Grain-boundary sliding in high-temperature ceramics: mechanical spectroscopy of high-purity magnesium oxide. The demise of elastic behaviour in materials stressed at sufficiently high temperature limits the usefulness of ceramics for structural applications, and is also responsible for reduced wave speeds and associated attenuation of seismic waves in the Earth's interior. Yet the nature of the transition in fine-grained materials tested at high temperature from elastic through anelastic to vis ....Grain-boundary sliding in high-temperature ceramics: mechanical spectroscopy of high-purity magnesium oxide. The demise of elastic behaviour in materials stressed at sufficiently high temperature limits the usefulness of ceramics for structural applications, and is also responsible for reduced wave speeds and associated attenuation of seismic waves in the Earth's interior. Yet the nature of the transition in fine-grained materials tested at high temperature from elastic through anelastic to viscous rheology remains poorly understood. Through a combination of mechanical testing by torsional forced oscillation/ microcreep methods of carefully fabricated and characterised specimens of polycrystalline MgO and associated micro-mechanical modelling we seek to clarify this fundamental and general aspect of high-temperature mechanical behaviour.Read moreRead less
Coupled Structural and Elastic Response Studies of the Phase Transformation Behaviour of Environment-Friendly, Lead-free Piezoceramics. The ultimate aim of this project is to identify high performance, environment-friendly i.e. lead free, piezoceramic materials capable of replacing the currently market dominant, lead-based materials. Such piezoceramics have widespread industrial applications. Understanding the factors that control the capacity of such materials to respond to applied stress or el ....Coupled Structural and Elastic Response Studies of the Phase Transformation Behaviour of Environment-Friendly, Lead-free Piezoceramics. The ultimate aim of this project is to identify high performance, environment-friendly i.e. lead free, piezoceramic materials capable of replacing the currently market dominant, lead-based materials. Such piezoceramics have widespread industrial applications. Understanding the factors that control the capacity of such materials to respond to applied stress or electric field is critical to the discovery, optimization and, ultimately, industrial exploitation of such materials. Through comprehensive experimental and theoretical studies of a number of such materials this project will enhance the ability of industry to develop new and improved materials. Development of advanced materials is a designated National Research Priority area. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100195
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,000,000.00
Summary
Field-emission gun transmission electron microscope for the research in nanomaterials, metal alloys and biological sciences. The proposed facility is required by a large range of world-leading research programs in light metals, nanomaterials, fibres and biomaterials. These research programs are strongly supported by automobile, textile, mineral and advanced materials industries that have important roles in the current national economy and local communities. The facility will improve significan ....Field-emission gun transmission electron microscope for the research in nanomaterials, metal alloys and biological sciences. The proposed facility is required by a large range of world-leading research programs in light metals, nanomaterials, fibres and biomaterials. These research programs are strongly supported by automobile, textile, mineral and advanced materials industries that have important roles in the current national economy and local communities. The facility will improve significantly our current research ability and help the creation of new research areas in nanotechnology and energy materials beneficial to clean energy, environmental protections and health care. It is also important equipment for new research student training.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775729
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,000.00
Summary
Improved understanding of nanoscale materials - structure, composition, crystallography and defects revealed by electron imaging and analysis at high spatial resolution. Modern materials scientists and engineers are driven by world-wide competition to develop new technology and manufactured devices. The trend has for some time been towards miniaturisation and one of the main challenges lies in effectively characterising nanostructures that are produced as a key step in research and development o ....Improved understanding of nanoscale materials - structure, composition, crystallography and defects revealed by electron imaging and analysis at high spatial resolution. Modern materials scientists and engineers are driven by world-wide competition to develop new technology and manufactured devices. The trend has for some time been towards miniaturisation and one of the main challenges lies in effectively characterising nanostructures that are produced as a key step in research and development of advanced materials. The proposed electron microscope and detectors will provide a state-of-the-art analytical facility to support the cross-disciplinary materials science and nanotechnology research at the Australian National University. It will also provide an important training facility for students and early-career researchers and will be available to investigators from other Australian institutions.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668302
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$210,000.00
Summary
Floating-zone Crystal Growth Facility. Optical floating-zone furnaces are powerful and efficient tools for the discovery and characterisation of new materials. They are widely used in the solid-state chemistry, condensed-matter physics, materials science, and engineering communities. This optical floating-zone furnace, the first in Australia, will support and encourage the growing number of local researchers in these fields. It will allow them to take much better advantage of the new research re ....Floating-zone Crystal Growth Facility. Optical floating-zone furnaces are powerful and efficient tools for the discovery and characterisation of new materials. They are widely used in the solid-state chemistry, condensed-matter physics, materials science, and engineering communities. This optical floating-zone furnace, the first in Australia, will support and encourage the growing number of local researchers in these fields. It will allow them to take much better advantage of the new research reactor and synchrotron being constructed in Australia by maximising their ability to grow crystals of technologically and scientifically important materials, particularly electronic and magnetic materials, for fundamental and applied research at those facilities.Read moreRead less
New carbon phases synthesized under extreme conditions. This project aims to address one of the major fundamental puzzles in carbon science; how to experimentally synthesize new phases of carbon predicted by theory. This could be approached via a combination of high pressure and high-energy ion irradiation to transform novel nano-carbon precursors. The expected outcomes include new phases of carbon with unexplored properties, an understanding of the pathways for synthesis of carbon materials, an ....New carbon phases synthesized under extreme conditions. This project aims to address one of the major fundamental puzzles in carbon science; how to experimentally synthesize new phases of carbon predicted by theory. This could be approached via a combination of high pressure and high-energy ion irradiation to transform novel nano-carbon precursors. The expected outcomes include new phases of carbon with unexplored properties, an understanding of the pathways for synthesis of carbon materials, and new computational tools to understand nano-carbon materials under extreme conditions. This should provide benefits for industries seeking advanced materials for modern manufacturing.Read moreRead less