How do the grains slide in fine-grained zirconia polycrystals at high temperature?

Degradation of mechanical properties of zirconia polycrystals is hardly discussed in terms of solution-precipitation grain-boundary sliding due to experimental controversies over imaging of intergranular amorphous phases at high and room temperatures. Here, the authors applied the techniques of mechanical spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to shed light on the amorphization of grain interfaces at high temperature where the interface-reaction determines the behaviour of fine-grained zirconia polycrystals. They present mechanical spectroscopy results, which yield evidences of an intergranular amorphous phase in silica doped and high-purity zirconia at high temperature. Quenching of zirconia polycrystals reveals an intergranular amorphous phase on TEM images at room temperature.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Landau Theory of Domain Wall Magnetoelectricity

We calculate the exact analytical solution to the domain wall properties in a multiferroic system with two order parameters that are coupled bi-quadratically. This is then adapted to the case of a magnetoelectric multiferroic material such as BiFeO3, with a view to examine critically whether the domain walls can account for the enhancement of magnetization reported for thin films fo this material, in view of the correlation between increasing magnetization and increasing volume fraction of domain walls as films become thinner. The present analysis can be generalized to describe a class of magnetoelectric devices based upon domain walls rather than bulk properties.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Effect of internal friction on transformation twin dynamics in SrxBa1-xSnO3 perovskite

The dynamics of transformation twins in SrxBa1-xSnO3 (x=0.6,0.8) perovskite has been studied by dynamical mechanical analysis in three-point bend geometry. This material undergoes phase transitions from orthorhombic to tetragonal and cubic structures on heating. The mechanical loss signatures of the transformation twins include relaxation and frequency-independent peaks in the orthorhombic and tetragonal phases, with no observed energy dissipation in the cubic phase. The macroscopic shape, orientation and relative displacements of twin walls have been calculated from bending and anisotropy energies. The mechanical loss angle and distribution of relaxation time are discussed in term of bending modes of domain walls.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure

The ferroelastic phase transition and non- 180° domain switching in La-modified lead zirconate titanate ferroelectric ceramics

The ferroelastic phase transition and shape memory effect in La-modified lead zirconate titanate ferroelectric ceramics are demonstrated directly through the temperature-dependent macroscopic recoverable strain measured in a three-point bending configuration. X-ray diffraction measurements reveal that non- 180° domain switching occurs in the mechanically poled sample in two different ways at the bottom and top of the sample which have been under tensile and compressive stresses, respectively. The calculated fraction of non- 180° switched domains in the poled sample increases nonlinearly with the applied force and shows a saturation trend, which is consistent with the nonlinear behavior of the remnant strain. This study confirms that the mechanical stress applied upon cooling ferroelectric ceramics from the paraelectric to the ferroelectric phase can easily activate ferroelastic domain switching and give rise to preferred domain orientation and consequent macroscopic remnant strain which results in a history effect and shape memory effect via the ferroelastic phase transition