Welcome to the Amira-Avizo Software Use Case Gallery

The flow distribution behaviour of open-cell metallic foam fuel cell flow-fields are evaluated using ex-situ optical analysis and X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT). Five different manifold designs are evaluated and flow distribution and pressure drop ... Read more

Alveolar bone, together with the underlying trabecular bone, fulfils an important role in providing structural support against masticatory forces. Diseases such as osteoporosis or periodontitis cause alveolar bone resorption which weakens this structural support and is a major cause of tooth loss. However, the functional relationship between alveolar bone remodelling within the molar region and masticatory forces is not well understood. This study investigated this relationship by comparing m... Read more

Garra barreimiae (Fowler and Steinitz, Bull Res Counc Isr 5B:262–289, 1956) is a freshwater fish that lives throughout the Hajar Mountains of Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Previously, four different genetic clades (West clade, C... Read more

We have experimentally investigated the impact of heterogeneity on the dissolution of two limestones, characterised by distinct degrees of flow heterogeneity at both the pore and core scales. The two rocks were reacted with reservoir-condition CO₂-saturated brine at both scales and scanned dynamically during dissolution. First, 1 cm long 4 mm... Read more

Electrospun constructs for the repair of load-bearing tissues are required to have adequate mechanical properties. However, the failure mechanisms of electrospun fibrous materials are not well understood. Existing literature focuses on failure modes of individual fibers and/or on bulk mechanical properties of whole fiber mats.

Electrospinning allows the production of fibrous networks for tissue engineering, drug delivery, and wound healing in health care. It enables the production of c... Read more

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert the chemical energy of fuels into electrical energy. An ideal option for a wide variety of portable, stationary, and automotive applications is using the polymer electrolyte
fuel cells due to their modular design, high efficiency, and environmental benefits.

A 3D microstructure of the non-woven gas diffusion layers (GDLs) of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) is reconstructed using a stochastic method. For a commercial GDL, ... Read more

Three dimensional (3D) composites were proposed over 40 years ago in an attempt to overcome the shortcomings of 2D laminates, by incorporating fibres into the through-thickness direction. 3D weaving offer significant manufacturing benefits as well as creating versatile textiles having a range of 3D architectures.

The development of fatigue damage in a glass fibre modified layer-to-layer three dimensional (3D) woven composite has been followed by time-lapse X-ray computed tomograp... Read more

During the fabrication of braided carbon fiber composite materials, process variations occur which affect the fiber architecture.

Quantitative measurements of local and global fiber architecture variations are needed to determine the potential effect of process variations on mechanical properties of the cured composite. Although non-destructive inspection via X-ray CT imaging is a promising approach, difficulties in quantitative analysis of the data arise due to the similar densities o... Read more

The microstructure of food affects our sensorial perception, its attractiveness, and the manufactured product’s shelf-life.

Microstructural evolution in soft matter directly influences not only the material’s mechanical and functional properties, but also our perception of that material’s taste. Using synchrotron X-ray tomography and cryo-SEM we investigated the time–temperature evolution of ice cream’s microstructure. This was enabled via three adv... Read more

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) offers a possible solution to curb the CO₂ emissions from stationary sources in the coming decades, considering the delays in shifting energy generation to carbon neutral sources such as wind, solar and biomass.

The most mature technology for post-combustion capture uses a liquid sorbent, amine scrubbing. However, with the existing technology, a large amount of heat is required for the regeneration of the liquid sorbent, which... Read more

Mass transport can significantly limit the rate of reaction and lead to concentration polarization in electrochemical devices, especially under the conditions of high operating current density.

In this study we investigate hierarchically structured micro-tubular solid
oxide fuel cells (MT-SOFC) fabricated by phase inversion technique and quantitatively assess the mass transport and electrochemical performance improvement compared to a conventional tubular SOFC. We present pioneer... Read more

This study aims to correlate the active triple phase boundaries (TPBs) to the variation of as-prepared anode microstructures and Ni densifications based on the reconstructed 3D volume of an SOFC anode, providing a point of comparison with theoretical studies that reveal the relationship of TPBs and the material microstructure using randomly packed spheres models.

Nickel/zirconia-based nanostructured electrodes for solid oxide fuel cells suffer from poor stability even at intermediate temperature.

This study quantifies the electrochemical and microstructural degradation of nanostructured electrodes by combining 3D tomography, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and mechanistic modeling. For the first time, the electrochemical degradation of nanostructured electrodes is quantified according to the fractal nature of the three-phase bounda... Read more

A simple chemical bath deposition is used to coat a complex porous ceramic scaffold with a conformal Ni layer.

The resulting composite is used as a solid oxide fuel cell electrode, and its electrochemical response is measured in humidified hydrogen. X‐ray tomography is used to determine the microstructural characteristics of the uncoated and Ni‐coated porous structure, which include the surface area to total volume, the radial pore size, and the size of the necks between the pores.... Read more

Phylactolaemate bryozoans are the sister-group to all remaining bryozoan taxa. Consequently, their study is essential to reveal and analyze ancestral traits of Phylactolaemata and Bryozoa in general.

They are the only bryozoans to possess an epistome which traditionally has been regarded as shared with phoronids and brachiopods. Contrary to older observations, an epistome was recently reported to be missing in the early branching phylactolaemate Lophopus crystallinus. In this... Read more

The most common means of fabricating membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) involves a hot-press step. The conditions used to perform the hot-press impacts the performance and durability of the fuel cell.

However, the hot-press process is not essential for achieving operational MEAs and some practitioners dispense with the hot-press stage altogether by using a self-assembled approach. By performing the integration of the components in-situ durin... Read more

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

Lifetime-limiting failure of fuel cell membranes is generally attributed to their chemical and/or mechanical degradation. Although both of these degradation modes occur concurrently during operational duty cycles, their uncoupled investigations can provide useful insights into their individual characteristics and consequential impacts on the overall membrane failure.

X-ray computed tomography is emerging as an advantageous tool for fuel cell failure analysis due to its non-destructive ... 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

Angiosperm-dominated floras of the Late Cretaceous are essential for understanding the evolutionary, ecological, and geographic radiation of flowering plants.

The Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene Deccan Intertrappean Beds of India contain angiosperm-dominated plant fossil assemblages known from multiple localities in central India. Numerous monocots have been documented from these assemblages, providing a window into an important but poorly understood time in their diversification. On... Read more