Related papers: Wetting Properties of Grain Boundaries in Solid He…
We study the coupled surface and grain boundary motion in a bicrystal in the context of the "quarter loop" geometry. Two types of physics motions are involved in this model: motion by mean curvature and motion by surface diffusion. The goal…
Observing and characterizing the complex ordering phenomena of liquid crystals subjected to external constraints constitutes an ongoing challenge for chemists and physicists alike. To elucidate the delicate balance appearing when the…
We present ground-based 2.1 to 4.2 microns observations of four low-mass protostars. We searched for the 4.1 microns OD stretch band, characteristic of solid HDO in grain mantles. We did not detect solid HDO in any of the four sources, but…
We investigate the diffusion of a grain boundary in a crystalline material. We consider in particular the case of a regularly spaced low-angle grain boundary schematized as an array of dislocations that interact with each other through…
It is a conventional wisdom that symmetry breakdown at grain boundaries in crystals introduces volume expansion and there has been no confirmed evidence of volume contraction at a grain boundary in any kind of crystals. We report surprising…
The wetting properties of graphene have proven controversial and difficult to assess. The presence of a graphene layer on top of a substrate does not significantly change the wetting properties of the solid substrate, suggesting that a…
We present the results of first-principles calculations of selected structural and thermodynamic properties of a set of grain boundaries (GBs) in zirconium, spanning a range of misorientation angles and boundary planes. We performed…
We report a first-principles density functional theory study on the role of grain boundary and dislocation loop in H blistering in W. At low temperature, the {\Sugma}3(111) tilt grain boundary, when combined with a vacancy of vanishing…
Recent heat-capacity experiments show quite unambiguously the existence of a liquid $^3$He phase adsorbed on graphite. This liquid is stable at an extremely low density, possibly one of the lowest found in Nature. Previous theoretical…
The mechanical properties of granular materials change significantly in the presence of a wetting liquid which creates capillary bridges between the particles. Here we demonstrate, using X-ray tomographies of dry and wet sphere packings,…
We present a new model of surface transport in premelted films that is applicable to a wide range of materials close to their melting point. We illustrate its use by applying it to the evolution of a grain boundary groove in a high vapour…
We theoretically investigate the apparent contact angle and contact angle hysteresis of a droplet placed on a liquid infused surface. We show that the apparent contact angle is not uniquely defined by material parameters, but also has a…
In this thesis we have used Quantum Monte Carlo techniques to study two systems that can be regarded as the archetype for neutral strongly interacting systems: 4He, and its fermionic counterpart 3He.More specifically, we have used the Path…
Low temperature structural and superfluid properties of $^4$He confined in cylindrical nanopores are theoretically investigated by means of first principle Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations. We vary the density of $^4$He inside the…
We investigate experimentally the impact of heterogeneity on the capillary pressure hysteresis in fluid invasion of model porous media. We focus on `symmetric' heterogeneity, where the contact angles the fluid interface makes with the…
The wetting and filling properties of a fluid adsorbed on a solid grooved substrate are studied by means of a microscopic density functional theory. The grooved substrates are modelled using a solid slab, interacting with the fluid…
Motivated by the need to understand the role of internal interfaces in Li migration occurring in Li-ion batteries, a first principles study of a coincident site lattice grain boundary in LiFePO4 cathode material and in its delithiated…
The adhesion of a lipid membrane vesicle to a fixed substrate is examined from a geometrical point of view. This vesicle is described by the Helfrich hamiltonian quadratic in mean curvature; it interacts by contact with the substrate, with…
We model two-dimensional systems of granular aggregates confined between two planes and demonstrate that at a critical grain volume fraction an abrupt rigidity transition occurs. This transition is observed both in static and shear tests.…
Using mesoscopic interfacial models and microscopic density functional theory we study fluid adsorption at a dry wall decorated with three completely wet stripes of width $L$ separated by distances $D_1$ and $D_2$. The stripes interact with…