38 research outputs found
Phase Field Modeling of Fracture and Stress Induced Phase Transitions
We present a continuum theory to describe elastically induced phase
transitions between coherent solid phases. In the limit of vanishing elastic
constants in one of the phases, the model can be used to describe fracture on
the basis of the late stage of the Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld instability. Starting
from a sharp interface formulation we derive the elastic equations and the
dissipative interface kinetics. We develop a phase field model to simulate
these processes numerically; in the sharp interface limit, it reproduces the
desired equations of motion and boundary conditions. We perform large scale
simulations of fracture processes to eliminate finite-size effects and compare
the results to a recently developed sharp interface method. Details of the
numerical simulations are explained, and the generalization to multiphase
simulations is presented
Anisotropic thermal expansion and magnetostriction of YNiBC single crystals
We present results of anisotropic thermal expansion and low temperature
magnetostriction measurements on YNiBC single crystals grown by high
temperature flux and floating zone techniques. Quantum oscillations of
magnetostriction were observed at low temperatures for starting at
fields significantly below (). Large irreversible,
longitudinal magnetostriction was seen in both, in-plane and along the c-axis,
directions of the applied magnetic field in the intermediate superconducting
state. Anisotropic uniaxial pressure dependencies of were evaluated using
results of zero field, thermal expansion measurements
Impurity and strain effects on the magnetotransport of La1.85Sr0.15Cu(1-y)Zn(y)O4 films
The influence of zinc doping and strain related effects on the normal state
transport properties(the resistivity, the Hall angle and the orbital magneto-
resistance(OMR) is studied in a series of La1.85Sr0.15Cu(1-y)Zn(y)O4 films with
values of y between 0 and 0.12 and various degrees of strain induced by the
mismatch between the films and the substrate. The zinc doping affects only the
constant term in the temperature dependence of cotangent theta but the strain
affects both the slope and the constant term, while their ratio remains
constant.OMR is decreased by zinc doping but is unaffected by strain. The ratio
delta rho/(rho*tan^2 theta) is T-independent but decreases with impurity
doping. These results put strong constraints on theories of the normal state of
high- temperature superconductors
Anomalously large oxygen-ordering contribution to the thermal expansion of untwinned YBa2Cu3O6.95 single crystals: a glass-like transition near room temperature
We present high-resolution capacitance dilatometry studies from 5 - 500 K of
untwinned YBa2Cu3Ox (Y123) single crystals for x ~ 6.95 and x = 7.0. Large
contributions to the thermal expansivities due to O-ordering are found for x ~
6.95, which disappear below a kinetic glass-like transition near room
temperature. The kinetics at this glass transition is governed by an energy
barrier of 0.98 +- 0.07 eV, in very good agreement with other O-ordering
studies. Using thermodynamic arguments, we show that O-ordering in the Y123
system is particularly sensitive to uniaxial pressure (stress) along the chain
axis and that the lack of well-ordered chains in Nd123 and La123 is most likely
a consequence of a chemical-pressure effect.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR
Evidence for structural and electronic instabilities at intermediate temperatures in -(BEDT-TTF)X for X=Cu[N(CN)]Cl, Cu[N(CN)]Br and Cu(NCS): Implications for the phase diagram of these quasi-2D organic superconductors
We present high-resolution measurements of the coefficient of thermal
expansion of the quasi-twodimensional
(quasi-2D) salts -(BEDT-TTF)X with X = Cu(NCS), Cu[N(CN)]Br
and Cu[N(CN)]Cl. At intermediate temperatures (B), distinct anomalies
reminiscent of second-order phase transitions have been found at
K and 45 K for the superconducting X = Cu(NCS) and Cu[N(CN)]Br salts,
respectively. Most interestingly, we find that the signs of the uniaxial
pressure coefficients of are strictly anticorrelated with those of
. We propose that marks the transition to a spin-density-wave
(SDW) state forming on minor, quasi-1D parts of the Fermi surface. Our results
are compatible with two competing order parameters that form on disjunct
portions of the Fermi surface. At elevated temperatures (C), all compounds show
anomalies that can be identified with a kinetic, glass-like
transition where, below a characteristic temperature , disorder in the
orientational degrees of freedom of the terminal ethylene groups becomes frozen
in. We argue that the degree of disorder increases on going from the X =
Cu(NCS) to Cu[N(CN)]Br and the Cu[N(CN)]Cl salt. Our results
provide a natural explanation for the unusual time- and cooling-rate
dependencies of the ground-state properties in the hydrogenated and deuterated
Cu[N(CN)]Br salts reported in the literature.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure
Magnetotransport in the Normal State of La1.85Sr0.15Cu(1-y)Zn(y)O4 Films
We have studied the magnetotransport properties in the normal state for a
series of La1.85Sr0.15Cu(1-y)Zn(y)O4 films with values of y, between 0 and
0.12. A variable degree of compressive or tensile strain results from the
lattice mismatch between the substrate and the film, and affects the transport
properties differently from the influence of the zinc impurities. In
particular, the orbital magnetoresistance (OMR) varies with y but is
strain-independent. The relations for the resistivity and the Hall angle and
the proportionality between the OMR and tan^2 theta are followed about 70 K. We
have been able to separate the strain and impurity effects by rewriting the
above relations, where each term is strain-independent and depends on y only.
We also find that changes in the lattice constants give rise to closely the
same fractional changes in other terms of the equation.The OMR is more strongly
supressed by the addition of impurities than tan^2 theta. We conclude that the
relaxation ratethat governs Hall effect is not the same as for the
magnetoresistance. We also suggest a correspondence between the transport
properties and the opening of the pseudogap at a temperature which changes when
the La-sr ratio changes, but does not change with the addition of the zinc
impurities