Grain boundaries are extensively used as high-quality Josephson junctions in high-Tc superconductors. Their superconducting characteristics can generally be well described by conventional models of strongly coupled Josephson junctions. Here, we report on highly anomalous critical current vs. magnetic field dependencies of grain boundaries in YBa2Cu307-,. Direct imaging with scanning SQUID micro...

Self-organized criticality (SOC) is widely observed in systems ranging from creep deformation of single crystal ice to the movement of glacier. -The behavior of these SOC systems follows a power law distribution, which is timeand space-scale invariant. Previous phase field simulation of single crystal nickel has shown that plastic flow is characterized by intermittent dislocation avalanches, wh...

The current state of knowledge on the impact of grain boundaries in CdTe solar cells is reviewed with emphasis being placed on working cell structures. The role of the chemical composition of grain boundaries as well as growth processes are discussed, along with characterisation techniques such as electron beam induced current and cathodoluminescence, which are capable of extracting information...

Metallic materials usually exhibit higher strength but lower ductility after being plastically deformed by conventional techniques such as rolling, drawing and extrusion. In contrast, nanostructured metals and alloys processed by severe plastic deformation (SPD) have demonstrated both high strength and high ductility. This extraordinary mechanical behavior is attributed to the unique nanostruct...

Since ice deforms mainly by dislocation glide on the basal planes, very strong incompatibilities exist between the grains of a polycrystal. Specially designed two-dimensional compression creep tests on different types of ice multicrystals embedded in a matrix of fine-grained isotropic ice allow to observe the strain heterogeneities which arise during the deformation of polycrystalline ice, and ...

With the impending surge of flexible organic electronic technologies, it has become essential to understand how mechanical deformation affects the electrical performance of organic thin-film devices. Organic single crystals are ideal for the systematic study of strain effects on electrical properties without being concerned about grain boundaries and other defects. Here we investigate how the d...

Biomass power plants with high efficiency are desired as a renewable energy resource. High efficiency can be obtained by increasing temperature and pressure. An upgrade of the material performance to high temperature material is therefore required in order to meet the increased demands due to the higher temperature and the more corrosive environment. In this study, the material’s high-temperatu...

First-principles studies on the intrinsic mechanical properties of various materials and systems through ab initio tensile and shear testing simulations based on density-functional theory are reviewed. For various materials, ideal tensile and shear strength and features of the deformation of bulk crystals without any defects have been examined, and the relation with the bonding nature has been ...

Twin roll cast Al-Mn- and Al-Mn-Zr-based alloys were subjected to four passes of equal channel angular pressing. The resulting grain size of 400 nm contributes to a significant strengthening at room temperature. This microstructure is not fully stable at elevated temperatures and recrystallization and vast grain growth occur at temperatures between 350 and 450 °C. The onset of these microstruct...

The microstructural evolution of heavily deformed polycrystalline Cu is simulated by coupling a constitutive model for polycrystal plasticity with the Monte Carlo Potts model for grain growth. The effects of deformation on boundary topology and grain growth kinetics are presented. Heavy deformation leads to dramatic strain-induced boundary migration and subsequent grain fra,omentation. Grain gr...