B16-Test Beamline
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[30528]
Open Access
Abstract: This paper demonstrates a new approach that exploits both lattice strain mapping via Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) and Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) of Computed Tomography (CT) to understand the material response at different length scales in Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) under in-situ loading, a phenomenon of substantial importance for the modelling, design, and certification of composite structures. WAXS gives insight into fibre lattice strain, while DVC provides sub-laminate response in the CFRP. A detailed numerical simulation was also developed to compare with these novel experimental methods. This approach is the first demonstration that the strain within the crystalline regions of the fibre is distinct from the sub-laminate behaviour, with up to 80 % and 36 % differences in the longitudinal and transverse directions, respectively, as a result of the complex microstructure of the fibres. An improved understanding of composite behaviour is fundamental to understanding how strain accommodation leads to structural failure, providing routes to refine part rejection criteria and reduce the environmental impact of this increasingly widespread material class.
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Oct 2025
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I08-1-Soft X-ray Ptychography
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Abstract: The scales of butterflies display a vast array of vivid colors. However, the exact mechanisms behind these colours are not yet fully understood. Butterfly scales consist of intricate nanostructures that in- teract with light through interference, diffraction, and scattering. Additionally, the nanostructures on butterfly scales vary in pigment density across different species.
A combination of 'pigment effects' and ‘structural effects’ gives rise to the vivid colors observed on a butterfly’s wings. Variations in pigment density have been correlated with specific nanostructures. However, the interplay between pigmentation and nanostructures - how they influence each other - remains largely unexplored. Hence, our work aims to perform a detailed examination of the distribution of various matrix components within butterfly scales, leading to a deeper understanding of not only their colour, but also their role in guiding nano- structure growth.
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Jul 2025
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I16-Materials and Magnetism
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[36376]
Open Access
Abstract: We report the results of synchrotron Bragg Coherent X-ray Diffraction Imaging (BCDI) experiments to investigate domain formation in a micron-sized magnetite crystal undergoing the Verwey transition at low temperature. A strong splitting of the measured 311 Bragg reflection was observed in the low-temperature phase, indicating the formation of domains. BCDI revealed pronounced strain distributions, characterized by a clear layered stripe domain structure in real space. Stripes were seen only along the [001] crystallographic direction, normal to the substrate surface direction, breaking the symmetry of the cubic high-temperature phase. It is argued that other domain directions were suppressed by the sample mounting orientation. More surprisingly, only a single domain orientation was observed, suggesting an additional symmetry-breaking influence originating from the shape of the crystal. Gaining insight into how thermal effects induce the formation of layered or striped phases offers a valuable framework for understanding the development of mesoscopic domains and strain patterns in functional materials.
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Jul 2025
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I12-JEEP: Joint Engineering, Environmental and Processing
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Johan
Lindgren
,
Dean R.
Lomax
,
Robert-Zoltán
Szász
,
Miguel
Marx
,
Johan
Revstedt
,
Georg
Göltz
,
Sven
Sachs
,
Randolph G.
De La Garza
,
Miriam
Heingård
,
Martin
Jarenmark
,
Kristina
Ydström
,
Peter
Sjövall
,
Frank
Osbæck
,
Stephen A.
Hall
,
Michiel
Op De Beeck
,
Mats E.
Eriksson
,
Carl
Alwmark
,
Federica
Marone
,
Alexander
Liptak
,
Robert
Atwood
,
Genoveva
Burca
,
Per
Uvdal
,
Per
Persson
,
Dan-Eric
Nilsson
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[33954]
Open Access
Abstract: With their superficially shark-like appearance, the Mesozoic ichthyosaurs provide a classic illustration of major morphological adaptations in an ancestrally terrestrial tetrapod lineage following the invasion of marine habitats1,2,3. Much of what is known about ichthyosaur soft tissues derives from specimens with body outlines4,5,6. However, despite offering insights into aspects of biology that are otherwise difficult to envisage from skeletal evidence alone (such as the presence of a crescentic fluke), information on their soft parts has hitherto been limited to a taxonomically narrow sample of small- to dolphin-sized animals2,4,5,6. Here we report the discovery of a metre-long front flipper of the large-bodied Jurassic ichthyosaur Temnodontosaurus, including unique details of its soft-tissue anatomy. In addition to revealing a wing-like planform, the fossil preserves a serrated trailing edge that is reinforced by novel cartilaginous integumental elements, herein denominated chondroderms. We also document chordwise-parallel skin ornamentations and a protracted fleshy distal tip that presumably acted like a flexible winglet in life. By integrating morphological and numerical data, we show that the observed features probably provided hydroacoustic benefits, and conclude that the visually guided7,8 Temnodontosaurus relied on stealth while hunting in dim-lit pelagic environments. This unexpected combination of control surface modifications represents a previously unrecognized mode of concealment, and underscores the importance of soft-tissue fossils when inferring aspects of palaeoethology and predator–prey palaeoecology.
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Jul 2025
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I18-Microfocus Spectroscopy
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Sarah B.
Gosling
,
Emily L.
Arnold
,
Lois
Adams
,
Paul
Cool
,
Kalotina
Geraki
,
Mark O.
Kitchen
,
Iain D.
Lyburn
,
Keith D.
Rogers
,
Tim
Snow
,
Nick
Stone
,
Charlene E.
Greenwood
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[31847]
Open Access
Abstract: Calcifications across the body offer snapshots of the surrounding ionic environment at the time of their formation. Links between prostate calcification chemistry and cancer are becoming of increasing interest, particularly in identifying biomarkers for disease. This study utilizes X-ray fluorescence mapping of 72 human prostate calcifications, measured at the I18 beamline at the Diamond Light Source, to determine the links between calcifications and their environment. This paper offers the first investigation of the elemental heterogeneity of prostate calcifications, demonstrating lower relative levels of minor elements at the calcification center compared to the edge but higher levels of zinc. Importantly, this study uniquely presents links between average Fe, Cr, Mn, Cu, and Ni ratios and grade Group (a classification system for urological tumors, specifically for prostate cancer), highlighting a potential avenue of exploration for biomarkers in prostate calcifications.
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Jul 2025
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I13-2-Diamond Manchester Imaging
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[33620, 38900, 36899]
Abstract: Hearing loss is a prevalent symptom of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a group of collagen type I-related skeletal disorders, commonly known as brittle bone disease. Clinical manifestation of hearing loss in OI often presents with stapes footplate fixation and hypodense foci in the otic capsule. However, the etiology and evolution of OI-hearing loss and its relation to bone abnormalities are still unknown. This study investigates the onset, severity, and progression of hearing loss in the homozygous oim mouse model of severe OI Type III, which is reported to exhibit hearing loss at 11-12 weeks of age (Chen et al., 2007), using auditory brainstem responses up to 26 weeks of age. We further examine the presence of deformities, microcracks, and fractures of the ossicular chain using synchrotron microtomography. Our results demonstrate that oim/oim mice have normal hearing, regardless of i) their parental lineage, ii) their husbandry in isolation or with other animals, iii) their mastication with powder or chow food, and iv) their anesthesia with single or multiple ketamine injections. Bone abnormalities like excessive formations, fusions, and fractures, were observed in up to 33% of wild-type and up to 43% of oim/oim mice in each group. Among these, joint and bone-tendon abnormalities were twice as frequent in the oim/oim mice compared to the wild-type mice. Notably, these abnormalities did not impact the hearing response in mice. Whether such bone abnormalities occur and alter auditory function in humans with OI remains uncertain.
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Jul 2025
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DIAD-Dual Imaging and Diffraction Beamline
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James
Le Houx
,
Daniel
Mckay Fletcher
,
Alberto
Leonardi
,
Katherine A.
Williams
,
Nancy
Walker
,
Fernando
Alvarez-Borges
,
Ebrahim
Afsar Dizaj
,
Madhu
Murthy
,
Ronan
Smith
,
Liam
Perera
,
Navid
Aslani
,
Andrew
James
,
Sharif
Ahmed
,
Tiina
Roose
,
Siul
Ruiz
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[30961, 32138, 33343]
Open Access
Abstract: Soil compaction and escalating global drought increase soil strength and stiffness. It remains unclear which plant root biomechanical mechanisms/traits enable growth in these harsh conditions. Here, we combine synchrotron X-ray computed tomography with spatially resolved X-ray diffraction to characterize the biomechanics of a replica root-soil system. We map the strain field around the root tip analog, finding strong agreement with finite element simulations, thereby demonstrating a promising new in vivo measurement protocol.
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Jul 2025
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I12-JEEP: Joint Engineering, Environmental and Processing
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[22517]
Open Access
Abstract: Catastrophic failure is the end result of progressive localisation of damage creating brittle failure on a variety of system scales in the Earth. However, the factors controlling this evolution, and the relationship between deformation and the resulting earthquake hazard, are not well constrained. Here we address the question of how to adapt operational controls in a strain-inducing laboratory experiment so as to minimize associated microseismicity. We simultaneously image the induced damage using x-rays at a synchrotron, and detect acoustic emissions which can be fed back to change operational controls on the experiment. We confirm that using continuous servo-control based on acoustic emission event rate not only slows down deformation compared to standard constant strain rate loading, but also suppresses events of all sizes, including extreme events. We develop a new model that explains this observation, based on the observed evolution of microstructural damage and the fracture mechanics of subcritical crack growth. The model is independently consistent with the observed stress history and acoustic emission statistics. Our results imply that including seismic event rate control may improve risk management of induced seismicity over a range of event magnitudes, if similar processes are relevant at larger scales.
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Jun 2025
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I13-2-Diamond Manchester Imaging
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[9809]
Open Access
Abstract: Sublithospheric diamonds and their inclusions are the deepest known samples from the Earth's mantle. Typically, the inclusions are trapped as minerals which are only stable in the deep mantle, retrogressing into multiple phases during their uplift. Determining the bulk inclusion composition is difficult but crucially important. Here we use micron-scale synchrotron X-ray computed tomography alongside μ-Raman mapping to reconstruct primary inclusion compositions of seven former Ti-rich CaSi-perovskite inclusions, which had retrogressed to assemblages of breyite and perovskite. The inclusions display Ti#s (molar Ti/[Ti + Si]), ranging from 0.03 to 0.60. In diamonds with previously reported coexisting inclusions, former bridgmanite coexists with lower Ti# CaSi-perovskite and garnet inclusions with higher Ti# CaSi-perovskite. This observation is consistent with published petrological experiments on mafic compositions suggesting that CaSi-perovskite undergoes a decrease in Ti# after the post-garnet transition. Thus variations in Ti content of CaSi-perovskite inclusions are interpreted as differences in formation pressures.
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Jun 2025
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I12-JEEP: Joint Engineering, Environmental and Processing
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Barbara
Bonechi
,
Emily C.
Bamber
,
Margherita
Polacci
,
F.
Arzilli
,
Giuseppe
La Spina
,
Elisa
Biagioli
,
Jorge E.
Romero
,
Jean-Louis
Hazemann
,
Richard
Brooker
,
Robert
Atwood
,
Mike
Burton
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[31529]
Open Access
Abstract: Investigating the textural properties and 3D geometry of the connected pore network in volcanic products provides insight into magma ascent processes, due to their influence on magma permeability, outgassing efficiency and explosivity. Here, we used X-ray computed microtomography to investigate vesicle textures in tephra from the 2021 Tajogaite eruption (La Palma, Spain) and the relationship between these pore network parameters and eruptive style. We report a 3D dataset of pore network parameters for lapilli clasts collected throughout the eruption, associated with different eruptive styles (ash-rich jets, lava fountains, Strombolian activity). In clasts from Strombolian activity, the lower vesicle number density (VND) and tortuosity factor (m) suggests that there are fewer vesicles and that the channels which connect them are less tortuous than in clasts from fountain and ash-rich jet activity, favouring a lower degree of gas–melt coupling and thus, more efficient outgassing. Instead, for clasts of lava fountain and ash-rich jet activity, the higher VND and m suggest a higher number of vesicles connected by more tortuous channels, promoting some degree of gas–melt coupling and thus, less efficient outgassing. However, in clasts from ash-rich jets, the presence of narrower channels, as suggested by the lower throat-pore size ratio, favours a greater degree of gas–melt coupling with respect to fountain activity, leading to magma fragmentation. This work highlights the importance of textural and pore network analyses in understanding eruption dynamics, and provides a case study for investigating the interplay between pore network parameters, magma permeability and ascent dynamics for low-viscosity magmas.
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Jun 2025
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