Hierarchical Model for the Analysis of Scattering Data of Complex Materials

Journal Article · Mon May 16 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · JOM. Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-016-1928-8· OSTI ID:1324054

Oyedele, Akinola ^[1]; Mcnutt, Nicholas W. ^[2]; Rios, Orlando  ^[3]; Keffer, David J.  ^[4]

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1. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education
2. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Materials Science & Technology Division
4. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering

Interpreting the results of scattering data for complex materials with a hierarchical structure in which at least one phase is amorphous presents a significant challenge. Often the interpretation relies on the use of large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, in which a structure is hypothesized and from which a radial distribution function (RDF) can be extracted and directly compared against an experimental RDF. This computationally intensive approach presents a bottleneck in the efficient characterization of the atomic structure of new materials. Here, we propose and demonstrate an approach for a hierarchical decomposition of the RDF in which MD simulations are replaced by a combination of tractable models and theory at the atomic scale and the mesoscale, which when combined yield the RDF. We apply the procedure to a carbon composite, in which graphitic nanocrystallites are distributed in an amorphous domain. We compare the model with the RDF from both MD simulation and neutron scattering data. Ultimately, this procedure is applicable for understanding the fundamental processing-structure-property relationships in complex magnetic materials.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Critical Materials Institute (CMI)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725; DGE-0801470
• OSTI ID: 1324054
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1399440
• Journal Information: JOM. Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, Vol. 68, Issue 6; ISSN 1047-4838
• Publisher: Springer
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE