TY - JOUR A1 - Shashev, Yury A1 - Kupsch, Andreas A1 - Lange, Axel A1 - Müller, Bernd R. A1 - Bruno, Giovanni T1 - Improving the visibility of phase gratings for Talbot-Lau X-ray imaging JF - Materials testing : Materialprüfung ; materials and components, technology and application N2 - Talbot-Lau interferometry provides X-ray imaging techniques with significant enhancement of the radiographic contrast of weakly absorbing objects. The grating based technique allows separation of absorption, refraction and small angle scattering effects. The different efficiency of rectangular and triangular shaped phase gratings at varying detector distances is investigated. The interference patterns (Talbot carpets) are modeled for parallel monochromatic radiation and measured by synchrotron radiation. In comparison to rectangular shapes of phase gratings much higher visibility is obtained for triangular shapes which yield enhanced contrast of a glass capillary test specimen. KW - Talbot-Lau interferometry KW - phase grating KW - synchrotron imaging KW - visibility KW - X-ray refraction Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3139/120.110948 SN - 0025-5300 VL - 58 SP - 970 EP - 974 PB - Hanser CY - München ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shashev, Yury A1 - Kupsch, Andreas A1 - Lange, Axel A1 - Evsevleev, Sergei A1 - Müller, Bernd R. A1 - Osenberg, Markus A1 - Manke, Ingo A1 - Hentschel, Manfred P. A1 - Bruno, Giovanni T1 - Optimizing the visibility of X-ray phase grating interferometry JF - Materials testing : Materialprüfung ; materials and components, technology and application N2 - The performance of grating interferometers coming up now for imaging interfaces within materials depends on the efficiency (visibility) of their main component, namely the phase grating. Therefore, experiments with monochromatic synchrotron radiation and corresponding simulations are carried out. The visibility of a phase grating is optimized by different photon energies, varying detector to grating distances and continuous rotation of the phase grating about the grid lines. Such kind of rotation changes the projected grating shapes, and thereby the distribution profiles of phase shifts. This yields higher visibilities than derived from ideal rectangular shapes. By continuous grating rotation and variation of the propagation distance, we achieve 2D visibility maps. Such maps provide the visibility for a certain combination of grating orientation and detector position. Optimum visibilities occur at considerably smaller distances than in the standard setup. KW - X-ray imaging KW - grating interferometry KW - Talbot-Lau interferometer KW - X-ray refraction KW - X-ray phase contrast Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3139/120.111097 SN - 0025-5300 VL - 59 SP - 974 EP - 980 PB - Hanser CY - München ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, B. R. A1 - Cooper, R. C. A1 - Lange, A. A1 - Kupsch, Andreas A1 - Wheeler, M. A1 - Hentschel, M. P. A1 - Staude, A. A1 - Pandey, A. A1 - Shyam, A. A1 - Bruno, Giovanni T1 - Stress-induced microcrack density evolution in beta-eucryptite ceramics BT - experimental observations and possible route to strain hardening JF - Acta materialia N2 - In order to investigate their microcracking behaviour, the microstructures of several beta-eucryptite ceramics, obtained from glass precursor and cerammed to yield different grain sizes and microcrack densities, were characterized by laboratory and synchrotron x-ray refraction and tomography. Results were compared with those obtained from scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In SEM images, the characterized materials appeared fully dense but computed tomography showed the presence of pore clusters. Uniaxial tensile testing was performed on specimens while strain maps were recorded and analyzed by Digital Image Correlation (DIC). X-ray refraction techniques were applied on specimens before and after tensile testing to measure the amount of the internal specific surface (i.e., area per unit volume). X-ray refraction revealed that (a) the small grain size (SGS) material contained a large specific surface, originating from the grain boundaries and the interfaces of TiO2 precipitates; (b) the medium (MGS) and large grain size (LGS) materials possessed higher amounts of specific surface compared to SGS material due to microcracks, which decreased after tensile loading; (c) the precursor glass had negligible internal surface. The unexpected decrease in the internal surface of MGS and LGS after tensile testing is explained by the presence of compressive regions in the DIC strain maps and further by theoretical arguments. It is suggested that while some microcracks merge via propagation, more close mechanically, thereby explaining the observed X-ray refraction results. The mechanisms proposed would allow the development of a strain hardening route in ceramics. KW - Beta-eucryptite KW - Microcracked ceramics KW - X-ray refraction KW - Tensile load KW - Strain hardening Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2017.10.030 SN - 1359-6454 SN - 1873-2453 VL - 144 SP - 627 EP - 641 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Laquai, René A1 - Schaupp, Thomas A1 - Griesche, Axel A1 - Müller, Bernd R. A1 - Kupsch, Andreas A1 - Hannemann, Andreas A1 - Kannengiesser, Thomas A1 - Bruno, Giovanni T1 - Quantitative analysis of hydrogen-assisted microcracking in duplex stainless steel through X-ray refraction 3D imaging JF - Advanced engineering materials N2 - While the problem of the identification of mechanisms of hydrogen-assisted damage has and is being thoroughly studied, the quantitative analysis of such damage still lacks suitable tools. In fact, while, for instance, electron microscopy yields excellent characterization, the quantitative analysis of damage requires at the same time large field-of-views and high spatial resolution. Synchrotron X-ray refraction techniques do possess both features. Herein, it is shown how synchrotron X-ray refraction computed tomography (SXRCT) can quantify damage induced by hydrogen embrittlement in a lean duplex steel, yielding results that overperform even those achievable by synchrotron X-ray absorption computed tomography. As already reported in the literature, but this time using a nondestructive technique, it is shown that the hydrogen charge does not penetrate to the center of tensile specimens. By the comparison between virgin and hydrogen-charged specimens, it is deduced that cracks in the specimen bulk are due to the rolling process rather than hydrogen-assisted. It is shown that (micro)cracks propagate from the surface of tensile specimens to the interior with increasing applied strain, and it is deduced that a significant crack propagation can only be observed short before rupture. KW - 2101 duplex stainless steel KW - computed tomography KW - fractography KW - hydrogen KW - embrittlement KW - microcracking KW - synchrotron radiation KW - X-ray refraction Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.202101287 SN - 1527-2648 VL - 24 IS - 6 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kupsch, Andreas A1 - Mueller, Bernd R. A1 - Lange, Axel A1 - Bruno, Giovanni T1 - Microstructure characterisation of ceramics via 2D and 3D X-ray refraction techniques JF - Journal of the European Ceramic Society N2 - 3D imaging techniques are very fashionable nowadays, and allow enormous progress in understanding ceramic microstructure, its evolution, and its link to mechanical, thermal, and transport properties. In this feature article, we report the use of a powerful, yet not so wide-spread, set of X-ray techniques based on refraction effects. X-ray refraction allows determining internal specific surface (surface per unit volume) in a non-destructive fashion, position and orientation sensitive, and with a nanometric detectability. While the techniques are limited by the X-ray absorption of the material under investigation, we demonstrate showcases of ceramics and composite materials, where understanding of process parameter influence or simply of microstructural parameters could be achieved in a way unrivalled even by high-resolution techniques such as electron microscopy or computed tomography. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - X-ray refraction KW - Porosity KW - Specific surface KW - Crack detection KW - Composites Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2016.12.031 SN - 0955-2219 SN - 1873-619X VL - 37 SP - 1879 EP - 1889 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chen, Cong A1 - Müller, Bernd Randolf A1 - Lebedev, Oleg I. A1 - Giovannelli, Fabien A1 - Bruno, Giovanni A1 - Delorme, Fabian T1 - Effects of impurities on the stability of the low thermal conductivity in Fe2TiO5 ceramics JF - Materials characterization N2 - The stability of the low thermal conductivity in Fe2TiO5 pseudobrookite ceramics has been studied. An increase in thermal diffusivity is observed after only three cycles of measurement. X-ray refraction shows an increase in the mean value of specific surface after the thermal diffusivity measurements. By using scanning electron microscopy and high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive Xray spectroscopy, we observe a segregation of Ca- and F-rich nanocrystals at grain boundaries after three cycles of thermal diffusivity measurement. Therefore, impurities seem to be more efficient to scatter phonons as point defects in the pseudobrookite lattice rather than as nanocrystals at pseudobrookite grain boundaries. This emphasizes the importance of precursor purity and the influence of redistribution of impurities on thermoelectric properties: stability of micro-/nano-structures is a key point, and repeated thermoelectric measurements may allow detecting such metastable micro-/nano-structures and producing stable and reliable data. KW - Fe2TiO5 KW - Impurity segregation KW - Thermoclectrics KW - X-ray refraction KW - Scanning transmission electron microscopy KW - Thermal conductivity Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2019.01.021 SN - 1044-5803 SN - 1873-4189 VL - 149 SP - 111 EP - 117 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chen, Cong A1 - Müller, Bernd R. A1 - Prinz, Carsten A1 - Stroh, Julia A1 - Feldmann, Ines A1 - Bruno, Giovanni T1 - The correlation between porosity characteristics and the crystallographic texture in extruded stabilized aluminium titanate for diesel particulate filter applications JF - Journal of the European Ceramic Society N2 - Porous ceramic diesel particulate filters (DPFs) are extruded products that possess macroscopic anisotropic mechanical and thermal properties. This anisotropy is caused by both morphological features (mostly the orientation of porosity) and crystallographic texture. We systematically studied those two aspects in two aluminum titanate ceramic materials of different porosity using mercury porosimetry, gas adsorption, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray refraction radiography. We found that a lower porosity content implies a larger isotropy of both the crystal texture and the porosity orientation. We also found that, analogous to cordierite, crystallites do align with their axis of negative thermal expansion along the extrusion direction. However, unlike what found for cordierite, the aluminium titanate crystallite form is such that a more pronounced (0 0 2) texture along the extrusion direction implies porosity aligned perpendicular to it. KW - preferred orientation KW - X-ray refraction KW - pore orientation KW - crystal KW - structure KW - extrusion KW - microstructure-property relations Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2019.11.076 SN - 0955-2219 SN - 1873-619X VL - 40 IS - 4 SP - 1592 EP - 1601 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER -