Jorg Wiezorek

Decorated and undecorated dislocations in γ-TiAl have been studied by conventional transmission electron microscopy using diffraction contrast and by large-angle convergent-beam electron diffraction (LACBED). The results of the Burgers vector determination for undecorated and decorated dislocations using the different techniques have been compared. For the decorated dislocations the contrast from the decorating particles and the underlying dislocation have been separated

ABSTRACT While thin reactor structural components such as cladding and ducts do not experience significant gradients in dpa rate, gamma heating rate, temperature or stress, thick components can develop strong local variations in void swelling and irradiation creep in response to gradients in these variables. In this study we conducted microstructural investigations by transmission electron microscopy of two 52 mm thick 304-type stainless steel hex-blocks irradiated for 12 years in the EBR-II reactor with accumulated doses ranging from ∼0.4 to 33 dpa. Spatial variations in the populations of voids, precipitates, Frank loops and dislocation lines have been determined for 304 stainless steel sections exposed to different temperatures, different dpa levels and at different dpa rates, demonstrating the existence of spatial gradients in the resulting void swelling. The microstructural measurements compare very well with complementary density change measurements regarding void swelling gradients in the 304 stainless steel hex-block components.

Recent instrumentation developments have resulted in the application of a high frequency, low energy, reactive gas plasma that chemically removes hydrocarbon contamination from both the TEM specimen holder and the specimen without altering its properties. Critical aspects of the plasma generation, ion energy, electrode location, process gas, and vacuum technology are discussed. The effect of plasma processing parameters on various

ABSTRACT Silica-doped hydroxyapatite (HA) is a promising material concerning biocompatibility to natural bone, bioactivity and osteoconductive characteristics. HA exhibits phase transformations during sintering which are attendant to the change in volume and thermal strain. To avoid cracks during sintering, the exact knowledge of the phase transition temperatures is necessary. The sintering behavior of HA can be improved by adding amorphous silica with a low coefficient of thermal expansion. Therefore, the phase transformations in the system HA-SiO(2) were analyzed by using differential scanning calorimetry followed by quantitative phase analysis by X-ray diffraction with the Riedveld method. The maximum sintering temperature without reversible phase transformation was defined as 1265°C. In laser surface sintered (LSS) samples, amorphous SiO(2) , HA, and Si-α-TCP (or α-TCP) were detected. By comparison, only crystalline phases, such as cristobalite, HA, β-TCP, and Si-α-TCP (or α-TCP), were determined after furnace sintering. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs of furnace sintered and LSS samples show the differences in the resulting microstructures. Biocompatibility was determined by measuring cell activity of osteoblasts cultivated on four laser-sintered materials in the HA-SiO(2) system in comparison to normal cell culture plastic. Cell proliferation was similar on all surfaces. The level of the cell activity on day 8 varied depending on the composition of the material and increased linearly as the amorphous SiO(2) content rose. Taken together a laser-based method to develop novel biocompatible HA-SiO(2) ceramics with adjustable properties and possible applications as orthopedic bioceramics are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2012.

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