(Press-News.org)
Electropulsing treatment (EPT) is a state-of-the-art technology for rapidly heating metallic materials. The highly energy-efficient and eco-sufficient process utilizes a pulsed current or ‘electropulse,’ achieving unique effects such as electroplasticity and electropulsing anisotropy. It facilitates fast microstructural evolution in alloys—compared to the conventional furnace heat treatment (FHT) technique—possibly via athermal contributions that go beyond the effects of Joule heating.
Recent efforts by scientists to determine these athermal contributions have focused on direct comparisons between EPT and FHT at the same temperatures. However, such approaches are expected to suffer from significant experimental errors.
In a new study, a team of researchers from Korea, led by Professor Taekyung Lee, a faculty at the School of Mechanical Engineering at Pusan National University and the head of the Metal Design & Mechanics (MEDEM) Lab, has utilized a special “T-shaped” magnesium sample that facilitates the separation of the normal heating effects from the extra, athermal effects of EPT. Their findings were made available online and have been recently published in the Journal of Magnesium and Alloys on 08 December 2025.
Prof. Lee highlights the novelty of their work, “Our innovative T-type specimen methodology separates the current and heat transfer paths within a single specimen subjected to EPT. This pioneering methodology is contrasted by the conventional method that compared two different specimens: one with EPT and the other with FHT at a similar temperature. This traditional methodology possesses lots of inherent limitations. On the other hand, the T-type specimen methodology allows for the independent analysis of thermal and athermal effects of EPT within a single specimen.”
By carefully controlling the electric current in a pre-twinned AZ31 magnesium alloy sample, the team created two regions in the same sample that reached almost the same temperature, but only one region actually carried current. They found that the region carrying current showed enhanced strain-induced boundary migration mechanism, much faster grain growth, twin boundary removal, low-angle grain boundary reduction, dislocation annihilation, and softening than the region heated only by conduction. This proves that EPT can accelerate microstructural changes beyond what can be explained by heat alone.
The researchers verified their results using finite element analysis, which confirmed electric current flow confinement to a single beam and reliably reproduced the curved thermal distribution observed at the beam intersection in the T-type specimen.
Prof. Lee sheds light on the long-term implications of their innovative technology, “Measuring the athermal effect without Joule heat, or thermal effect, in the EPT process has long been a major challenge in academia. The developed methodology can help researchers understand the physical principles governing EPT. It is, therefore, expected to become a core standard measuring technology for advancing high-efficiency and eco-friendly forming techniques—known as electrically-assisted forming—for various metallic materials using electropulses.”
Overall, the T-type specimen approach presented in this study offers a robust framework for separating the thermal and athermal effects of EPT at the macroscale, thus providing an indispensable tool for elaborating their respective roles in EPT-driven microstructures and mechanical properties.
***
Reference
DOI: 10.1016/j.jma.2025.11.017
About Pusan National University
Pusan National University, located in Busan, South Korea, was founded in 1946 and is now the No. 1 national university of South Korea in research and educational competency. The multi-campus university also has other smaller campuses in Yangsan, Miryang, and Ami. The university prides itself on the principles of truth, freedom, and service and has approximately 30,000 students, 1,200 professors, and 750 faculty members. The university comprises 14 colleges (schools) and one independent division, with 103 departments in all.
Website: https://www.pusan.ac.kr/eng/Main.do
About the author
Dr. Taekyung Lee is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Pusan National University and leads the Metal Design & Mechanics (MEDEM) Lab. His group studies advanced metal-forming technologies, including electropulsing treatment, additive manufacturing, and severe plastic deformation, with a focus on physics-based, machine-learning-assisted process optimization. He earned his Ph.D. from POSTECH in 2014, completed postdoctoral training at Northwestern University, and previously served as an assistant professor at Kumamoto University.
END
China has achieved significant advancements in gastroenterology and digestive endoscopy, according to the 2024 national report published in the Chinese Medical Journal. Drawing data from the National Clinical Improvement System (NCIS) and Hospital Quality Monitoring System (HQMS), the study provides a comprehensive overview of care quality and accessibility across 4,620 NCIS and 7,074 HQMS-participating hospitals.
In 2023, hospitals nationwide averaged 37.3 gastroenterology beds, 9.6 gastroenterologists, and 6.7 endoscopists per facility. Tertiary hospitals led ...
Over the past decade, colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as promising materials for next-generation displays due to their tunable emission, high brightness, and compatibility with low-cost solution processing. However, a major challenge is, achieving ultrahigh- resolution patterning without damaging their fragile surface chemistry. Existing methods such as inkjet printing and photolithography-based processes either fall short in resolution or compromise QD performance.
To address this, a research team led by Associate Professor Jeongkyun Roh from the Department of Electrical Engineering, Pusan National University, Republic of Korea, has introduced a universal, photoresist-free, and ...
Researchers have used a cutting-edge robotic system capable of synthesising hundreds of metal complexes to develop a possible antibiotic candidate - offering fresh hope in the global fight against drug-resistant infections.
In a study published in Nature Communications, the researchers synthesised over 700 complex metal compounds in just one week. This rapid screening process identified a promising new iridium-based antibiotic candidate that kills bacteria while remaining non-toxic to human cells.
As bacteria become increasingly resistant to existing treatments, the world faces a silent pandemic. Over one million people die ...
Patients experience significant changes in gut bacteria at the onset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a new international study has found - offering new hope for earlier diagnosis and future treatments.
Published today in Gastroenterology, the study was led by academics from the University of Birmingham and is the first to combine raw microbiome data from multiple studies. The team analysed data from more than 1,700 children and adults across 11 countries who have been recently diagnosed and before starting any treatment.
The ...
SEATTLE, WASH. — DECEMBER 23, 2025 — Scientists have engineered a protein able to record the incoming chemical signals of brain cells (as opposed to just their outgoing signals). These whisper-quiet incoming messages are the release of the neurotransmitter glutamate, which plays a critical role in how brain cells communicate with one another but until now has been extremely difficult to capture.
Why it matters
Understanding the brain’s code: Scientists can now study how neurons compute—how they take thousands of input signals and—based off those—produce an output signal that ...
Memories and learning processes are based on changes in the brain’s neuronal connections and, as a result, in signal transmission between neurons. For the first time, DZNE researchers have observed an associated phenomenon in living brains – specifically in mice. This mechanism concerns the cellular pulse generator for neuronal signals (the “axon initial segment”) and had previously only been documented in cell cultures and in brain samples. A team led by neuroscientist Jan Gründemann reports on this in the ...
NEW YORK, NY -- Dec. 23, 2025 -- Using marijuana just once or twice a month was associated with worse school performance and emotional distress for teens, according to a large national study of adolescents led by Ryan Sultán, an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. The more frequently teens used cannabis, the more likely they were to report emotional distress and other social and academic problems.
“While previous studies have focused on the effects of frequent ...
Healthy, sustainable school meals could cut undernourishment, reduce diet-related deaths and significantly lower environmental impacts, according to a new modelling study led by a UCL (University College London) researcher.
The study is part of a new collection of papers published in Lancet Planetary Health by members of the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition – the independent research initiative of the School Meals Coalition. The papers find that well-designed school meal programmes could be a strategic investment in a healthier, more sustainable future.
Drawing together modelling, case studies and evidence from multiple disciplines, ...
A major review of prior research has found no evidence that menopause hormone therapy either increases or decreases dementia risk in post-menopausal women, in a new study led by University College London (UCL) researchers.
The findings, commissioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, add much-needed clarity to a hotly-debated topic, and reinforce current clinical guidance that menopause hormone therapy, also called hormone replacement therapy or HRT, should be guided by perceived benefits and risks and not for dementia prevention.
The new systematic review and meta-analysis is the most comprehensive and rigorous ...
After traumatic brain injury (TBI), some patients may recover completely, while others retain severe disabilities. Accurately evaluating prognosis is challenging in patients on life-sustaining thery. Though resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) can assess neurological activity shortly after brain injury, it is unknown whether communication across brain regions at this early juncture predicts long-term recovery. Investigators from Mass General Brigham and collaborators in the U.S. and Europe analyzed data from three prospective cohorts comprising 97 patients who underwent rs-fMRI after injury, finding that early communication between three pairs ...
