6 months of visual training at home. This involved performing daily sessions of a motion discrimination task, at two non-overlapping locations in the blind field, at least 5 days per week. Motion discrimination and integration thresholds, Humphrey perimetry and structural and diffusion-weighted MRI were collected pre- and post-training. Changes in fractional anisotropy (FA) were analysed in visual tracts connecting the ipsilesional dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and hMT+, and the ipsilesional dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and primary visual cortex. The (non-visual) tract connecting the ventral posterior lateral nucleus of the thalamus and the primary somatosensory cortex was analysed as a control. Changes in white matter integrity were correlated with improvements in motion discrimination and Humphrey perimetry. We found that the magnitude of behavioural improvement was not directly related to changes in FA in the pathway between the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and hMT+ or dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and primary visual cortex. Baseline FA in either tract also failed to predict improvements in training. However, an exploratory analysis showed a significant increase in FA in the distal part of the tract connecting the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and hMT+, suggesting that 6 months of visual training in chronic, retro-geniculate strokes may enhance white matter microstructural integrity of residual geniculo-extrastriate pathways.

Age-related brain-region-specific changes in diffusion anisotropy in subarachnoid space of young adults

The glymphatic system theory postulates that brain waste is removed through the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow. According to this theory, CSF in the subarachnoid space (SAS) moves to the perivascular space around the penetrating arteries, flows into parenchyma to mix with interstitial fluid and brain waste, and then moves to the perivenous space to be flushed out of the brain. Despite the controversies about the glymphatic theory, it is clear that SAS plays a key role in waste clearance. For instance, the SAS around the middle cerebral artery is known to be highly involved in glymphatic influx. While diffusion tensor imaging has been used for studying the glymphatic system, there has been limited exploration of age-related changes in diffusion anisotropy within SAS and their regional variations. Given the narrow and heterogeneous morphology of SAS, the fractional anisotropy (FA) in diverse brain regions may be more relevant to glymphatic transport than mean diffusivity (MD). The goal of this study was to investigate FA in SAS to observe age-related changes across different brain regions and to interpret the results based on the glymphatic transport. We segmented SAS in the whole brain of 83 young adults and divided SAS into four cortical lobes. We demonstrated regional variations in FA and MD within SAS and an age-related decline in FA among young adults, indicating that diffusion within SAS becomes more isotropic with aging. These findings raise new questions about the factors influencing diffusion anisotropy within SAS, which are relevant to glymphatic transport.

Anisotropic formability and deformation mechanism of near-α titanium alloy sheet under continuous nonlinear strain paths at high temperature

In the present study, the anisotropic formability and underlying deformation mechanism of near-α TA32 titanium alloy sheet under continuous nonlinear strain paths (CNSPs) at high temperature were investigated in depth. To achieve this goal, a new experimental method combining hot gas bulging with step-combined dies was proposed, and the hot CNSPs of metal sheets can be flexibly and conveniently realized by changing the number and shape of step-combined dies. Based on this method, the anisotropic deformation behavior and forming limits of TA32 sheet under fifteen CNSPs were tested at 800 ℃ with a strain rate of 0.001 s−1. Then, two advanced constitutive models with different scales were embedded into the classical Marciniak-Kuczyński (M-K) theory to predict the forming limits of TA32 sheet under different strain paths: the macro-scale viscoplastic model coupled with Hill48 yield criterion and non-associated flow rule (NAFR) as well as the meso-scale three-dimensional crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) model coupled with cellular automata (CA). The results demonstrate that the CPFE-CA-MK coupled model exhibits higher accuracy in predicting the forming limits of TA32 sheet under linear and continuous nonlinear strain paths. Especially for the tension-tension strain paths, the CPFE-CA-MK coupled model improves accuracy by at least 3.1 % compared to macro-scale models. Due to the material anisotropy, the initial inclination angle of the groove in the CPFE-CA-MK model is closely related to the strain path and significantly affects the prediction accuracy. Based on the CPFE simulation, the effects of anisotropy and strain path change on the dislocation slip mode of different texture components was analyzed in depth, which provides a theoretical guidance for the optimization of hot forming process of TA32 titanium alloy complex components.

The Origin of the Lehmann Discontinuity Beneath the Ancient Craton: Insight From the High Pressure‐Temperature Elasticity Measurements of Topaz

AbstractIn this study, we concentrate on the seismic signature of subducted sediments and suggest the formation of the L‐discontinuity beneath the ancient craton related to migrated sediment dehydration. We first determined the single‐crystal elasticity of topaz, the product of sediment dehydration, at high pressures and temperatures by Brillouin scattering. Using the derived elastic parameters, we establish the velocity and density profiles of subducted sediments in the upper mantle. According to our modeling results, 8.5–17.5 vol.% sediments intruding into the upper mantle will induce a 2%–4% low‐VS anomaly at 210–260 km. Meanwhile, continuous heating will lead to the dehydration of phengite in sediments. The dehydration of this amount sediments can generate a 3%–6% ISS with negative Clapeyron slopes, satisfying the observed L‐discontinuity in northern Finland and northern America without the anisotropy changes but accompanied by low‐velocity anomalies. Our study thus provides new insights into the origin of the L‐discontinuity.

Shifts in neural tuning systematically alter sensorimotor learning ability.

Sensorimotor learning can change the tuning of neurons in motor-related brain areas and rotate their preferred directions (PDs). These PD rotations are commonly interpreted as reflecting motor command changes; however, cortical neurons that display PD rotations also contribute to sensorimotor learning. Sensorimotor learning should, therefore, alter not only motor commands but also the tuning of neurons responsible for this learning, and thus impact subsequent learning ability. Here, we investigate this possibility with computational modeling and by directly measuring adaptive responses during sensorimotor learning in humans. Modeling shows that the PD rotations induced by sensorimotor learning, predict specific anisotropic changes in PD distributions that in turn predict a specific spatial pattern of changes in learning ability. Remarkably, experiments in humans then reveal large, systematic changes in learning ability in a spatial pattern that precisely reflects these model-predicted changes. We find that this pattern defies conventional wisdom and implements Newton's method, a learning rule where the step size is inversely proportional rather than proportional to the learning gradient's amplitude, limiting overshooting in the adaptive response. Our findings indicate that PD rotation provides a mechanism whereby the motor system can simultaneously learn how to move and learn how to learn.

On the Kinematic Nature of Apparent Disks at High Redshifts: Local Counterparts are Not Dominated by Ordered Rotation but by Tangentially Anisotropic Random Motion

It is not straightforward to physically interpret the apparent morphology of galaxies. Recent observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) revealed a dominant galaxy population at high redshifts (z > 2) that were visually classified as disks for their flattened shapes and/or exponential light profiles. The extensively accepted interpretation is that they are dynamically cold disks supported by bulk rotation. However, it is long known that flattened shapes and exponential profiles are not exclusive for rotating disk structure. To break degeneracy and assess the rotational support of typical high-z galaxies in the JWST samples, those with active star formation and stellar masses lg(M⋆/M⊙)∼9 , we study the kinematics of their equal-mass counterparts at z = 0. While these local star-forming low-mass galaxies are photometrically similar to real dynamically cold disks, they are not supported by ordered rotation but primarily by random motion, and their flattened shapes result largely from tangential orbital anisotropy. Given the empirical and theoretical evidence that young galaxies are dynamically hotter at higher redshifts, our results suggest that the high-z JWST galaxies may not be cold disks but are dynamically warm/hot galaxies with flattened shapes driven by anisotropy. While both have low rotational support, local low-mass galaxies possess oblate shapes, contrasting the prolate shapes (i.e., cigar like) of low-mass systems at high redshifts. Such shape transition (prolate ⇒ oblate) indicates an associated change in orbital anisotropy (radial ⇒ tangential), with roots likely in the assembly of their host dark matter halos.

Fast diffusion and stable topotactic reaction in single crystal conversion anode

Conversion electrodes typically have high theoretical specific capacity, but mostly suffer large structural changes during charge/discharge and result in poor cycling stability. The optimization of the polycrystalline materials is the mostly used strategy, however, these polycrystalline materials are intrinsically vulnerable to grain-boundary (intergranular) fracture caused by the anisotropic volume change during sodiation/desodiation, resulting in rapid impedance growth and capacity decay. Herein, we propose an alternative pathway to design single-crystal materials as potential conversion anodes. As an example, SnO2 with different crystallinities is successfully synthesized via solvothermal methods and compared to determine the implications of different crystallinity for the electrochemical properties of conversion anodes. It is demonstrated that the single-crystal SnO2 not only has faster Na+ diffusion dynamics but also maintains structural stability via topotactic reaction. Further optimization of the electron conduction and structural robustness is realized by uniformly covering a graphitic carbon shell on the surface of single-crystal SnO2 nanosheets. The modified single-crystal SnO2 exhibits a high reversible capacity of 436.2 mA h g–1 and maintains a high capacity of 257.1 mA h g-1 and remarkable capacity retention of about 98.9% after 9000 cycles at 5000 mA g-1. The deep understandings of the topotactic reaction in single crystal conversion anode in this work provide a theoretical foundation and new direction for further developing electrode materials with excellent electrochemical performance, especially high rate capabilities, and long cyclability.

Anisotropic and shape-stable sugarcane-based phase change composites in the application of solar thermal energy storage

The study of anisotropically thermal conductive phase change composites (PCCs) with shape-stability is of great importance to improve the intermittent issues in solar thermal utilization, while some drawbacks like the high cost, low thermal conductivity, and poor durability of current PCCs restrains their practical applications. Herein, a cheap and scalable biomass-based PCC containing carbonized sugarcane (CSC), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and graphene (GF) is proposed. The abundant vessels inside CSC result in a high PEG loading rate of 82.48 %. The naturally occurring anisotropic structure inside CSC can drive GF to be oriented along the lengthwise direction, which gives PCC a high thermal conductivity anisotropy degree of 1.45. The prominent anisotropy improves the lengthwise thermal diffusion and restrains the transverse heat leakage to the environment. Besides, the loaded GF can further enhance the light absorption of PCC to 98 %. As a result, the prepared PCC can achieve high solar-thermal energy storage efficiencies of 79.3–91.7 % with variable solar intensity from 1 to 2 suns. Meanwhile, good anti-leakage and durability performances promote the practical utilization of PCCs. The present work paves a promising road for manufacturing biomass-based anisotropic PCCs in efficient solar thermal energy storage.

Microwave magnetic excitations in U-type hexaferrite Sr4CoZnFe36O60 ceramics

Microwave (MW) transmission, absorption, and reflection loss spectra of the ferrimagnetic U-type hexaferrite Sr4CoZnFe36O60 ceramics were studied from 100 MHz to 35 GHz at temperatures between 10 and 390 K. Nine MW magnetic excitations with anomalous behavior near ferrimagnetic phase transitions were revealed. They also change under the application of the weak bias magnetic field (0–700 Oe) at room temperature. Six pure magnetic modes are assigned to dynamics of the magnetic domain walls and inhomogeneous magnetic structure of the ceramics, to the natural ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), and to the higher-frequency magnons. Three modes are considered the magnetodielectric ones with the dominating influence of the magnetic properties on their temperature and field dependences. The presence of the natural FMR in all ferrimagnetic phases proves the existence of the non-zero internal magnetization and magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Splitting of the FMR into two components without magnetic bias was observed in the collinear phase and is attributed to a change in the magnetocrystalline anisotropy during phase transition. The high-frequency FMR component critically slows down to phase transition. At room temperature, FMR splitting and essential suppression of the higher-frequency modes were revealed under the weak bias field (300–700 Oe). The highly nonlinear MW response and FMR splitting are caused by the gradual evolution of the polydomain magnetic structure to a monodomain one. The high number of magnetic excitations observed in the MW region confirms the suitability of using hexaferrite Sr4CoZnFe36O60 ceramics as MW absorbers, shielding materials and highly tunable filters.

The role of formal schooling in the development of children's reading and arithmetic white matter networks.

Children's white matter development is driven by experience, yet it remains poorly understood how it is shaped by attending formal education. A small number of studies compared children before and after the start of formal schooling to understand this, yet they do not allow to separate maturational effects from schooling-related effects. A clever way to (quasi-)experimentally address this issue is the longitudinal school cut-off design, which compares children who are similar in age but differ in schooling (because they are born right before or after the cut-off date for school entry). We used for the first time such a longitudinal school cut-off design to experimentally investigate the effect of schooling on children's white matter networks. We compared "young" first graders (schooling group, n=34; Mage=68 months; 20 girls) and "old" preschoolers (non-schooling group, n=33; Mage=66 months; 18 girls) that were similar in age but differed in the amount of formal instruction they received. Our study revealed that changes in fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity in five a priori selected white matter tracts during the transition from preschool to primary school were predominantly driven by age-related maturation. We did not find specific schooling effects on white matter, despite their strong presence for early reading and early arithmetic skills. The present study is the first to disentangle the effects of age-related maturation and schooling on white matter within a longitudinal cohort of 5-year-old preschoolers. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: White matter tracts that have been associated with reading and arithmetic may be susceptible to experience-dependent neuroplasticity when children learn to read and calculate. This longitudinal study used the school cut-off design to isolate schooling-induced from coinciding maturational influences on children's white matter development. White matter changes during the transition from preschool to primary school are predominantly driven by age-related maturation and not by schooling effects. Strong effects of schooling on behavior were shown for early reading and early arithmetic, but not for verbal ability and spatial ability.

Microstructure impact on chemo-mechanical fracture of polycrystalline lithium-ion battery cathode materials

Anisotropic volume change of layered oxide cathode active material such as Ni-rich nickel–manganese–cobalt-oxide (NMC) during cycling significantly contributes to mechanical degradation, emerging as a primary factor leading to instability issues in these high-capacity cathode active materials for lithium-ion batteries. Despite their commendable energy density, these challenges hinder the broader application of NMC, underscoring the need for rational analysis and innovative solutions to address the associated mechanical instability. In this contribution, we utilize a chemo-mechanically coupled cohesive fracture model, complemented by its 3D finite element implementation, to simulate and analyze the performance and cracking behavior of polycrystalline high-Ni nickel–manganese–cobalt cathode active materials. Thereby the two-way coupling between mechanics and diffusion is regarded both in the bulk and at grain boundary. In particular, novel algorithms are introduced to model the electrolyte penetration along the inter-granular cracks, capturing its intricate impact on particle performance. Utilizing simulations on synthetic and reconstructed microstructure samples derived from experimental images, extensive parameter studies were conducted. These investigations unveiled the intricate influence of various microstructure aspects, encompassing grain morphology, grain/particle sizes, and texture. The findings indicate that secondary active material particles exhibiting smaller grains and radially elongated primary particles, coupled with radially oriented high-diffusivity planes, demonstrate enhanced resistance to inter-granular mechanical damage.

Considerations for ultrafast photomagnetism in manganese(III)-based single-molecule magnets

Manipulation of magnetic materials is a cornerstone of digital data storage technologies. Recently, it has been shown that femtosecond laser pulses are capable of switching the magnetization in a material between two stable configurations faster than ever before. One state-of-the-art method is to use laser pulses to control the magnetic anisotropy by photoexciting crystal-field transitions. The photoinduced change in anisotropy applies a torque to the magnetic moment, which reorientates it in a different direction. So far, research has focused solely on condensed matter materials. However, there is a huge variety of molecule-based magnetic materials that have been and continue to be developed. In particular, single-molecule magnets (SMMs) provide a highly tunable platform and have the added advantage of operating on nanometer length scales. This review discusses recent research in the area of ultrafast magnetism in SMMs, with a focus on manganese(III)-based transition metal complexes. Experimental data are reviewed, showing that control of the strength of the photoinduced anisotropy, the lifetime of excited states, and the dephasing times are possible and can be used to develop some design criteria for the best optically controllable SMMs.

Novel strengthening mechanism of laser powder bed fusion-manufactured Inconel 718: Effects of customized hierarchical interfaces

A novel strengthening mechanism involving hierarchical interfaces self-assembled and/or artificially introduced into Inconel 718 (IN718) via laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) additive manufacturing (AM) has been discovered for the first time. The structures processed by applying two different scanning directions depending on the region have customized hierarchical interfaces that are formed by self-organization of the microscale lamellar structure comprising distinctively different crystal orientations and artificial control of local texture for mesoscale building blocks. The underlying mechanism of strengthening of the structures is clarified using experimental and numerical approaches. Numerical crystal plasticity finite element analysis successfully reproduces the experimental deformation behavior, including the stress-strain curves and anisotropic changes in the shape of the structures, revealing improvements in the mechanical properties by mechanical interaction owing to plastic anisotropy of the lamellar structure. A systematic numerical analysis of the deformation behavior of structures with a higher density of mesoscale interfaces between regions with different local textures suggests possible improvements in the mechanical properties, showing a 13 % increase in 0.2 % proof stress in the optimum structure. Additionally, excellent peak mechanical properties are observed owing to the competition of mechanical interactions between regions with different local textures and a decrease in plastic anisotropy owing to the activation of additional slip modes of the lamellar structure.

Stabilization of Li[NixMnyCo1-x-y]O2 structure using a mixture of Super-P and vapor-grown carbon fiber as conducting additives

Li[NixMnyCo1-x-y]O2 (NCM) has attracted considerable attention as a cathode material because of its excellent electrochemical performance; however, practical application of NCM is challenging owing to side reactions in the electrolyte and structural changes. In this study, we manufactured NCM electrodes with mixtures of Super-P and vapor-grown carbon fiber (VGCF) as conductive additives at different ratios (Super-P/VGCF=2/8 (S2V8), 5/5 (S5V5), and 8/2 (S8V2)) and investigated the effect of the ratio of the conductive additives on NCM electrode performance. Simply changing the ratio of the conductive additives without modifying the NCM active materials substantially altered the electrochemical performance. Using a Super-P/VGCF mixture at an appropriate ratio (5/5, w/w) forms a conductive network throughout the NCM active materials, improving the electrical conductivity and enabling uniform activation across the range of NCM particles. Consequently, for S5V5, the anisotropic volume changes of the NCM primary particles became uniform, resulting in structural stability of the secondary NCM particles during charging and discharging.

Examining the adaptive elastic anisotropy of granular materials

Changes of granular material anisotropy with stress are a function of numerous microscale attributes, such as contact network, particle size uniformity and shape. Such influences are often represented with fabric variables. Although multiple choices for fabric exist, the question of which variable best explains why and how granular materials adapt to stress is still open. In this study, the effectiveness of different fabric variables in tracking stress-induced anisotropy is compared. The analysis is restricted to a simple, yet fundamental, range of behavioir: elastic deformation. Both particle-scale simulations and continuum analyses are deployed. Analyses based on the discrete-element method (DEM) reveal that, depending on the contact behaviour, anisotropy may emerge even if the topology of the grain contact network is unchanged. The inspection of these results through a continuum-scale hyperelastic constitutive law further reveals that the computed trends cannot be captured without an evolving fabric variable. A comparison between such fabric and multiple microstructural indicators extracted from DEM simulations suggests that elastic stress-induced anisotropy is primarily a manifestation of changes in the anisotropic particle contact area distribution in response to the current magnitude and orientation of force chains. These results not only offer opportunities to enhance current continuum elastic models for granular materials, but can also be used to design testing strategies quantifying changes in fabric anisotropy through multi-scale measurements.