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A comprehensive overview of PowderMEMS—a novel back-end-of-line-compatible microfabrication technology—is presented in this paper. The PowderMEMS process solidifies micron-sized particles via atomic layer deposition (ALD) to create three-dimensional microstructures on planar substrates from a wide variety of materials. The process offers numerous degrees of freedom for the design of functional MEMSs, such as a wide choice of different material properties and the precise definition of 3D volumes at the substrate level, with a defined degree of porosity. This work details the characteristics of PowderMEMS materials as well as the maturity of the fabrication technology, while highlighting prospects for future microdevices. Applications of PowderMEMS in the fields of magnetic, thermal, optical, fluidic, and electrochemical MEMSs are described, and future developments and challenges of the technology are discussed.

This paper introduces neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), a practical diffusion MRI technique for estimating the microstructural complexity of dendrites and axons in vivo on clinical MRI scanners. Such indices of neurites relate more directly to and provide more specific markers of brain tissue microstructure than standard indices from diffusion tensor imaging, such as fractional anisotropy (FA). Mapping these indices over the whole brain on clinical scanners presents new opportunities for understanding brain development and disorders. The proposed technique enables such mapping by combining a three-compartment tissue model with a two-shell high-angular-resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) protocol optimized for clinical feasibility. An index of orientation dispersion is defined to characterize angular variation of neurites. We evaluate the method both in simulation and on a live human brain using a clinical 3T scanner. Results demonstrate that NODDI provides sensible neurite density and orientation dispersion estimates, thereby disentangling two key contributing factors to FA and enabling the analysis of each factor individually. We additionally show that while orientation dispersion can be estimated with just a single HARDI shell, neurite density requires at least two shells and can be estimated more accurately with the optimized two-shell protocol than with alternative two-shell protocols. The optimized protocol takes about 30min to acquire, making it feasible for inclusion in a typical clinical setting. We further show that sampling fewer orientations in each shell can reduce the acquisition time to just 10min with minimal impact on the accuracy of the estimates. This demonstrates the feasibility of NODDI even for the most time-sensitive clinical applications, such as neonatal and dementia imaging. ► Proposed an experimental design and analysis framework for imaging neurite morphology. ► First in vivo demonstration of neurite orientation dispersion and density mapping. ► NODDI estimates disentangle the key factors contributing to fractional anisotropy. ► NODDI protocol is clinically feasible: imaging the whole brain in 30 minutes or less. ► NODDI protocol is simple to implement, consisting of just two HARDI shells.

Controlling the wettability using microstructures has been studied because of many applications. In particular, bio‐mimetic microstructures modeled after the self‐cleaning properties of the lotus leaf have been extensively studied. Despite many studies successfully achieving the fabrication of superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic surfaces through the manipulation of microstructures, the effect of rough surfaces on contact angle remains an area of inquiry. In this study, conical microstructures with well‐defined geometric parameters are fabricated over a silicon wafer. They are replicated into soft matter that has transparent and flexible characteristics. From the measurement of the contact angle for fabricated surfaces, the prediction of the criteria for transitioning from the Cassie‐Baxter state to the Wenzel state can be suggested. Furthermore, the fabrication of an inexpensive, transparent, elastic, and superhydrophobic surface based on truncated micro‐conical structures in PDMS can be suggested. Conical microstructures with well‐defined geometric parameters over a silicon wafer is fabricated. They are replicated into soft matter that has transparent and flexible characteristics. From the measurement of the contact angle for fabricated surfaces, the prediction of the criteria for transitioning from the Cassie‐Baxter state to the Wenzel state can be suggested.

This study numerically examines the impact of oblique ribs and staggered herringbone microstructures on the heat transfer performance of microchannels. The results indicate that the Nu x values of the oblique rib (Type A) and staggered herringbone (Type B) microchannels exhibit significantly higher performance compared to smooth rectangular (Type C) microchannels. The oblique ribs and staggered herringbone microstructures improve heat transfer efficiency along the flowing direction, leading to an evident increase followed by horizontal fluctuations in Nu x . In contrast, the Nu x of Type C without microstructures decreases significantly at the inlet and subsequently remains relatively constant. The bottom temperature T w of Type A and B are lower than the temperature of Type C. The results of field cooperation analysis indicate that the synergistic fields of the oblique ribs microchannels primarily exist along both sidewalls, while they are present at the fluid center for the staggered herringbone microchannels. Type A exhibits a slightly stronger heat transfer effect despite having a smaller synergistic area compared to Type B.

Argillization is commonly observed as excavating in mudstone stratum by tunnel boring machine. In addition to the operational and geological parameters studied by previous researchers, this phenomenon also has significant influence on the performance of tunnel boring machine, such as penetrate rate, advance rate, and utilization rate. In general, water is a key factor affecting the progress of argillization. With the aim to investigate the effect of water content on argillization of mudstone during the tunnelling, a new rolling abrasion test was conducted on rock blocks with moisture contents of 2.82%, 3.44%, 4.79%, 6.06%, and 6.75%. In the experiment, penetration depth, temperature fields of disc cutter and rock blocks, and wear loss of cutters were recorded. In addition, the microstructures of cutting groove on rock blocks and slacking mudstone were observed by OLYMPUS SZX16 stereomicroscope. According to experimental results, three stages of argillization process can be divided: (1) water evaporation of mudstone nearby the disc cutter, (2) destruction of microstructure of mudstone, and (3) formation of slaking mudstone. Uneven shrink, water-weakening effects, temperature effects, and mechanical activation are mainly contributed to the damage of microstructures of rock blocks. In addition, the variation in water content accelerates the argillization process. By comparison, it is found that wear loss of disc cutter and cutting efficiency show negative and positive correlation with the extent of argillization, respectively. However, flat wear appears due to the argillization. Therefore, in engineering practice, to obtain high work efficiency of tunnel boring machine, it is necessary to keep water content of clay-bearing rock in a reasonable range. This study reveals the argillization process and abnormal cutter wear mechanism from the microstructure’s perspective. In addition, the effects of temperature, water, and mechanical motion are simultaneously taken into consideration. The present study provides some references for reasonably improving tunnel boring machine performance in the tunnel construction.

In this work, a novel design and modeling method is proposed to obtain hierarchical structures with non-uniform lattice microstructures based on density-based topology optimization. First of all, a parametric concept is proposed to generate a family of parameterized lattice microstructures that present similar topological features. In order to balance the structural performance and computational efficiency, we construct a Parameterized Interpolation for Lattice Material (PILM) model and the mathematical formulation incorporates two new design variables. At the macroscale, the relative density variable is applied to describe material volume fraction in the design domain, instead of using the pseudo-density in the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) model. At the microscale, each macroelement is regarded as an individual microstructure controlled by an aspect ratio variable. The equivalent properties of parameterized lattice microstructures can be derived by interpolating the effective elastic matrixes of several typical microstructure unit cells, which avoid expensive iterative homogenization calculations during optimization procedure. Hence, the multiscale concurrent design method can optimize the macroscopic distribution and their spatially varying microstructural configurations simultaneously at an affordable computation cost. Several numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Furthermore, the obtained hierarchical structures with non-uniform lattice microstructures show good manufacturability and remarkably improved structural performance by means of the additive manufacturing and experimental testing, compared to the designs with uniform lattice microstructures.

This paper presents a software environment for processing, segmenting, quantifying, representing and manipulating digital microstructure data. The paper discusses the approach to building a generalized representation strategy for digital microstructures and the barriers encountered when trying to integrate a set of existing software tools to create an expandable codebase.

Driving range and fast charge capability of electric vehicles are heavily dependent on the 3D microstructure of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) and substantial fundamental research is required to optimise electrode design for specific operating conditions. Here we have developed a full microstructure-resolved 3D model using a novel X-ray nano-computed tomography (CT) dual-scan superimposition technique that captures features of the carbon-binder domain. This elucidates how LiB performance is markedly affected by microstructural heterogeneities, particularly under high rate conditions. The elongated shape and wide size distribution of the active particles not only affect the lithium-ion transport but also lead to a heterogeneous current distribution and non-uniform lithiation between particles and along the through-thickness direction. Building on these insights, we propose and compare potential graded-microstructure designs for next-generation battery electrodes. To guide manufacturing of electrode architectures, in-situ X-ray CT is shown to reliably reveal the porosity and tortuosity changes with incremental calendering steps. The 3D microstructure of the electrode predominantly determines the electrochemical performance of Li-ion batteries. Here, the authors show that the microstructural heterogeneities lead to non-uniform Li insertion and current distribution while graded-microstructures improve the performance.

Biological hard tissues are a rich source of design concepts for the generation of advanced materials. They represent the most important library of information on the evolution of life and its environmental conditions. Organisms produce soft and hard tissues in a bottom-up process, a construction principle that is intrinsic to biologically secreted materials. This process emerged early on in the geological record, with the onset of biological mineralization. The phylum Brachiopoda is a marine animal group that has an excellent and continuous fossil record from the early Cambrian to the Recent. Throughout this time interval, the Brachiopoda secreted phosphate and carbonate shells and populated many and highly diverse marine habitats. This required great flexibility in the adaptation of soft and hard tissues to the different marine environments and living conditions. This review presents, juxtaposes and discusses the main modes of mineral and biopolymer organization in Recent, carbonate shell-producing, brachiopods. We describe shell tissue characteristics for taxa of the orders Rhynchonellida, Terebratulida, Thecideida and Craniida. We highlight modes of calcite and organic matrix assembly at the macro-, micro-, and nano-scales based on results obtained by Electron Backscatter Diffraction, Atomic Force Microscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy. We show variation in composite hard tissue organization for taxa with different lifestyles, visualize nanometer-scale calcite assemblies for rhynchonellide and terebratulide fibers, highlight thecideide shell microstructure, texture and chemistry characteristics, and discuss the feasibility to use thecideide shells as archives of proxies for paleoenvironment and paleoclimate reconstructions.

This article presents a review on recent advances in the fatigue behavior of Ti alloys, especially the main commercial compositions for orthopedic applications. In the case of well-known Ti–6Al–4V alloy, the major concern is related to the effect of the surface modification necessary to improve the osseointegration. The introduction of surface discontinuities due to the growth of a porous oxide layer, or the roughness development, may severely affect the fatigue performance depending on the level of alteration. In the case of additive manufactured Ti–6Al–4V, the fatigue response is also influenced by inherent defects of as-built parts. Regarding the recently developed metastable β alloys, information about the fatigue properties is still scarce and mainly related to the effect of second phase precipitates, which are introduced to optimize the mechanical properties. The fatigue behavior of the Ti alloys is complex, as is their microstructure, and should not be neglected when the alloys are being developed or improved to be applied in medical devices.