Effect of hydrostatic pressure on phase transitions and microstructures in polycrystalline materials

Speaker:  Sebastien Merkel, Univ. Lille, France

Program Description:
The properties of matter and materials are strongly affected by common thermodynamic variables such pressure and temperature. Here, I will highlight how recent advances in high pressure experiments and in-situ characterisation using X-ray diffraction can provide new insights on phase transitions and microstructures in polycrystalline materials.

In the first part of the talk, I will focus on mechanical properties of zinc and show how the in-situ study of strain and textures in plastically deformed zinc up to 15 GPa can inform us on mechanical twinning in hcp metals and how it is affected by pressure.

In the second part of the talk, I will focus on phase transitions in oxides and how in-situ multigrain x-ray diffraction can help us understand how microstructures (i.e. grain sizes and orientations) are affected by pressure-induced structural transitions.