Porosity dependence of thermal conductivity in UO2 nuclear fuels

International audienc

Effect of a nonuniform distribution of voids on the plastic response of voided materials: a computational and statistical analysis

This study investigates the overall and local response of porous media composed of a perfectly plastic matrix weakened by stress-free voids. Attention is focused on the specific role played by porosity fluctuations inside a representative volume element. To this end, numerical simulations using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) are performed on different classes of microstructure corresponding to different spatial distributions of voids. Three types of microstructures are investigated: random microstructures with no void clustering, microstructures with a connected cluster of voids and microstructures with disconnected void clusters. These numerical simulations show that the porosity fluctuations can have a strong effect on the overall yield surface of porous materials. Random microstructures without clusters and microstructures with a connected cluster are the hardest and the softest configurations, respectively, whereas microstructures with disconnected clusters lead to intermediate responses. At a more local scale, the salient feature of the fields is the tendency for the strain fields to concentrate in specific bands. Finally, an image analysis tool is proposed for the statistical characterization of the porosity distribution. It relies on the distribution of the ‘distance function’, the width of which increases when clusters are present. An additional connectedness analysis allows us to discriminate between clustered microstructures

Segmented simultaneous multi-slice diffusion-weighted imaging with navigated 3D rigid motion correction

Purpose To improve the robustness of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data acquired with segmented simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) echo-planar imaging (EPI) against in-plane and through-plane rigid motion.Theory and Methods The proposed algorithm incorporates a 3D rigid motion correction and wavelet denoising into the image reconstruction of segmented SMS-EPI diffusion data. Low-resolution navigators are used to estimate shot-specific diffusion phase corruptions and 3D rigid motion parameters through SMS-to-volume registration. The shot-wise rigid motion and phase parameters are integrated into a SENSE-based full-volume reconstruction for each diffusion direction. The algorithm is compared to a navigated SMS reconstruction without gross motion correction in simulations and in vivo studies with four-fold interleaved 3-SMS diffusion tensor acquisitions.Results Simulations demonstrate high fidelity was achieved in the SMS-to-volume registration, with submillimeter registration errors and improved image reconstruction quality. In vivo experiments validate successful artifact reduction in 3D motion-compromised in vivo scans with a temporal motion resolution of approximately 0.3 s.Conclusion This work demonstrates the feasibility of retrospective 3D rigid motion correction from shot navigators for segmented SMS DWI.Radiolog

Image distortion correction for MRI in low field permanent magnet systems with strong B-0 inhomogeneity and gradient field nonlinearities

Objective To correct for image distortions produced by standard Fourier reconstruction techniques on low field permanent magnet MRI systems with strong B-0 inhomogeneity and gradient field nonlinearities. Materials and methods Conventional image distortion correction algorithms require accurate Delta B-0 maps which are not possible to acquire directly when the B-0 inhomogeneities also produce significant image distortions. Here we use a readout gradient time-shift in a TSE sequence to encode the B-0 field inhomogeneities in the k-space signals. Using a non-shifted and a shifted acquisition as input, Delta B-0 maps and images were reconstructed in an iterative manner. In each iteration, Delta B-0 maps were reconstructed from the phase difference using Tikhonov regularization, while images were reconstructed using either conjugate phase reconstruction (CPR) or model-based (MB) image reconstruction, taking the reconstructed field map into account. MB reconstructions were, furthermore, combined with compressed sensing (CS) to show the flexibility of this approach towards undersampling. These methods were compared to the standard fast Fourier transform (FFT) image reconstruction approach in simulations and measurements. Distortions due to gradient nonlinearities were corrected in CPR and MB using simulated gradient maps. Results Simulation results show that for moderate field inhomogeneities and gradient nonlinearities, Delta B-0 maps and images reconstructed using iterative CPR result in comparable quality to that for iterative MB reconstructions. However, for stronger inhomogeneities, iterative MB reconstruction outperforms iterative CPR in terms of signal intensity correction. Combining MB with CS, similar image and Delta B-0 map quality can be obtained without a scan time penalty. These findings were confirmed by experimental results. Discussion In case of B-0 inhomogeneities in the order of kHz, iterative MB reconstructions can help to improve both image quality and Delta B-0 map estimation.Radiolog

Three-dimensional full-field X-ray orientation microscopy

International audienceA previously introduced mathematical framework for full-field X-ray orientation microscopy is for the first time applied to experimental near-field diffraction data acquired from a polycrystalline sample. Grain by grain tomographic reconstructions using convex optimization and prior knowledge are carried out in a six-dimensional representation of position-orientation space, used for modelling the inverse problem of X-ray orientation imaging. From the 6D reconstruction output we derive 3D orientation maps, which are then assembled into a common sample volume. The obtained 3D orientation map is compared to an EBSD surface map and local misorientations, as well as remaining discrepancies in grain boundary positions are quantified. The new approach replaces the single orientation reconstruction scheme behind X-ray diffraction contrast tomography and extends the applicability of this diffraction imaging technique to material micro-structures exhibiting sub-grains and/or intra-granular orientation spreads of up to a few degrees. As demonstrated on textured sub-regions of the sample, the new framework can be extended to operate on experimental raw data, thereby bypassing the concept of orientation indexation based on diffraction spot peak positions. This new method enables fast, three-dimensional characterization with isotropic spatial resolution, suitable for time-lapse observations of grain microstructures evolving as a function of applied strain or temperature

Stochastic neighbor embedding as a tool for visualizing the encoding capability of magnetic resonance fingerprinting dictionaries

Objective To visualize the encoding capability of magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) dictionaries. Materials and methods High-dimensional MRF dictionaries were simulated and embedded into a lower-dimensional space using t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE). The embeddings were visualized via colors as a surrogate for location in low-dimensional space. First, we illustrate this technique on three different MRF sequences. We then compare the resulting embeddings and the color-coded dictionary maps to these obtained with a singular value decomposition (SVD) dimensionality reduction technique. We validate the t-SNE approach with measures based on existing quantitative measures of encoding capability using the Euclidean distance. Finally, we use t-SNE to visualize MRF sequences resulting from an MRF sequence optimization algorithm. Results t-SNE was able to show clear differences between the color-coded dictionary maps of three MRF sequences. SVD showed smaller differences between different sequences. These findings were confirmed by quantitative measures of encoding. t-SNE was also able to visualize differences in encoding capability between subsequent iterations of an MRF sequence optimization algorithm. Discussion This visualization approach enables comparison of the encoding capability of different MRF sequences. This technique can be used as a confirmation tool in MRF sequence optimization.Radiolog

In-situ Analysis of Laminated Composite Materials by X-ray Micro-Computed Tomography and Digital Volume Correlation

The complex mechanical behaviour of composite materials, due to internal heterogeneity and multi-layered composition impose deeper studies. This paper presents an experimental investigation technique to perform volume kinematic measurements in composite materials. The association of X-ray micro-computed tomography acquisitions and Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) technique allows the measurement of displacements and deformations in the whole volume of composite specimen. To elaborate the latter, composite fibres and epoxy resin are associated with metallic particles to create contrast during X-ray acquisition. A specific in situ loading device is presented for three-point bending tests, which enables the visualization of transverse shear effects in composite structures

Deux approches de la corrélation 3D d'images volumiques comparées sur des données de tomographie à rayons X

On présente une comparaison de deux approches de la corrélation 3D d'images volumiques, développées indépendamment dans des contextes scientifiques différents. L'une est CorrelManu3D, développée dans le cadre de la mécanique des solides avec les images de tomographie à rayons X. L'autre, dénommée TomoWarp, dérive d'une approche géophysique d'analyses d'images de gisements sous-terrains. L'une et l'autre sont appliquées au suivi de la déformation et de l'endommagement dans divers géomatériaux soumis à des chargements mécaniques sous contrôle tomographique à rayons X. Nous comparons les deux approches sur le cas d'un essai triaxial sur roche argileuse avec confinement. Nous trouvons que, dans cet exemple, les deux approches donnent les quantifications de déformation localisée différente, probablement à cause des différences des raffinements sous-voxel utilisé

Mechanical and microstructural integrity of nickel-titanium and stainless steel laser joined wires

The biomedical industry shows increasing interest in the joining of dissimilar metals, especially with the aim of developing devices that combine different mechanical and corrosive properties. As an example, nickel titanium shape memory alloys joined to stainless steel are very promising for new invasive surgery devices, such as guidewires. A fracture mechanics study of such joined wires was carried out using in situ tensile testing and scanning electron microscopy imaging combined with chemical analysis, and revealed an unusual fracture behaviour at superelastic stress. Nanoindentation was performed to determine the mechanical properties of the welded area, which were used as an input for mechanical computation in order to understand this unexpected behaviour. Automated image correlation allowed verification of the mechanical modelling and a reduced stress strain model is proposed to explain the special fracture mechanism. This study reveals the fact that tremendous property changes at the interface between the NiTi base wire and the weld area have more impact on the ultimate tensile strength than the chemical composition variation across the welded area. (C) 2011 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Assessment of digital image correlation measurement errors: methodology and results

Optical full-field measurement methods such as Digital Image Correlation (DIC) are increasingly used in the field of experimental mechanics, but they still suffer from a lack of information about their metrological performances. To assess the performance of DIC techniques and give some practical rules for users, a collaborative work has been carried out by the Workgroup “Metrology” of the French CNRS research network 2519 “MCIMS (Mesures de Champs et Identification en Mécanique des Solides / Full-field measurement and identification in solid mechanics, http://www.ifma.fr/lami/gdr2519)”. A methodology is proposed to assess the metrological performances of the image processing algorithms that constitute their main component, the knowledge of which being required for a global assessment of the whole measurement system. The study is based on displacement error assessment from synthetic speckle images. Series of synthetic reference and deformed images with random patterns have been generated, assuming a sinusoidal displacement field with various frequencies and amplitudes. Displacements are evaluated by several DIC packages based on various formulations and used in the French community. Evaluated displacements are compared with the exact imposed values and errors are statistically analyzed. Results show general trends rather independent of the implementations but strongly correlated with the assumptions of the underlying algorithms. Various error regimes are identified, for which the dependence of the uncertainty with the parameters of the algorithms, such as subset size, gray level interpolation or shape functions, is discussed