Richard P. Boardman

The application of digital volume correlation (DVC) to study the microstructural behaviour of trabecular bone during compression

Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) has been emerged recently as an innovative approach to full volume (i.e. internal) displacement and strain field measurement in materials and structures, particularly in conjunction with high resolution X-ray computed tomography (CT). As a relatively novel technique certain aspects of precision, accuracy and the breadth of application are yet to be fully established. This study has applied DVC to volume images of porcine trabecular bone assessing the effect of noise and sub-volume size on strain measurement. Strain resolutions ranging between 70 and 800με were obtained for the optimum sub-volume size of 64 voxels with a 50% overlap for metrological studies conducted. These values allowed the mechanical behaviour of porcine trabecular bone during compression to be investigated. During compression a crushed layer formed adjacent to the boundary plate which increased in thickness as the specimen was further deformed. The structure of the crushed layer was altered to such an extent that it confounded the correlation method. While investigating this factor, it was found that for reliable strain calculations a correlation coefficient of 0.90 or above was required between the sub-volumes in the reference and the deformed volumes. Good agreements between the results and published bone strain failures were obtained. Using the full field strain measurements, Poissons ratio was identified for each compression step using a dedicated inverse method called the virtual fields method (VFM). It was found that for a given region outside of the crushed zone the Poisson ratio decreased from 0.32 to 0.21 between the first and the final compression steps, which was hypothesised to be due to the bone geometry and its resulting deformation behaviour. This study demonstrates that volumetric strain measurement can be obtained successfully using DVC, making it a useful tool for quantitatively investigating the micro-mechanical behaviour of macroscale bone specimens.

High resolution synchrotron imaging of wheat root hairs growing in soil and image based modelling of phosphate uptake

· Root hairs are known to be highly important for uptake of sparingly soluble nutrients, particularly in nutrient deficient soils. Development of increasingly sophisticated mathematical models has allowed uptake characteristics to be quantified. However, modelling has been constrained by a lack of methods for imaging live root hairs growing in real soils. · We developed a plant growth protocol and used Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Tomographic Microscopy (SRXTM) to uncover the three-dimensional (3D) interactions of root hairs in real soil. We developed a model of phosphate uptake by root hairs based directly on the geometry of hairs and associated soil pores as revealed by imaging. · Previous modelling studies found that root hairs dominate phosphate uptake. By contrast, our study suggests that hairs and roots contribute equally. We show that uptake by hairs is more localized than by roots and strongly dependent on root hair and aggregate orientation. · The ability to image hair-soil interactions enables a step change in modelling approaches, allowing a more realistic treatment of processes at the scale of individual root hairs in soil pores.

Oscillatory thickness dependence of the coercive field in magnetic three-dimensional antidot arrays

Recent developments in magnetic applications, such as data storage, sensors, and transducers, are stimulating intense research into magnetism on submicrometer-length scales. Emerging self-assembly fabrication techniques have been proposed as viable, low-cost methods to prepare such submicron structures. In this letter we present studies on magnetic nanostructures with 3D architectures, fabricated using a self-assembly template method. We find that the patterning transverse to the film plane, which is a unique feature of this method, governs the magnetic behavior. In particular, the coercive field, a key parameter for magnetic materials, was found to demonstrate an oscillatory dependence on film thickness.

Micromagnetic simulation studies of ferromagnetic part spheres

Self-assembly techniques can be used to produce periodic arrays of magnetic nanostructures. We have developed a double-template technique using electrochemical deposition. This method produces arrays of dots which are of spherical shape, as opposed to those prepared by standard lithographic techniques, which are usually cylindrical. By varying the amount of material that is deposited electrochemically, spheres of diameter d can be grown up to varying heights h<d. Thus different spherical shapes can be created ranging from shallow dots to almost complete spheres. Using micromagnetic modeling, we calculate numerically the magnetization reversal of the soft part spherical particles. The observed reversal mechanisms range from single domain reversal at small radii to vortex movement in shallow systems at larger radii and vortex core reversal, as observed in spheres at larger heights. We present a phase diagram of the reversal behavior as a function of radius and growth height. Additionally, we compare simulation results of hybrid finite element/boundary element and finite difference calculations for the same systems.

Micromagnetic simulation of ferromagnetic part-spherical particles

The paramagnetic size limit for current magnetic storage media, particularly in sputtered grain storage, is being approached rapidly. To further increase media storage density, patterned media can be used which only need a single grain to store one bit of data. Chemical self-assembly techniques offer cost-effective methods to create templates, from which periodic arrays of magnetic structures can be formed. In contrast to systems of dots prepared by standard lithography, which have a cylindrical shape, dots prepared by chemical self-assembly template techniques are often spherical or part spherical in shape. In this article, we investigate the properties of such magnetic shapes using micromagnetic simulations. To represent accurately the geometry produced through chemical self-assembly methods, we attach a partial sphere (lower part) to a small ellipsoidal dome. We compute the hysteresis loops for various dot sizes and compare them with experimental results. In those below a critical diameter (140 nm in nickel), the hysteresis loop is square-like, resembling the uniform rotation of magnetization once the critical field is exceeded. For larger sizes, the hysteresis loop reverses reversibly around zero applied field but shows minor loops, placed symmetrically at the onset of magnetization reversal. These correspond to vortices penetrating and exiting the structure. In summary, we find that the coercive field of the droplets becomes zero above a critical diameter where the magnetization reversal behavior changes from single domain-like to vortex-like. Our results agree with experimental measurements performed on such structures.

X-ray tomography for structural analysis of microstructured and multimaterial optical fibers and preforms

Specialty optical fibers, in particular microstructured and multi-material optical fibers, have complex geometry in terms of structure and/or material composition. Their fabrication, although rapidly developing, is still at a very early stage of development compared with conventional optical fibers. Structural characterization of these fibers during every step of their multi-stage fabrication process is paramount to optimize the fiber-drawing process. The complexity of these fibers restricts the use of conventional refractometry and microscopy techniques to determine their structural and material composition. Here we present, to the best of our knowledge, the first nondestructive structural and material investigation of specialty optical fibers using X-ray computed tomography (CT) methods, not achievable using other techniques. Recent advances in X-ray CT techniques allow the examination of optical fibers and their preforms with sub-micron resolution while preserving the specimen for onward processing and use. In this work, we study some of the most challenging specialty optical fibers and their preforms. We analyze a hollow core photonic band gap fiber and its preforms, and bond quality at the joint between two fusion-spliced hollow core fibers. Additionally, we studied a multi-element optical fiber and a metal incorporated dual suspended-core optical fiber. The application of X-ray CT can be extended to almost all optical fiber types, preforms and devices.

Nanomechanical properties of bird feather rachises: exploring naturally occurring fibre reinforced laminar composites.

Flight feathers have evolved under selective pressures to be sufficiently light and strong enough to cope with the stresses of flight. The feather shaft (rachis) must resist these stresses and is fundamental to this mode of locomotion. Relatively little work has been done on rachis morphology, especially from a mechanical perspective and never at the nanoscale. Nano-indentation is a cornerstone technique in materials testing. Here we use this technique to make use of differentially oriented fibres and their resulting mechanical anisotropy. The rachis is established as a multi-layered fibrous composite material with varying laminar properties in three feathers of birds with markedly different flight styles; the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and the partridge (Perdix perdix). These birds were chosen not just because they are from different clades and have different flight styles, but because they have feathers large enough to gain meaningful results from nano-indentation. Results from our initial datasets indicate that the proportions and orientation of the laminae are not fixed and may vary either in order to cope with the stresses of flight particular to the bird or with phylogenetic lineage.

Micromagnetic simulation of the magnetic exchange spring system DyFe2∕YFe2

Magnetic measurements of [110] [50ADyFe2∕200AYFe2] reveal a rich switching behavior: the formation of exchange springs in this system of alternating hard and soft layers can be observed for low temperatures (LTs). For high temperatures (HTs), the appearance of the hysteresis loop changes significantly, implying a more complicated reversal process. In this article, we reproduce hysteresis loops for net and compound-specific magnetizations by means of micromagnetic simulations and assess the quality by a direct comparison to recent x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements. The HT switching characteristics, showing a magnetization reversal of the hard magnetic layer before the soft magnetic layer, are investigated and understood on the basis of detailed magnetic configuration plots. The crossover of LT to HT switching patterns is explained by energy considerations, and the dependence on different parameters is outlined.

Recent Advances in X-ray Cone-beam Computed Laminography

X-ray computed tomography is an established volume imaging technique used routinely in medical diagnosis, industrial non-destructive testing, and a wide range of scientific fields. Traditionally, computed tomography uses scanning geometries with a single axis of rotation together with reconstruction algorithms specifically designed for this setup. Recently there has however been increasing interest in more complex scanning geometries. These include so called X-ray computed laminography systems capable of imaging specimens with large lateral dimensions or large aspect ratios, neither of which are well suited to conventional CT scanning procedures. Developments throughout this field have thus been rapid, including the introduction of novel system trajectories, the application and refinement of various reconstruction methods, and the use of recently developed computational hardware and software techniques to accelerate reconstruction times. Here we examine the advances made in the last several years and consider their impact on the state of the art.

Non-convexly constrained image reconstruction from nonlinear tomographic X-ray measurements.

The use of polychromatic X-ray sources in tomographic X-ray measurements leads to nonlinear X-ray transmission effects. As these nonlinearities are not normally taken into account in tomographic reconstruction, artefacts occur, which can be particularly severe when imaging objects with multiple materials of widely varying X-ray attenuation properties. In these settings, reconstruction algorithms based on a nonlinear X-ray transmission model become valuable. We here study the use of one such model and develop algorithms that impose additional non-convex constraints on the reconstruction. This allows us to reconstruct volumetric data even when limited measurements are available. We propose a nonlinear conjugate gradient iterative hard thresholding algorithm and show how many prior modelling assumptions can be imposed using a range of non-convex constraints.