Prof. Raynald Gauvin, Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University

This seminar will present the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) SU-9000 from Hitachi which characterizes thin and massive samples with electrons beam energies ranging from 0.1 to 30 keV. This microscope is equipped with an electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) detector which allows the detection of Lithium. High spatial resolution images are possible with a resolution of 0.16 nm. Many examples will be presented on Li materials and on nano-materials. This microscope is equipped with a EDS detector of lithium (Extreme, Oxford Instrument) and the microanalysis of lithium compounds, which is very difficult and challenging, will also be covered. The preparation of thin films by focus ion beam (FIB) for high spatial resolution images in STEM will be also shown with the newly acquired Hitachi NX-5000 FIB.

For more information on attending this talk:  http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/index/98965

Prof. Eduard Vives, Dept. Física de la Matèria Condensada, Universitat de Barcelona, Catalonia

Solids with structural first-order phase transitions are being considered as candidates for elastocaloric refrigeration due to its large latent heat and the fact that applying mechanical stress is relatively easy compared to the alternatives based on electric or magnetic fields.

For the case of metallic alloys exhibiting martensitic transitions, it is known that the dynamics proceeds by avalanches: its discontinuous in time and highly inhomogeneous. This can have deep implications in the design of future devices, especially if one is interested in small size and high frequency actuators.

In this seminar I will review some recent experimental results on the dynamics of martensitic transitions in Cu-based alloys, obtained by Acoustic Emission detection, optical imaging of strain maps and infrared imaging. These techniques allow to track the position of the moving interface fronts and the corresponding heat sinks and sources.

For more information on attending this talk:  http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/index/98965

The Armourers and Brasiers Cambridge Forum 2022 will be held again in June.  It is anticipated it will be an in-person event.  Visit the Forum webpages for more information as it becomes available.