Welcome to the Amira-Avizo Software Use Case Gallery

Multiphase flow in porous media is strongly influenced by the wettability of the system, which affects the arrangement of the interfaces of different phases residing in the pores.

We present a method for estimating the effective contact angle, which quantifies the wettability and controls the local capillary pressure within the complex pore space of natural rock samples, based on the physical constraint of constant curvature of the interface between two fluids. This algorithm is ... Read more

Ni-YSZ anodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells are vulnerable to microstructural damage during redox cycling leading to a decrease in the electrochemical performance.

• Quantification of redox damage by coupling 3D tomography, EIS and nanoindentation.
• YSZ fracture, Ni detachment and agglomeration led to irreversible mechanical damage.
• Ni nanoparticles obtained upon redox cycling improve electrochemical performance.
• Loss in TPB densi... Read more

Electrospun all-fiber flexible supercapacitor with nanofiber electrodes/separator.

• Increased graphitic degree with the addition of MnACAC and thermal decomposition.
• Enhanced capacitive performance with the addition of MnO.
• Quantified nanofiber alignment and increased bias with MnO over undoped fibers.
• FIBSEM tomography of nanofibers showing MnO disitribution in carbon nanofibers.

We present an all-fiber flexible supercapacitor with compo... Read more

Composite membranes with defective metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) connect the emerging fields of MOF topological modification, MOF-polymer interfacial engineering and composite material functionalization.

Although defective MOFs can be fabricated via thermal or chemical treatment, the relationship between hierarchical MOF structure and their performance in a polymeric membrane matrix has so far not been investigated. Here we show how a modula... Read more

Our parametric study shows that increasing the porosity in the spongy layer beyond 10% enhances the effective transport parameters of the spongy layer at an exponential rate, but linearly for the full anode. For the first time, local and global mass transport properties are correlated to the microstructure, which is of wide interest for rationalizing the design optimization of SOFC electrodes and more generally for hierarchical materials in batteries and membranes.

Proton conductivity of the polymer electrolyte membranes in fuel cells dictates their performance and requires sufficient water management. Here, we report a simple, scalable method to produce well-dispersed transition metal carbide nanoparticles. We demonstrate that these, when added as an additive to the proton exchange Nafion membrane, provide significant enhancement in power density and durability over 100 hours, surpassing both the baseline Nafion and platinum-containing recast Nafion ... Read more

In this study, a series of alumina hollow fibers have been prepared with varied polymer binder (polyethersulfone, PESf) concentration and new polymer-based internal coagulant (aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol, PVA). For the first time, the micro-channels were characterized in 3D using X-ray CT to determine micro-channel densities and diameters in the radial direction, as well as the 2D measurement of the pore size in the sponge-like layer.

We had proposed an image-processing scheme using union operation suitable for extracting target features with hierarchical dimensions from the original data, and applied it to void analysis in a composite electrode of an all-solid-state lithium ion battery (LIB). Void analysis is very important in developing better composite electrodes for all-solid-state LIBs because internal voids should increase the interfacial resistance. Film formation of electrode-solid electrolyte composites by the aer... Read more

The authors present for the first time a new methodology of contrast enhancement for 3D imaging, including novel advanced quantification, on a commercial Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) LiFePO₄ cathode. The aim of this work is to improve the quality of the 3D imaging of challenging battery materials by developing methods to increase contrast between otherwise previously poorly differentiated phases. This is necessary to enable capture of the real geometry of electrode microstructures... Read more

Food and detergent products are composed of complex micro structures. With modern microscopic techniques we can make them visible. The microstructure greatly affects macroscopic properties such as appearance, taste, mouth feel and solubility. Making these structures visible and quantifying them is essential to the development of products with optimal product properties. A broad range of imaging techniques is used to visualize microstructure elements at different length scales. For example, X-... Read more

Here, a review of tortuosity calculation procedures applied in the field of electrochemical devices is presented to better understand the resulting values presented in the literature. Visible differences between calculation methods are observed, especially when using porosity–tortuosity relationships and when comparing geometric and flux-based tortuosity calculation approaches.

The use of novel multi-scale correlative methods, which involve the coordinated characterization of matter across a range of length scales, are becoming of increasing value to materials scientists. Here, we describe for the first time how a multi-scale correlative approach can be used to investigate the nature of ductile fracture in metals. Specimens of a nuclear pressure vessel steel, SA508 Grade 3, are examined following ductile fracture using medium and high-resolution 3D X-ray computed to... Read more

In this paper, porous sintered glass bead packings are studied, using X-ray Computed Tomography (XRCT) images at 16μm16μm voxel resolution, to obtain not only the porosity field, but also other properties like particle sizes, pore throats and the permeability. The influence of the sintering procedure and the original particle size distributions on the microstructure, and thus on the hydraulic properties, is analyzed in detail. The XRCT data are visualized and studied by advanced image fil... Read more

Physical characteristics critical to chromatography including geometric porosity and tortuosity within the packed column were analysed based upon three dimensional reconstructions of bed structure in-situ. Image acquisition was performed using two X-ray computed tomography systems, with optimisation of column imaging performed for each sample in order to produce three dimensional representations of packed beds at 3 μm resolution.

The CHEFF (Computational Heat Fluid Flow) Research group at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University is using computational fluid dynamics to model flow and heat transfer in various engineering applications for industry, government and the private sector. The primary goal of this research is to first examine and then enhance the thermal performance of current and future low-density reticulated porous media, and explore their use as heat sinks in high power electronics (computer chips... Read more

The Division of Highway and Railway Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) promotes advances in computational and experimental science in order to develop new materials, tools and systems for improved mobility, transportation safety and infrastructure durability. The group works on analysis and performance-based design of roads and tracks, management as well as operation and maintenance of roads.

The characterization of the porosity of ground layers in easel paintings: a first step towards understanding its role in water uptake, reactivity and material transport in 19th and early 20th century paintings. The Swiss Institute for Art Research (SIK-ISEA) is studying the studio practice of Swiss painters of the late 19th early 20th century, the materials they used for their paintings, and the deterioration processes the paintings undergo as they age.

Amongst other issues this study... Read more