July 2011 - Rudi attended a beamline working group meeting for the new high-throughput SAXS beamline B21 at Diamond Light Source. Options for automation, sample environments and choice of detectors have been discussed at the meeting. [more
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In an experiment at Bessy's Eddi beamline, we used energy-dispersive x-ray diffraction to study strain in thin ceramic films, including buried ones. The samples have been produced during an earlier in-situ GISAXS experiment, and it is expected that the films are under strain due to the shrinkage of the coating during calcination. [more] [beamtimes]
The final year project for BSc students is an individual project lasting the entire academic year. It is structured into a literature review, project planning, experimental and dissemination phase. Projects can be experimental, observational, theoretical or software development.
Dyma fersiwn Cymraeg y ddogfennaeth prosiect BSc hefyd. [more] [teaching]
The morphology of sol–gel derived dip-coated yttria-doped zirconia films containing variable amounts of yttria has been studied using in situ grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) whilst heated incrementally to 1000C. A procedure to analyse in situ GISAXS data has been devised which allows a quantitative analysis of time-dependent GISAXS data tracing processes such as chemical reactions or manufacturing procedures. To achieve this, the relative positions of the Yoneda peak and the through beam are used to fix the vertical q scale when the sample thickness is subject to fluctuations due to chemical reactions or deposition processes. A version of Beaucage's unified model with a structure factor from Hosemann's model for paracrystals describes the yttria-zirconia film data best. It is interpreted in terms of particles forming from a polymeric gel network and subsequently agglomerating into larger units subject to Ostwald ripening as both size and average separation distance of the scattering objects increase. The sample with the highest yttria content shows progressive surface roughening from 850C which may indicate the onset of chemical segregation. [request reprint] [papers]
Geo-Trips allows Geograph members to put their Geograph expeditions on the map. It takes pictures and data uploaded to Geograph and shows the camera positions and view directions on the map, along with large thumbnails and descriptions from Geograph. If you are a Geograph-er, you can submit your own trip and even upload a GPS track and a description to go with your trip. [more] [other diversions]