Advanced EBSD pattern simulation to extract grain boundary variation with changing synthesis pressures – crossing disciplines from Materials to Earth science.
Grain boundaries affect many properties of polycrystalline materials, such as electrical conductivity, melting or element segregation and thus storage. In the Earth deep interior, grain size is inferred from attenuation of seismic signals. The seismic quality factor (Q) is a measure of the anelastic energy loss of seismic waves; low Q-values correlate with high energy loss (dissipation), associated with decreasing grain size, increasing dislocation densities or presence of melt. Here we investigate the effect of sintering pressure on grain boundary strength caused by grain boundary structure. Samples are synthesized at pressures between 1 and 10 GPa.
The student will work on the simulation of EBSD pattern and dictionary indexing. They will be provided with a huge data set of EBSD data obtained from samples synthesized at pressures between 1-10 GPa. The goal is to evaluate if the grain boundary plane distribution (GBPD) changes in correlation to the change in other properties of these samples. A 3D stereology approach will be used to extract the respective information. The student has the chance to work with cutting edge EBSD simulation/evaluation software (dictionary indexing, OIM, stereology). The ideal candidate has some experience/interest in crystallography and is keen to think and work with crystal symmetries and microstructures.
