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Starch retrogradation is important in controlling many properties of starch-rich foods, while many crucial issues remain to be answered in this field. This review for the first time summarized recent understandings on starch retrogradation property, especially from the kinetics and molecular perspectives. Consecutive reaction kinetics (CR) model was recently proposed to help understand nucleation and crystal growth steps, which are critical in determining the overall retrogradation rate. By applying CR model, relations between starch fine molecular structures and retrogradation property have been revealed. Food ingredients, e.g. sugars, salts, proteins, lipids, polyphenols, and various non-starch polysaccharides, all influence starch retrogradation via different mechanisms. These new insights were comprehensively discussed in this review, aiming to help the development of functional foods with both preferable texture and nutrition property, through a better manipulation of starch retrogradation property during food processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zeolites are widely used in fields such as separation and catalysis due to their unique pore structure. However, the complexity of its crystallization process and growth mechanism presents challenges for the research and exploitation of novel zeolites. In order to achieve the development of new zeolites with specific structures and properties, this study delves into the key factors in zeolite synthesis and dealumination processes, as well as their impact on zeolite synthesis, from the perspective of changes in silicon and aluminum. It was found that selecting silicon and aluminum sources with high activity and high specific surface area could achieve the best dissolution effect, and the suitable alkalinity could help to enhance the solubility and reactivity of silicon and aluminum sources, which in turn could improve the crystallinity and yield of zeolite. Prolonging the crystallization time and increasing the crystallization temperature can accelerate the nucleation and growth of aluminosilicate gel and reduce the anticrystallization phenomenon. In addition, precise control of the pore structure of zeolite can be achieved by controlling the selection of template agents and the conditions of dealumination treatment, thereby improving the application performance of zeolite. In this study, we reveal the deep connection between influence factors, zeolite synthesis, and silicon-aluminum variations, which provides new perspectives and methods for the exploitation and application of novel zeolites. Meanwhile, through a deep understanding of the mechanism of influence factors on zeolite synthesis, it is able to target and regulate the synthesis conditions to achieve the desired zeolite structure and properties, which not only improves the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the synthesis, but also establishes a solid foundation for the further development and wide application of zeolites. Highlights: Clarified the migration and conversion of silica-aluminum in zeolite synthesis Summarized the dealumination of zeolite by different post-treatment methods Coupled synthesis and post-treatment to construct high-silica zeolite with hierarchical pore [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applications of Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS) in the investigation of Fe-Cr alloys are reviewed. A high sensitivity of the hyperfine magnetic field to the presence of Cr atoms in the vicinity of the probe Fe atoms permits quantitative investigation of various aspects related both to the crystallographic as well as to the magnetic phase diagram of this alloy system. Concerning the former, presented is the relevance of MS for determining the borders of the miscibility gap and kinetics of the phase decomposition, distinguishing between nucleation and growth and spinodal decomposition, identifying the sigma-phase, and studying kinetics of its precipitation. Regarding the magnetic phase diagram, MS is useful for determining the Curie, the Néel, and the spin-freezing temperatures, hence studying paramagnetic→ferromagnetic, paramagnetic→antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic→spin-glass transitions. An effect of different heat treatments, strain, and irradiation with various particles on a distribution of Cr atoms in the Fe matrix is demonstrated, too. For α-FeCr alloys, relevance of MS for determining changes in spin and charge densities at Fe-sites induced by neighboring Cr atoms is illustrated, as well as its usefulness in studying changes caused by a high-temperature sulphidation and oxidation. Concerning properties of σ-FeCr alloys, the application of MS for determining the Curie and Debye temperatures is reviewed. Application of MS to study an effect of magnetism on the lattice dynamics of Fe atoms in σ-FeCr is also exemplified. Last but not least, issues pertinent to magnetic texture and mechanical alloying are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-of-the-art numerical models describing the kinetics of aerosol particle nucleation and growth from a cooling vapor primarily use a nodal method, in which particles that are smaller than the critical size are omitted from consideration because they are thermodynamically unfavorable. This omission is based on the assumption that most newly formed particles are above the critical size, so that subcritical-size particles are not important to take into account. Due to the nature of the nodal method, it suffers from numerical diffusion, which can cause an artificial broadening of the cluster size distribution leading to a significant overestimation of the number of large-size particles. To address these issues, we propose a more accurate numerical method that explicitly models particles of all sizes, and uses a special numerical scheme that substantially reduces the numerical diffusion and provides high solution accuracy and numerical stability. We extensively compare this novel method to the commonly used nodal solver of the general dynamic equation (GDE) for particle growth and demonstrate that it offers GDE solutions with higher accuracy with low numerical diffusion. Incorporating small subcritical clusters into the solution is crucial for: 1) more precise determination of the entire particle size distribution function and 2) wider applicability of the model to experimental studies with non-monotonic temperature variations leading to particle evaporation. The computational code implementing this numerical method in Python is available upon request. Copyright © 2024 American Association for Aerosol Research [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It remains controversial as to whether a face-centered cubic (FCC) phase exists in pure titanium (Ti) upon deformation, since the FCC structures in deformed Ti may well be TiHx resulting from the sample preparation process. Here, by using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we uncover direct evidences on the nucleation and growth of FCC-Ti right in front of the crack tip in the α-Ti matrix. Atomic resolution images further reveal that the transformation can be mediated by either partial dislocations on basal planes or shear and atomic shuffle on the FCC1 1 0|HCP1 0 -1 0 interfaces. IMPACT STATEMENT: FCC-Ti's formation in pure α-Ti through deformation is controversial. In situ TEM observed FCC-Ti nucleation and growth in α-Ti matrix near the crack tip and revealed the mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intense laser pulses can be employed to generate plasma, carbon aggregates, and nanoparticles. The plasma produced by ns laser pulses impinging on carbon targets in a vacuum generates carbon vapors, atoms nucleation and growth of nano aggregates. Mass quadrupole spectrometry has permitted to analyze the mass of the carbon atoms and molecules produced in a vacuum by laser-generated plasma, discovering that the fullerene C20 and other small carbon aggregates have a high probability of being produced. In this paper, the conditions of C20 aggregate synthetization are presented, and their yield generation is approximately evaluated. It also calculated the process ablation yield, the maximum carbon energy acquired in the plasma, the plasma temperature and density, the adiabatic plasma expansion velocity, and the carbon ion charge state distributions. To this, measurements of time-of-flight (TOF) of ions have been performed using suitable ion collectors and ion energy analyzers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the order of better understanding the early hydration process and reaction mechanism of CaO-MgO combined expansion agent-involved cement-based systems (CMEA-CBS), CMEA dosage, CaO to MgO ratio (Ca/Mg), MgO activity, hydration temperature, and water-binder ratios (w/b) were chosen as the influencing factor. Accordingly, isothermal calorimetry was implemented to analyze the hydration heat release law, and the Krstulovic–Dabic model was applied to investigate the hydration kinetic. Moreover, the activation energy of CMEA-CBS was calculated. The findings of this study are as follows. The incorporation of CMEA can accelerate the hydration of cementitious systems. Hydration temperature increase markedly promote the hydration reaction of CMEA-CBS. The hydration reaction of CMEA-CBS is a complex associated reaction process dominated by multiple reaction mechanisms in sequence. At both 20 °C and 45 °C, the hydration process of CMEA-involved cement-based systems experienced three stages of crystallization nucleation and crystal growth (NG), phase boundary reaction (I), and diffusion (D), and the hydration mechanism was NG → I → D. However, the hydration of CMEA-CBS at 65 °C switched from the NG stage to the D stage directly. The hydration promotion effect of increasing temperature on I and D process of CMEA-CBS is less than I and D process of pure cement. Compared to the other groups, the temperature increase had the least effect on the early hydration process of 10%-C1M1-M-0.4 with the lowest apparent activation energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional multi-physics model of the effect of process parameters on the evolution of the solid–liquid interface during solidification of large-scale Ti-6 wt% Al-4 wt% V (TC4) alloy by[Ballantyne, 1977 #483] (VAR) and a macroscopic model of grain nucleation and growth was established. The simulation results qualitatively reveal the evolution of solid–liquid interface and central cross-sectional solidification structure under various melting conditions, indicating that the melting zone depth increased while the mushy zone width and the number of grains decreased with the increase of melting power; the depth of the melting zone and the width of the mushy zone increase sharply with the increase in solidification velocity, the average grain radius increased, while the number of grains decreased; when the ingot diameter increased from 260 mm to 660 mm, the depth of the melting zone increased and gradually remained stable, and the width of the mushy zone gradually decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on understanding the impact of sequential ageing on the microstructural evolution of a large-grained structure homogenised cast alloy 625 and its effect on mechanical properties. SEM and TEM analyses of aged samples were conducted to comprehend various precipitation micromechanisms such as (i) nucleation and growth kinetics of γ′′ phase and (ii) transformation of primary carbides and grain boundary phase(s) evolved. The MC-based primary carbides are ascertained to transform into M23C6 secondary carbides following two completely different pathways: (I) MC + γ→ M23C6 + δ (mainly at grain boundary) and (II) MC + γ→M23C6 + γ″ (mainly within matrix). Furthermore, all three variants of γ″ phase are detected to evolve in the matrix displaying a crystallographic orientation of [001]γ″ // < 001>γ, and {100}γ″ // {100}γ. The formation of γ″ phase gradually improves the hardness of the material up to 650 h (224 HV) of ageing with a corresponding average precipitate size of 61 nm. The growth of γ″ particles complies with the Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner (LSW) theory of diffusion-controlled precipitate coarsening during the entire ageing period. Surprisingly, the hardness declined significantly beyond 650 h of ageing, even though the γ″ phase remained coherent with the matrix despite its coarsening (106 nm after 1000 h of ageing) and evidence of γ″→δ (mainly incoherent) transformation is not detectible throughout the ageing treatment. This lowering of hardness is attributed to a non-conventional slip-to-twin transition in the deformation mode of coherent γ″ particles after prolonged ageing, which is confirmed through tensile deformation micromechanisms analysis of the 650 and 1000 h aged samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discontinuous precipitation behaviour and properties of Cu–Ti–Ni alloy during aging precipitation were studied by means of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that β’-Cu4Ti was formed in the matrix during the aging process of Cu–4Ti–1Ni alloy, and the cellular structure grows at the grain boundary in the form of discontinuous precipitation in the middle and late stages of aging, and expands to the interior of the grains with the aging time until the grains were completely covered, then a uniform Cu3Ti structure was formed. In addition, the coverage area of cellular tissue increases with aging time and temperature. Under different aging temperature conditions, the hardness of the alloy increases first and then decreases with the aging time, with a peak value of 319.8 HV and a strength of 782.2 MPa. The electrical conductivity increases rapidly and then increases slowly with aging time, reaching 15.5 IACS after aging at 500°C for 10 h. Based on the Avrami equation, the kinetic analysis of discontinuous precipitation at different temperatures was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reactive crystallisation of ammonium di-uranate (NH4U2O7) from uranyl nitrate (UO2 (NO3)2) and ammonia (NH3) is a key process in the nuclear fuel cycle towards uranium-bearing fuel preparation. However, the process kinetics and mechanism remain poorly understood and the modelling of the reactive crystallisation of NH4U2O7(ADU) is not available. Hence, this work aims to determine the kinetics and mechanisms of the nucleation and growth of ADU through induction time measurements by comparing sonochemical and conventional precipitation methods. Induction was measured as functions of initial supersaturation starting from S = 1.07 to S = 1.875 and in a temperature range of 30 °C to 80 °C. The solubility data of ADU were also found experimentally. The trends in the experimental data suggest that two nucleation mechanisms co-exist: heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation at low and high supersaturations respectively. Due to acoustic cavitation of the ultrasound prompting micromixing, the induction time is markedly reduced in the sonochemical route owing to the reduction of the energy barrier for nucleation. The induction time data were also analysed to calculate the interfacial energy (γ) and other parameters including the radius of the critical nucleus (r*), critical free energy of the nucleus (ΔG*) and nucleation rate (J). Determination of nucleation kinetics gives us insights into the fundamentals of the ADU crystallisation process for control and optimisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The initial structural transformation of Mg-Sm binary alloys on early isothermal aging is investigated by first-principles calculations. There are three typical precipitate structures in this period, namely hexagonal structure, continuous zigzag structure, and discontinuous zigzag structure (˅˄ structure), which are the main transition state structures formed. The formation of clusters is a dynamic process needing to combine vacancy formation and migrations. Among these structures, the lower vacancy formation energy and dilute mixing energy (byproducts of the solute-vacancy binding energy calculation) make hexagonal clusters more possible to form and explain experimental observation of hexagonal structure abundant existing in the matrix, although its formation energy is slightly higher. Furthermore, vacancy-assisted diffusion in doped Mg lattices is calculated using the nudge elastic band method to investigate the kinetics of the cluster formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have presented varied shaped CdSe nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by solution-based one-pot hot injection colloidal method by varying the precursor salt of Cd (i.e., cadmium oxide, cadmium chloride, and cadmium acetate) at an optimized Cd/Se ratio (2:1). CdSe nanoparticles of varied shapes and sizes (5–25 nm) were synthesized by using Butylamine and Octadecene as capping ligands and the nucleation and growth mechanism has been explained using LaMer's diagram. It has been found that Butyl amine owing to its improved capping effect and better surface-traps passivation, aids in emission intensity enhancement of CdSe QD's. The optical properties of the as-synthesized CdSe colloidal NPs have been investigated in terms of quantum confinement effects to reveal their suitability as a pursuing material for UV-LED. Variation in the morphology of CdSe NPs synthesized using different precursor sources leads to changes in the bandgap for its potential application in QD-based LEDs. To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first-hand report on the synthesis of CdSe QD's from varied Cd-precursor sources using butyl amine and octadecene as capping ligands via hot injection technique for UV-LED applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general system of n ordinary differential equations coupled with one reaction-diffusion equation, considered in a bounded N-dimensional domain, with no-flux boundary condition is studied in a context of pattern formation. Such initial boundary value problems may have different types of stationary solutions. In our parallel work [Instability of all regular stationary solutions to reaction-diffusion-ODE systems (2021)], regular (i.e. sufficiently smooth) stationary solutions are shown to exist, however, all of them are unstable. The goal of this work is to construct discontinuous stationary solutions to general reaction-diffusion-ODE systems and to find sufficient conditions for their stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The domain growth to the polar surfaces from the tracks created by focused NIR femtosecond pulses in the bulk of MgO-doped lithium niobate plate has been studied. The tracks have been imaged by optical and Cherenkov-type second harmonic generation microscopy. The domain appearance at the irradiated surface has been attributed to domain nucleation and growth under the action of the pyroelectric field arising during cooling after heating by pulse irradiation. The pyroelectric field produced during the sample cooling has stimulated the domain growth to both polar surfaces. The obtained knowledge can be used for development of the domain engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several flow assurance problems for the energy development in deep-water, the coexistence of wax and hydrate resulting to multi-solid phase deposition is among the most difficult to overcome. The results of an experimental study on the effect of wax content, water cut, subcooling and static time on the CP hydrate-forming mixtures are reported. The droplet distribution at different wax contents is determined by using microscopic observation method. Using dynamic stress measurements method, a correlation between rheological properties and water cut is obtained. Hydrate nucleation, growth, dissociation, and slurry rheological properties, including critical time, growth time, final viscosity, and yield properties are determined. Results indicated that wax inhibit hydrate nucleation and growth, but the viscosity of hydrate slurry in waxy system is still higher than wax-free system due to the wax-hydrate aggregates contribute more to the viscosity of the system. The structure of hydrate slurry containing wax system is more stable and more difficult to be damaged by shear. Wax increases the hydrate slurry yield stress, and this effect is more significant at higher water cut and longer static times. The yield stress of the hydrate slurry was linearly related to the water cut. 35% was the critical water cut. Below the critical water cut, the slurry had better flow ability and less yield stress. Above the critical water cut, the yield stress increased significantly with water cut. The yield stress increased with increasing static time and decreases with increasing temperature. Nevertheless, the coupling effect of temperature with water cut and wax content was complex. Below 3 wt% wax content, temperature only has a significant effect on the yield stress of slurries with 40% and 50% water cut. Above 3 wt% wax content, temperature has a significant effect on the yield stress of all slurries with a 20–50% water cut. No ice formation in the CP hydrate-forming mixtures at −4°C, and the dissociation temperature of the hydrate decreases as the concentration of CP in the oil phase decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a porous medium with rich pore structure, activated carbon (AC) was once considered the best carrier for hydrate storage and transportation. However, the harsh conditions of the hydrate reaction in the wet carbon environment have always limited the sufficient and rapid formation of hydrate. Therefore, the influences of particle size (4–8, 8–16, 20–40 and 100 mesh) and liquid phase saturation (fully/partially saturated) in the sodium dodecyl sulfate system on hydrate reaction were investigated. The results showed that small particle in the fully saturated liquid phase system led to the increase in hydrate generation rate, with the highest hydrate reaction rate of 3.16 mmol/min in the 100 mesh AC layer, which was 1.7–2.9 times higher than other AC layers. The gas storage capability of the 4–8 mesh AC layer with a water saturation of 70% was the highest among all systems, reaching 0.198 mol/mol. The saturation of the liquid phase induced the nucleation and growth of hydrates. Adherently growing hydrates of fully saturated liquid phase systems and mushroom-like hydrates of partially saturated liquid phase systems were found in turn. This research facilitates the commercialization of AC-based hydrate technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common creep damage mode in Type 316 stainless steel under high-temperature power plant conditions is intergranular cavitation. A review of the literature has confirmed that cavitation in Type 316 is controlled by nucleation, which is not fully understood. In order to provide further insights into the physics of this process, existing strain-based empirical and stress-based (classical nucleation theory) nucleation models are modified in this study by considering experimentally-observed features of cavity nucleation in Type 316. The models are employed locally within a newly-developed crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE)-interface element framework. Modelling results suggest that the strain-based model as a function of local inelastic strain rate does not explain the physical nature of the nucleation process as observed experimentally. By contrast, the modified classical nucleation theory is able to capture features of the observed macroscopic failure response and the distribution of cavities in the microstructure. A number of missing features are identified in the mechanistic model, which need to be incorporated in future unified cavity nucleation theories. These findings highlight key aspects of the nucleation process, which need to be examined experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WO3 nanostructures with different morphologies and dimensions were fabricated via solvothermal synthesis by adjusting the stirring time of the precursor solution. Ethanol-based solutions of the WCl6 precursor with various colors (dark green, yellow, white, blue, and blue-black) were prepared, and this triggered a significant change in the growth behavior during the evolution of WO3 nanostructures. Controlling the initial state of the precursors in solution enabled sequential nucleation and growth which resulted in the production of zero-to-three-dimensional nanostructures including nanoparticles, a mixture of nanosheets and nanoparticles, jointed-nanosheets, and three-dimensionally clustered jointed-nanosheets. The crystallographic characteristics (preferred orientation along the (002) plane) and the concentration of surface oxygen vacancies were also controllable, suggesting the formation of nanostructures with tuneable surface reactivity. Differing NO2 sensing performances were observed because of the variation in configurations of the WO3 nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of nanomaterial morphology has been investigated to utilize for the desired application. 1D nanomaterials are ideal for various applications because of their excellent carrier transportability and huge specific surface area. Due to their advantages, various methods have been developed to grow in a specific direction. Herein, we introduced a simple synthesis method of freestanding Zinc hydroxidefluoride (ZnOHF) nanobelt as 1D material without seed or substrate using aqueous solutions. The ZnOHF nanobelt was synthesized using zinc fluoride and hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) at 80°C for 3 h. Even though low synthesis temperature, ZnOHF demonstrated good crystallinity and a homogeneous nanobelt structure. The ZnOHF nanobelts were grown over several μm to <010> direction with less than 100 nm width. In addition, the growth direction of the nanobelt was controlled by the concentration of HMT. The width of the nanobelt was broader by a decrease in HMT concentration. It was considered that crystal nucleation and growth of ZnOHF could be influenced by OH− and NH4+ ions generated from HMT decomposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For modern creep-resistant steels, ductility is primarily controlled by cavitation, since brittle rupture is dominating during long-term service. In recent years, the present authors have formulated fundamental models for nucleation and growth of cavities that have been verified to be able to describe experiments for austenitic stainless steels. These equations, together with models for dislocation creep, are used in this paper to present basic modelling results for the creep ductility of austenitic stainless steels for the first time. New results are also presented for ductile rupture, where the elongation values are mainly governed by plastic instability and necking. The Hart criterion is used to identify the strain where the instability forms. Modelling shows that the instability grows very slowly and that its size is not significant until close to rupture. These facts are used to demonstrate that ductility during ductile rupture can be predicted from necking behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alumina (α-Al2O3) -an advanced ceramic with high mechanical strength, chemical stability and biocompatibility- can be effectively produced via the sol-gel technique. Seeding approach can be an alternative way to further improve the properties of sol-gel derived α-Al2O3 by promoting nucleation and growth. This work concentrates on the chemical/physical, microstructural, and mechanical characteristics of the sol-gel derived and seeded α-Al2O3 powders, and pellets. Seeding was applied by using commercial α-Al2O3 powders with wt.0%, 3%, 6%, and 10% of the precursor. As the seeding agent amount increased, bulk density values of the pellets also increased. However, the highest bulk density increase was observed for the samples heat treated at 1300 °C. Likewise, the compression strength enhanced but the best results were determined for the samples heat treated at 1300 °C. As the heat treatment temperature increased, heterogeneous grain growth occurred depending on the formation of large pores, and this situation reduced the compression strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alumina (α-Al2O3) -an advanced ceramic with high mechanical strength, chemical stability and biocompatibility- can be effectively produced via the sol-gel technique. Seeding approach can be an alternative way to further improve the properties of sol-gel derived α-Al2O3 by promoting nucleation and growth. This work concentrates on the chemical/physical, microstructural, and mechanical characteristics of the sol-gel derived and seeded α-Al2O3 powders, and pellets. Seeding was applied by using commercial α-Al2O3 powders with wt.0%, 3%, 6%, and 10% of the precursor. As the seeding agent amount increased, bulk density values of the pellets also increased. However, the highest bulk density increase was observed for the samples heat treated at 1300 °C. Likewise, the compression strength enhanced but the best results were determined for the samples heat treated at 1300 °C. As the heat treatment temperature increased, heterogeneous grain growth occurred depending on the formation of large pores, and this situation reduced the compression strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work aims to analyze the effect of solution non-ideality on the magnitude of supersaturation of cholesterol (3) for crystallization from its solution in organic solvent (2) using water (1) as antisolvent. Real supersaturation (S) has been computed as the ratio of activities (a3/a3*) at the supersaturated (x3) and saturated (x3*) mole fractions respectively, by multiplying the ideal solution supersaturation (Sx = x3/x3*) with the activity coefficient ratio [γ3/γ3*]. The values of [γ3/γ3*] are estimated using the Pharma Modified UNIFAC model. The x3* data have been measured experimentally in aqueous organic-solvent mixtures at different values of x1 in ethanol at three temperatures (T) in the range of 290.5 to 299.5 K, and in acetone and acetonitrile at 299.5 K. These data have been correlated in terms of x1 and T separately for computation of Sx, [γ3/γ3*], and S. The quantitative impact of solution non-ideality on the sensitivity of S to the variations of x1, x3, [x3/x3*], T and nature of solvent are investigated computationally. It is observed that [γ3/γ3*] is less than 1.0 and is relatively more significant at lower x1 and higher Sx, though it is almost invariant with T and solvent. The value of Sx at 299.5 K is found higher than S by 15% at Sx = 2 and by 162% at Sx = 10. The results clearly establish that it is necessary to include the solution non-ideality in the estimation of solute supersaturation, as otherwise significant errors may result in computing nucleation and growth rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mg–3Al–0.2Ce alloys were subjected to annealing at temperatures ranging from 200 to 450°C for different periods to evaluate the microstructure and texture developments in the alloy. The grain growth exponent of n = 13 and the activation energy for grain growth, Q = 75 kJmol−1 were observed. A large number of precipitates were observed in the samples. They were found to be Mg17Al12, Al8Mn5, Al11Mn4, Al11Ce3, Al3Ce, Al4Ce, Mg17Ce2, Al10Mn7Ce2, Mg2Ce, Mg3Ce, and Mg12Ce, as confirmed by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The precipitates were further found to be dissolved or disappeared with an increase in the temperature of annealing. As a result, the grain boundary mobility was enhanced during annealing at high temperatures and increased the grain growth of the samples. The initial basal texture in the alloy was observed to be tilted (by ∼ 30°) towards the transverse direction of the samples during annealing. Such a texture weakening in the alloy during annealing was attributed to the nucleation and growth of new grains formed in the deformed zone surrounding the precipitates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a sectional moving grid-remapping method for the numerical solution of condensational growth is evaluated. The main novelty of the method is linked with the remapping step, which is based on splitting the particles over all underlying fixed bins, assuming a linear shape for the bin distribution. Extensive comparison with a high resolution TVD (Qamar et al. 2006) and a first order discretization scheme is presented. The method is tested against analytical solutions for pure condensation/evaporation. Further testing is carried out for condensation of sulfuric acid involving a multi-modal distribution. The method is then evaluated for a case of an ideal one-dimensional aerosol reactor, characterized by intense competition of nucleation and growth. The method converges stably and quickly, as the number of bins increases and mitigates numerical diffusion as efficiently as, or even slightly better, than the TVD scheme. The computational cost is comparable to that of the TVD scheme when a Runge-Kutta ODE solver is employed. The number of formed particles is predicted with less than 8 bins/decades. To reproduce all the details of the particle size distribution a higher resolution is needed, mainly due to insufficient density of nodes near the distribution peak. The moving grid-remapping method is independent from convergence conditions. This allows for using a simple explicit time discretization, that reduces the computational cost more than ten times, in the aerosol reactor case. The first order discretization scheme showed extensive numerical diffusion and required more than ten times finer particle size resolution. Copyright © 2022 American Association for Aerosol Research [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, bionanocomposite membranes of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHA) embedded in chitosan (CHI) or carboxymethyl-chitosan (CMC) matrices were chemically crosslinked with epichlorohydrin (ECH) for tuning their physicochemical and biological properties aiming at bone tissue regeneration. The choice of CHI or CMC biopolymer, as well as the presence of ECH crosslinker, affected the nucleation and growth processes of nHA producing average diameters varying from 93 nm to 589 nm and altered the relative stability of the membranes against degradation. In vitro analysis by MTT using SAOS and HEK 293 T cell lineages evidenced preliminary cytocompatibility for the biocomposites investigated. Moreover, in vivo analyses using the Wistar rat model demonstrated that the crosslinking enhanced bone repair processes in up to 55% and 22% compared to the control and non-crosslinked biocomposites, respectively. Chitosan and Carboxymethyl-Chitosan Biocomposites Reinforced with Nanohydroxyapatite: Towards Artificial Bone Substitutes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal fires are widespread in the coal–major producing countries, which causes serious environmental issues due to the high temperature and hazardous gases during coal combustion. Under oxygen–depleted atmospheres, the thermal behaviors and kinetic characteristics during coal combustion at high temperatures were paid more attention by the method of TG–DSC synchronous thermal analysis. The results indicate that the focused weightlessness and heat release processes became scattered under oxygen–depleted atmospheres, and the influence of oxygen concentration obviously increased when it was below 13 vol.%. The mass presented a linear correlation to the quantity of heat release, and the relationship between the mass and quantity of heat release showed stage characteristics with oxygen concentration. Moreover, the kinetic modes transformed from random nucleation and subsequent growth to contractive sphere, and the critical oxygen concentrations are consistent to these of thermal behaviors. These findings are significant for better understanding the characteristics of coal spontaneous combustion at high-temperature and under low-oxygen concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystallization and densification behavior of TiO2 films during heating at below 400°C was studied for sol–gel coatings and the effect of the H2O content in the precursor solutions on the nucleation and crystal growth of anatase at such relatively low temperature was discussed. TiO2 gel films were prepared from Ti(OC3H7i)4:HNO3:H2O:C2H5OH solutions, followed by heating at 200–400°C for 10 min–6 h in air, where the H2O/Ti(OC3H7i)4 mole ratio (x) was varied from 1.0 to 8.0. The degree of crystallization and the crystallite size of the heat-treated TiO2 films were not significantly affected by the H2O content, while the surface structure became denser with an increase in x. The dense TiO2 films of x = 8.0 heated at 300–400°C for 6 h exhibited a refractive index of 2.22–2.25, which was higher than that of x = 1.0 heated at 800°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crankcase of combustion engines is an undesirable source of oil vapor and oily aerosols. The roles of nucleation and growth by vapor condensation in their formation (with and without preexisting nuclei) were investigated both experimentally and by one-dimensional simulation under engine-like conditions using actual engine oil as well as hexadecane. Initial equilibrium saturation levels (at Tsat = 100 °C to 130 °C) were known and well defined; cooling took place in laminar tube flow at a defined rate. Nucleation and growth of preexisting nuclei lead to separate peaks around 0.25 ± 0.1 µm and 0.7 ± 0.2 µm, respectively, that agree remarkably well with actual engine data. The position of the latter peak was quite insensitive to primary nuclei size in the range of 0.04 to 0.2 µm. Increasing either the vapor concentration (via a more volatile oil or higher Tsat) or decreasing the cooling rate lead to slightly larger nucleation peaks (0.15 –> 0.35 µm) but significantly lower peak concentrations (10x). Although counter-intuitive at first, this is explainable by shifts in supersaturation profile during cool-down. Experiment and simulation limit spontaneous nucleation to preexisting nuclei concentrations below about 2 to 5 × 105 cm−3 at engine oil temperatures ≥100 °C. Significant vapor losses to system walls during cool-down are an important factor in an actual engine environment as well as in the lab and must be included for realistic simulations. Losses affect actual number concentrations more than peak location. Copyright © 2021 American Association for Aerosol Research [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure of duplex stainless steels is formed by dendrite growth in the primary ferrite-phase and by subsequent solid-state transformation to the secondary austenite-phase. In this study, formation of austenite by solid-state transformation in duplex stainless steels was evaluated. The nucleation and initial growth of austenite was simulated by the software TC-PRISMA. The formation temperatures of austenite in previous works were corresponding to the calculation obtained by adjusting the interfacial energy. Moreover, the microstructure formation process both in grain boundary and intragranular was simulated using a multi-phase field method (MICRESS software). The growth of austenite was assumed to be under paraequilibrium considering the diffusion control of nitrogen and its morphology was assumed to be an acicular growth. The microstructure morphologies were relatively similar to those obtained by the experiments. The simulation method in this study can analyse complex microstructural morphology as well as predict the composition distributions. This method is considered to be highly effective in designing duplex stainless steels and in evaluating the microstructure morphology in welding process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallic structures operating at high temperatures can have creep as a life-limiting mechanism. The limit can arise by nucleation and growth of creep cavities that eventually merge becoming the leading damage of the fracture mechanisms. Understanding and modelling for creep cavitation can therefore help in prediction of structural safety and condition of such structures. The present paper will introduce a new model to predict creep cavitation damage so that the associated creep strain is also modelled out of the predictive expression without losing accuracy in the time to critical damage and corresponding residual life. The model was verified for OFHC copper, low-alloy 0.5CMV steel and higher-alloy X20 steel, to cover a wide range of polycrystalline metals and their microstructures. The new model performed as well as or better than the classical approach which requires access to measured strain. The model was applied to predict creep cavitation damage from time, stress and temperature as predictive variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modulated crystals of the A2BX4-family, ferroelectric nanodomains and their kinetic behavior are observed in direct space using piezo electric force microscopy under UHV conditions. As a suitable model-system rubidium-doped potassium tetrachlorozincate (K1-xRbx)2ZnCl4) zinc is chosen. After thermal treatment, the well-defined self-organized multisoliton lattice of anti-parallel polarized domains varies slowly and larger domains are formed by the nucleation and growth of topological defects. The observed phenomena confirm earlier computer simulations and are compared with bulk data obtained by diffraction techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most creep rupture is caused by the cavitation at the grain boundary. Hence, it is vitally important to develop a creep cavitation model as it is the prerequisite for the development of the creep cavitation rupture model. Due to the experimental difficulty, it is rare to conduct interrupted creep tests to measure cavity growth. However, cavity histograms were more regularly produced and reported to quantitatively report and record the cavity distribution. This research group originally developed such a concept, method and the procedure to calibrate the cavitation model reversely based on the cavity histogram. This paper reports and summarises the method and procedures for the calibration of the creep cavitation model based on the cavity histogram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomineralization is the process by which biominerals, minerals composed of bioinorganic matter possessing a controlled structure and orientation and a biomacromolecular assembly with an ordered structure that acts as a 3D template, are formed. In this study, we investigated the fabrication of organic/inorganic hybrid gels by bioinspired mineralization in peptide hydrogels. An Ac-(VHVEVS)3-CONH2 peptide was used as a multifunctional template with a mineral source supply capability and structural controllability that facilitates the formation of hydrogels via self-assembly. Hydrogels with varying viscoelastic strengths were prepared from the designed peptide by controlling the concentration of calcium ions added as cross-linking agents. The peptide hydrogel supplied carbonate anions as the mineral source through the hydrolysis of urea and mineralized CaCO3 with controlled morphology on the peptide network. With increases in the concentration of calcium ions added, the morphology of the mineralized CaCO3 changed from a fibrous structure to a thin film. This implies that the nucleation and growth mechanisms of CaCO3 formed by bioinspired mineralization were affected not only by the morphology and supply rate of the mineral source by the peptide network acting as a multifunctional template, but also by the viscoelastic strength of the hydrogel that served as a 3D reaction field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new era of science and technology signifies the control over the size and shape of materials. The size and shape variation plays a crucial role in determining the properties of the material and promises a potential application of these materials. The present study focuses on the fabrication of the most important inorganic biomaterial, namely, calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) (HA) in a nano range having uniform morphology and high surface to volume ratio. HA particles were successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal homogenous precipitation, having whiskers and cubic shaped particle morphology with high crystallinity in size range of 6.1 nm and 9.7 nm, respectively. The morphological features of the particles were further analyzed by Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the structural evolution was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Urea was used as a precipitating agent to raise pH and promote nucleation & rapid growth of HA crystals at low supersaturation. The effect of different reaction parameters on HA particle morphology was also investigated. Aging time showed a sensitive dependence on the morphological features of HA particles, and the pH of a solution had a vital role in the formation of various crystal phases of calcium phosphate, which served as a precursor in HA formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An understanding of nucleation, growth and coalescence of voids is required to predict the spall fracture. We employ molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the effect of temperature on the nucleation and growth of voids in single crystal copper under triaxial loading condition. We find that the void density decreases with an increase in temperature. The nucleation rate of the voids diminishes as temperature increases for the range of 300–1250 K. The individual void volume fraction evolves with discrete jumps due to coalescence events. The overall void volume fraction at 1250 K appears earlier than that at 300 K indicating the failure of the material earlier at higher temperatures. The void dimensions evolve with discrete jumps due to coalescence of the voids. The void dimensions change with the applied temperature. The void size distribution at each applied temperature follows a polynomial function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the literature, the volume of a cluster (i.e. a fluctuation of the solid solution or a precipitate) is identified as the volume of a sample of the bulk precipitate phase containing the same number of solute atoms (i.e. of the same size). This approximation is suitable for macroscopic precipitates but is debatable for a rigorous description of microscopic clusters, especially during the nucleation and growth stages. To go beyond this simplification, this work focuses on the notion of 'exclusion volume', a volume which accounts for real cluster configurations in a given 3D lattice. The exclusion volume normalised by the cluster size is a complex function of the cluster size, which, like the cluster free energy, evolves during precipitation kinetics and converges toward an asymptote in the long-time limit. Furthermore, this asymptote exhibits a bifurcation which clearly separates fluctuations from precipitates, for a cluster size which is found equal to the minimum value of the critical size for nucleation. With the help of Atomistic Kinetic Monte Carlo (AKMC) simulations, it is shown that the evolution of cluster volume during precipitation can be accurately predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many decades, switching of ferroelectric polarization has been considered as a process of nucleation and growth of domains. Due to this mechanism, the switching time is limited from below to nanoseconds. Problems with interfaces and electric circuits even increase this time. In this article, we give brief review of new approach that can breakthrough decrease switching times by using freely propagating electromagnetic pulses. As examples, we show our recent results on ultrafast dynamic polarization switching. At the end, we discuss the reasons why it has not yet been possible to achieve a permanent polarization reversal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a setup for the speckle-free, low-light microscopy imaging at ~5 ns exposure times. The design is based on stroboscopic principle and uses fast and incoherent fluorescent emission from a dye, excited by a picosecond laser pulse. The basic spatial, spectral, and temporal beam properties are characterised, modelled and compared for two different designs of the source: (i) Rhodamine 6 G dye dissolved in ethanol and put in a glass cuvette, and (ii) random laser based on the dispersion of 300 nm TiO2 nanospheres in an ethanol solution of Rhodamine 6 G dye. The proposed solution of Rhodamine 6 G dye in ethanol put in a glass cuvette gives an excellent image quality with high contrast, excellent stability and tunable coherence. It delivers ~30 nJ of completely incoherent light per excitation laser pulse energy of ~40 μJ. It allows for the photographic measurements with 5 ns exposure time, demonstrated in imaging of thermally quenched 5CB liquid crystal. The set-up is used in studies of Kibble-Zurek mechanism of topological defect nucleation and growth at sub-microsecond time resolution and extremely fast cooling rates of ~40,000 K/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of deformation before aging on discontinuous precipitation in Cu–4.75wt%Ni–1.13wt%Si and Cu–6wt%Ni–1.42wt%Si alloys after solution treatment was investigated. Two kinds of deformation, one under and the other over the uniform deformation limit were implemented after solution treatment. With increasing deformation strain in both alloys, the discontinuous precipitation is accelerated and the aging time for a fully covered region by discontinuous precipitation is shortened. However, the Cu–6wt%Ni–1.42wt%Si alloy deformed under the uniform deformation limits showed an enhanced discontinuous precipitation compared to that for the alloy deformed over the uniform deformation limit. The deformation defects including dislocations and shear bands play the role of encouraging discontinuous precipitation. The shear bands formed during prior deformation beyond the necking point could provide sites for discontinuous precipitation initiation in the early stages of annealing However, shear bands tend to hinder the advance of discontinuous precipitation with further aging in the Cu–Ni–Si alloy with a high content of Ni and Si. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymeric latexes are commonly used in cement-based plastering and rendering works. This paper assesses the effect of recycled polymers obtained from waste latex paints (WLPs) on flowability and mechanical properties of masonry cement (MC) mortars, including whether such performance would be similar to that induced by virgin polymers. Three MC classes prepared with different cement-to-limestone ratios are produced in compliance to relevant EN 413-1 and ASTM C91 specifications. The WLPs were not obtained from waste collection sites, rather produced to monitor constituents and properties prior to use. Test results showed that water retention and rheological properties of mortars containing virgin or recycled polymers are remarkably higher than unmodified mixtures. The mechanical properties of WLP-modified mortars including compression, flexure, and pull-off adhesion strength were pretty similar, or even higher than equivalent mixtures containing virgin polymers. This was attributed the presence of ultrafine pigment and extender particles that improve packing density and infer nucleation benefits for the growth of additional hydrates. The dry curing regime applied for virgin and recycled polymer-modified mortars is particularly advantageous in construction sites, as this reduces the hassle of moist curing normally required for unmodified plasters while securing higher resistance against sorptivity and shrinkage cracks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many engineering materials of interest are polycrystals: an aggregate of many crystals with size usually below 100 μm. Those small crystals are called the grains of the polycrystal, and are often equiaxed. However, because of processing, the grain shape may become anisotropic; for instance, during recrystallization or phase transformations, the new grains may grow in the form of ellipsoids. Heavily anisotropic grains may result from a process, such as rolling, and they may have most of their interfacial area parallel to the rolling plane. Therefore, to a first approximation, these heavily deformed grains may be approximated by random parallel planes; as a consequence, the nucleation process may be assumed to take place on random parallel planes. The case of nucleation on random parallel planes and subsequent ellipsoidal growth is also possible. In this paper we model such situations employing time dependent germ grain processes with ellipsoidal growth. We provide explicit formulas for the mean volume and surface densities and related quantities. The known results for the spherical growth follow here as a particular case. Although this work has been done bearing applications to Materials Science in mind, the results obtained here may be applied to nucleation and growth reactions in general. Moreover, a generalization of the so called mean value property, crucial in finding explicit analytical formulas in the paper, is also provided as a further result in the Appendix A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article challenges the tendency, in some accounts of ubuntu, to develop a monolithic narrative anchored on a fixed point of reference which I call nucleus. I refer to the discourse arising from these explanations as 'nucleated ubuntu' and to the processes which enable such a discourse as nucleation. My focus is on three related ways in which ubuntu discourse is burdened with a nucleus. The first is the grafting of the aphorism umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu into ubuntu talk. I argue that regardless of intentions, nucleated ubuntu has reached its conceptual ceiling owing to the failure or refusal to imagine the discourse via other pockets of African knowledge. The second focuses on the singular interpretation of the proverb, which keeps returning to the notion of harmony despite the absence of incontrovertible semantic prosodies of harmony in the proverb. This interpretation is entangled with Hendrik Verwoerd's regard of Apartheid as 'good neighbourliness'. The third, building from the second, is the status of ubuntu's others in the popular aphorism. I refer to 'ubuntu's others' as opposed to 'umuntu's others' because these others are required by a discourse seeking to redefine African ethics. I propose that it is the rediscovery of ubuntu which is significantly in need of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase transformation is an important deformation and blunting mechanism at the crack tip of body-centered cubic (BCC) metals. The BCC-to-face-centered orthogonal (FCO) transformation was only predicted by ab initio calculations. In this paper, the deformation behavior of the nano-sized single-crystalline Mo is in situ investigated in a high-resolution transmission electron microscope at room temperature. We uncover the strain-induced BCC-to-FCO phase transformation. The FCO Mo grows in a layer-by-layer fashion. It is a metastable phase after stress releasing, as confirmed by our ab initio calculation. The BCC-to-FCO phase transformation is realized via lattice shearing and shuffling. This paper provides direct in situ atomic-scale evidence of BCC–FCO phase transformation, which has never reported on the experimental level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of heat treatment time and temperature on the crystallization of the feldspathic glass-ceramics produced from frit powders were investigated. Two-step heat treatment processes (nucleation and crystal growth) were applied to produce glass-ceramics. In both stages, the samples were heated at different soaking temperatures and times. Tetragonal leucite crystal nucleation and growth processes were followed by XRD, SEM and dilatometer techniques. Depending on first step heat treatment temperature and soaking time the crystallization gradually increases with increasing time and temperature. The second step heat treatment soaking times showed significant change in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the glass ceramic samples. Biaxial flexural strength (σ) of the samples slightly increases with increasing the 2nd step soak time and all results are above the required standard value of 100 MPa for the monolithic ceramic for single-unit anterior on dental restorations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports on new particle formation (NPF) and characteristic features observed from a rural site falling in the rainshadow of the Western Ghats in peninsular India. A total of 35 NPF events observed during August 2018 - January 2019 are classified and analyzed here. The apparent formation rates ranged from 0.2 to 10.0 cm–3 s–1, while the growth rates of nucleation mode particles ranged from 1.2 to 13.8 nm h–1. The frequency of occurrence was least during August (core monsoon) and highest during post-monsoon. The local winds were calm and southeasterly to easterly (from the urban centre) supplying the essential precursor gases during October and November, leading to a frequent occurrence of nucleation events. Observations suggest that an increased condensation sink could limit the NPF while promoting Aitken mode growth. The newly formed particles accounted for about 10–80% of the total aerosol concentration. These newly formed particles were able to act as cloud condensation nuclei after growing to approximately 50 nm with an average activation fraction of 0.4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavior of Ag/Au/Cu nanoparticles dispersed on Si substrates during heat treatment was studied by molecular dynamics in this paper. Whether for the thermal welding of homogeneous metal nanoparticles or heterogeneous metal nanoparticles, it was found that the fundamental reason for the contact between the surface of metal nanoparticles is the electron exchange, which reduces the energy of the system and leads to welding contact, then the atoms migrate toward the interior of nanoparticles through nucleation and growth process, resulting in the decrease of the porosity and the shrinkage of the sample. At the same time, the simulation results show that when the applied temperature rises to a certain extent, the adjacent nanoparticles may condense into isolated structures under their own surface tension and stress, as well as the adhesion of the substrate, which will make the conductive structure discontinuous. However, by adjusting the size and proportion of Ag/Au/Cu metal nanoparticles, besides saving the cost of printing circuits, the conductive structure can be more continuous and the conductivity can be enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of fatigue damage in metallic materials is a complex process influenced by both intrinsic (e.g. texture, defects) and extrinsic (e.g. loading mode, frequency) factors. To better understand this process, some efforts have been made to develop microstructure-sensitive models that consider the impact of microstructural heterogeneities on the formation of fatigue cracks. An important limitation of such models is their inability to describe the transition between the nucleation and growth stages in a consistent thermodynamic framework. To circumvent this limitation, a constitutive model, which is appropriate for the description of both nucleation and early growth, is proposed. For this purpose, non-local damage mechanics is used to construct a set of constitutive relations that explicitly considers the progressive stiffness reduction due to the formation of fatigue cracks. Specifically, a damage variable is attached to each slip system, which allows considering both the anisotropic aspect of fatigue damage and closure effects. The spatial gradients of the damage variables are treated as additional state variables to account for the increase of surface energy associated with the formation of fatigue cracks. For the evolution equations to be compatible with the second law of thermodynamics, a modified form of the entropy production inequality is adopted. For illustration purposes, the non-local damage model is implemented in a spectral solver. Some numerical examples are then presented. These examples allow discussing the ability of the proposed model to describe the impact of loading conditions and pre-existing defects on the fatigue behaviour of metallic polycrystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports (1) an application of the modified hyperbolic sine law to P92 for the minimum creep strain rate over a wider range of stress level, and 2) the calibration of the creep cavity fracture model and its applications to such as P92, E911 and MARBN alloys. It was motivated by the original development of creep cavitation based creep rupture model and application to other alloys, and the need of creep strain and stress relation over a wider range of stress. The results include: (1) the calibration of creep cavity fracture model for E911, and the pre-required cavity nucleation and growth models, for E911, (2) the creep lifetime and stress relation coefficient U' for P92, and (3) the relationship of the cavity nucleation rate coefficient A2 and stress level for MARBN cross-welds. This paper contributes to the specific knowledge and the methodology. It anticipates that this methodology will find its value and application in modelling other fractures such as ductile and fatigue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]