Welcome to the Amira-Avizo Software Use Case Gallery

Below you will find a collection of use cases of our 3D data visualization and analysis software. These use cases include scientific publications, articles, papers, posters, presentations or even videos that show how Amira-Avizo Software is used to address various scientific and industrial research topics.

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Improving microstructural quantification in FIB/SEM nanotomography

Improving microstructural quantification in FIB/SEM nanotomography

Advanced nanotomographic analysis is still far from routine, and a number of challenges remain in data acquisition and post-processing. In this work, we present a number of techniques to improve the quality of the acquired data, together with easy-to-implement methods to obtain “advanced” microstructural quantifications. The techniques are applied to a solid oxide fuel cell cathode of interest to the electrochemistry community, but the methodologies are easily adaptable to a wide range of... Read more

Joshua A.Taillon, Christopher Pellegrinelli, Yi-Lin Huang, Eric D.Wachsman, Lourdes G. Salamanca-Riba

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In Situ Synthesized La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ–Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95 Nanocomposite Cathodes via a Modified Sol–Gel Process for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

In Situ Synthesized La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ–Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95 Nanocomposite Cathodes via a Modified Sol–Gel Process for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Composite cathodes comprising nanoscale
powders are expected to impart with high specific surface
area and triple phase boundary (TPB) density, which will lead
to better performance.

However, uniformly mixing nanosized heterophase powders remains a challenge due to their high surface energy and thus ease with which they agglomerate into their individual phases during the mixing and sintering
processes. In this study, we successfully synthesized La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe... Read more

Dong Woo Joh, Areum Cha, Jeong Hwa Park, Kyeong Joon Kim, Kyung Taek Bae, Doyeub Kim, Young Ki Choi, Hyegsoon An, Ji Su Shin, Kyung Joong Yoon, and Kang Taek Lee

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Three-dimensional thermal stress analysis of the re-oxidized Ni-YSZ anode functional layer in solid oxide fuel cells

Three-dimensional thermal stress analysis of the re-oxidized Ni-YSZ anode functional layer in solid oxide fuel cells

Nickel-yttria-stabilized zirconia (Ni-YSZ) cermet is widely used as an anode material in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs); however, Ni re-oxidation causes critical problems due to volume expansion, which causes high thermal stress. We fabricated a Ni-YSZ anode functional layer (AFL), which is an essential component in high-performance SOFCs, and re-oxidized it to investigate the related three-dimensional (3D) microstructural and thermo-mechanical effects. A 3D model of the re-oxidized AFL ... Read more

Jun Woo Kim, Kiho Bae, Hyun Joong Kim, Ji-won Son, Namkeun Kim, Stefan Stenfelt, Fritz B. Prinz, Joon Hyung Shim

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A three-dimensional heterogeneity analysis of electrochemical energy conversion in SOFC anodes using electron nanotomography and mathematical modeling

A three-dimensional heterogeneity analysis of electrochemical energy conversion in SOFC anodes using electron nanotomography and mathematical modeling

In this paper a fully three dimensional, multiphase, micro-scale solid oxide fuel cellanode transport phenomena numerical model is proposed and verified. The Butler-Volmer model was combined with empirical relations for conductivity and diffusivity – notably the Fuller-Shetler-Giddings equation, and the Fickian modelfor transport of gas reagents. FIB-SEM tomography of a commercial SOFC stack anode was performed and the resulting images were processed to acquire input data. ... Read more

Tomasz A. Prokop, Katarzyna Berent, Hiroshi Iwai, Janusz S.Szmyd, Grzegorz Brus

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High performance anode with dendritic porous structure for low temperature solid oxide fuel cells

High performance anode with dendritic porous structure for low temperature solid oxide fuel cells

A dendritic porous supported microstructure simultaneously creates small pore size and broad gas diffusion pathways in a solid oxide fuel cell anode membrane. This microstructure also achieves pore sizes that reduce with increasing depth within the membrane without increasing the structure tortuosity. Such a microstructure supplies high triple phase boundary density, fast gas diffusion and low polarization resistance. Here we characterise the performance of a porous anode with such a dendriti... Read more

Xin Shao, William D.A. Rickard, Dehua Dong, Huu Dang , Martin Saunders, Aaron Dodd, Gordon Parkinson, Chun-Zhu Li

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A numerical analysis of unsteady transport phenomena in a Direct Internal Reforming Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

A numerical analysis of unsteady transport phenomena in a Direct Internal Reforming Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Growing popularity and rapid development of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) stem for their potential to become a gamechanger in the field of clean power generation technologies.

In this paper, a transient microstructure-oriented numerical simulation of a planar Direct Internal Reforming Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (DIR-SOFC) is delivered. The performance criteria in a direct steam reforming for a fuel starvation scenario are analyzed in order to optimize the underlying process. The proposed t... Read more

Maciej Chalusiak, Michal Wrobel, Marcin Mozdzierz, Katarzyna Berent, Janusz S. Szmyd, Shinji Kimijima, Grzegorz Brus

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Mesoscale characterization of local property distributions in heterogeneous electrodes

Mesoscale characterization of local property distributions in heterogeneous electrodes

The performance of electrochemical devices depends on the three-dimensional (3D) distributions of microstructural features in their electrodes. Several mature methods exist to characterize 3D microstructures over the microscale (tens of microns), which are useful in understanding homogeneous electrodes. However, methods that capture mesoscale (hundreds of microns) volumes at appropriate resolution (tens of nm) are lacking, though they are needed to understand more common, less ideal electrode... Read more

Tim Hsu, William K. Epting, Rubayyat Mahbub, Noel T. Nuhfer, Sudip Bhattachary, Yinkai Lei, Herbert M. Miller, Paul R. Ohodnicki, Kirk R. Gerdes, Harry W. Abernathy, Gregory A. Hackett, Anthony D. Rollett, Marc De Graef, Shawn Litster, Paul A. Salvador

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An Anisotropic Microstructure Evolution in a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Anode

An Anisotropic Microstructure Evolution in a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Anode

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an electrochemical device that converts the chemical energy of hydrogen directly into electricity. A single cell usually has a form of a flat plate in which an impervious and dense ion-conducting electrolyte is sandwiched between two porous catalytic electrodes: an anode and a cathode. Fuel is fed to the anode side, and the air is supplied to the cathode. The gasses cannot mix to avoid unproductive combustion. Instead, gasses hit catalyst material, lose their... Read more

Grzegorz Brus, Hiroshi Iwai, Janusz S. Szmyd

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Evaluating microstructure evolution in an SOFC electrode using digital volume correlation

Evaluating microstructure evolution in an SOFC electrode using digital volume correlation

Degradation mechanisms within solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) during thermal cycling limit operational start-up times and cell lifetime, and must therefore be better understood and mitigated. This work explores such mechanisms using digital volume correlation (DVC) techniques applied to lab-based X-ray tomograms where the microstructural evolution is evaluated during the operational cycling of a Ni–YSZ/YSZ cell. To emulate reduced start-up times, five tomograms were collected over four operat... Read more

T. M. M. Heenan, X. Lu,, D. P. Finegan,, J. Robinson, F. Iacoviello, J. J. Bailey, D. J. L. Brett and P. R. Shearing

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A novel approach for the quantification of inhomogeneous 3D current distribution in fuel cell electrodes

A novel approach for the quantification of inhomogeneous 3D current distribution in fuel cell electrodes

The electrode microstructural properties significantly influence the efficiency and durability of many electrochemical devices including solid oxide fuel cells. Despite the possibility of simulating the electrochemical phenomena within real three-dimensional microstructures, the potential of such 3D microstructural information has not yet been fully exploited. We introduce here a completely new methodology for the advanced characterization of inhomogeneous current distribution base... Read more

A.Bertei, V.Yufit, F.Tariq, N.P.Brandon

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The Application of Hierarchical Structures in Energy Devices: New Insights into the Design of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Enhanced Mass Transport

The Application of Hierarchical Structures in Energy Devices: New Insights into the Design of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Enhanced Mass Transport

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

Xuekun Lu, Tao Li, Antonio Bertei, Jason I S Cho , Thomas M.M. Heenan , Rabuni Mohamad, Kang Li, Dan JL Brett, Paul R Shearing

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Correlation between triple phase boundary and the microstructure of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell anodes

Correlation between triple phase boundary and the microstructure of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell anodes

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.

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Xuekun Lu, Thomas M.M. Heenan, Josh J. Bailey, Tao Li, Kang Li, Daniel J.L. Brett, Paul R. Shearing, Electrochemical Innovation Lab, Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London, London

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The fractal nature of the three-phase boundary: A heuristic approach to the degradation of nanostructured solid oxide fuel cell anodes

The fractal nature of the three-phase boundary: A heuristic approach to the degradation of nanostructured solid oxide fuel cell anodes

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. Bertei, E. Ruiz-Trejo, K. Kareh, V. Yufit, X. Wang, F. Tariq, N.P. Brandon,

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New Method for the Deposition of Nickel Oxide in Porous Scaffolds for Electrodes in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers

New Method for the Deposition of Nickel Oxide in Porous Scaffolds for Electrodes in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers

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

Dr. Enrique Ruiz‐Trejo, Milla Puolamaa, Brian Sum, Dr. Farid Tariq, Dr. Vladimir Yufit, Prof. Nigel P. Brandon

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Quantification of the degradation of Ni-YSZ anodes upon redox cycling

Quantification of the degradation of Ni-YSZ anodes upon redox cycling

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

Bowen Song, Enrique Ruiz-Trejo, Antonio Bertei, Nigel P.Brandon

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Multi-length scale tomography for the determination and optimization of the effective microstructural properties in novel hierarchical solid oxide fuel cell anodes

Multi-length scale tomography for the determination and optimization of the effective microstructural properties in novel hierarchical solid oxide fuel cell anodes

Our parametric study shows that increasing the porosity in the spongy layer beyond 10% enhances the effective transport parameters of the spongy layer at an exponential rate, but linearly for the full anode. For the first time, local and global mass transport properties are correlated to the microstructure, which is of wide interest for rationalizing the design optimization of SOFC electrodes and more generally for hierarchical materials in batteries and membranes.

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Xuekun Lu, Oluwadamilola O. Taiwo, Antonio Bertei, Tao Li, Kang Li, Dan J.L. Brett, Paul R.Shearing

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