| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/S97910/01 |
| Title: |
Feasibility Project: High Temperature Micro-Manipulation System for Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope |
| Principal Investigator: |
Atkinson, Professor HV |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Engineering |
| Organisation: |
University of Leicester |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 August 2004 |
Ends: |
31 July 2005 |
Value (£): |
59,158
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM), where gases can be used in the microscope to neutralise charge build-up, allows experiments to be performed which were not previously possible. The proposal here is to install a micromanipulation system onto the 1000C heating stage which has been purchased for the Leicester ESEM. There are particular challenges in this as micromanipulators have not previously been used in conjunction with high temperatures (up to 1000 degrees C) in an ESEM. The movement of the micromanipulator is governed by piezoelectric transducers which are heat sensitive and must not be exposed to temperatures above 1000. The transducers must therefore be shielded from the heat. This will involve thermal modelling of the stage and design and installation of low thermal conductivity extension to the micromanipulator probe with radiative heat shielding. The project is essentially a feasibility study to examine whether the potential problems can be solved. If successful, it would act as a precursor for a scientific project in which a further micromanipulator would be installed and the two would be used to apply forces and move particles around in two areas of experiments:1) Semi-solid metallic materials with spheroidal solid particles behave in a thixotropic way when sheared (i.e. when sheared the material flows but when it is allowed to stand it thickens again). This is associated with the formation of necks between solid particles when in contact in the liquid matrix and the breaking of those necks under shear. The aim here would be to observe the formation and breaking of those necks in situ.2) Constitutive modelling of sintering also requires data on neck formation between solid particles, in various gaseous atmospheres, under shear and normal loading, and under an imposed moment. Experiments will also be conducted on small arrays of particles, which will be assembled to evaluate the influence of co-ordination number and the variation of initial particle size on the sintering process.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.le.ac.uk |