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Map of Japan (Honshu is the main island) showing the location of the provinces where the five Koto age sword-making traditions were originated (left) and the location of the ancient iron ore mines (right).
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Japanese blades have always been considered very interesting objects, both from the stylistic point of view and their peculiar performances. It is amazing how the test and try process with a semi-empirical approach which lead to the optimization of Japanese blades, an almost ideal tool, is yet to be fully understood. In this work, we present result...
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... Shogunal capital in Kamakura (Soshu tradition), or developed in geographic areas that were rich in iron ore, like the southwest and the centre region of Honshu island, giving rise to the Bizen and Mino traditions, respectively. A map showing the place of origin of the various traditions and the localization of the iron ore locations is shown in Fig. 1. At any rate, it is known that schools related to different traditions might co-exist in the same ...
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... measured values, obtained for the 8 blade fragments, are shown in Fig. 10. Among the various samples, we see that some View Online blades were poorly worked while others show a higher value of the texture index, thus indicating a higher amount of folding and ...
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... Additionally, the residual strain profile was obtained from the ENGIN-X diffractometer data along three specific directions of the blades (please note that only samples L9 and L10 have been investigated): namely axial (A: from the tang towards the tip), transversal (T: from the ridge towards the edge) and normal (N: from one side to the other). Fig. 11 shows the measured strain mapping of two different cross sections on the two blades. The structural differences of the forging methods are self-evident, since the minimum and maximum of the distribution is very different in the two ...
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... reference point, to calculate the distribution of the residual strain, has been chosen in the core of the tang, which is the part we assume has been submitted to the least amount of thermal and mechanical actions. The results are shown in false colour maps on the blade cross sections (Fig. 11) and as graphs along the edge and the ridge of the two blades (Fig. 12). A preliminary account of these results has been already given in ref. 12. Here we present a direct comparison of the cross sections of the two swords taken at 1/4 (lower half) and 1/2 of the blade length and the strain profiles along the ridge. The measured cross ...
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... point, to calculate the distribution of the residual strain, has been chosen in the core of the tang, which is the part we assume has been submitted to the least amount of thermal and mechanical actions. The results are shown in false colour maps on the blade cross sections (Fig. 11) and as graphs along the edge and the ridge of the two blades (Fig. 12). A preliminary account of these results has been already given in ref. 12. Here we present a direct comparison of the cross sections of the two swords taken at 1/4 (lower half) and 1/2 of the blade length and the strain profiles along the ridge. The measured cross sections of the Mino and Bizen blades are shown in Fig. ...
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... of the two blades (Fig. 12). A preliminary account of these results has been already given in ref. 12. Here we present a direct comparison of the cross sections of the two swords taken at 1/4 (lower half) and 1/2 of the blade length and the strain profiles along the ridge. The measured cross sections of the Mino and Bizen blades are shown in Fig. ...
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... as a valid characteristic of a blade, a more thorough explanation of this phenomenon needs a modelling of the thermal flux during the quenching. 22,23 The strain distribution in the ridge of the two blades is almost negligible for transversal and axial directions while it is negative for the most part of the blade in the axial direction (see Fig. 11). It is interesting to observe that the measured values are quite similar in the two blades and that the profile can be divided into four different areas. First, there is a strongly changing area close to the tang. Then, going towards the tip, we find a part that is characterized by the minimum value and corresponds to the maximum ...
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... peak-shape analysis, we could obtain information on micro-strain distribution (Fig. 9), on the domain size of the grains (Table 3), and on the texture index (Fig. 10) of the various ...
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... A metallographic analysis would be sufficient to determine the authentic artefacts but this destructive practice is not acceptable for museum objects, so that only a non-invasive approach can be employed. In archaeometric studies, neutron imaging and diffraction methods are able to read the imprint left at different level of the crystalline structure by distinctive manufacturing processes [18][19][20][21][22][23]. These analytical tools can be applied to disclose the true nature of museum arms and armor. ...
This is a continuation study that aims to investigate the structural features of arms and armour allegedly made of wootz, a form of pattered crucible steel first developed in ancient Southern India and already reported in the historical record around 300 BC. Since artefacts made of wootz steel were highly priced for their superior mechanical and esthetical features, expedients to recreate the typical “watered silk” surface of wootz steel soon developed. In order to discern genuine from imitations, a non-invasive analytical approached based on neutron imaging methods was applied on a set of artefacts selected by the conservation department of the Wallace Collection. Polychromatic and monochromatic imaging methods were successfully applied to determine the structural properties of the samples related to the actual manufacturing process used to obtain the surface pattern.
... Comparing ancient Japanese swords with modern Japanese swords from the viewpoint of materials science can provide an important foothold for understanding the historical changes of the Japanese sword. In fact, investigations on Japanese swords have been conducted using various methods and valuable knowledge has been obtained [3][4][5][6]. Therefore, based on the above background, we have investigated the threedimensional internal structure and crystallographic structure of ancient and modern Japanese swords non-destructively using neutron tomography and Bragg-edge transmission (BET) imaging [7]. ...
We have performed neutron tomography using two ancient Japanese swords (designated Morikage and Sukemasa) and one modern Japanese sword (Masamitsu) at RADEN in the J-PARC Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility. For the ancient Japanese sword Morikage, it is found that the martensite iron is distributed in the region of about 3 mm from the cutting-edge and the ferrite iron is distributed in the inner region of the blade. The martensite iron area surrounds the inner ferrite iron area. For the ancient Japanese sword Sukemasa, the martensite iron is distributed only in a very narrow region at the cutting-edge and the homogeneous ferrite iron area is dominantly distributed in the inner region of the blade. In contrast to the ancient Japanese swords, the distribution of the martensite iron is about 8 mm from the cutting-edge and is similar to the wave pattern visible on the blade surface for the modern Japanese sword Masamitsu. Additionally for Masamitsu, a region where the neutron transmittance slightly increases was found at the interface between the martensite area and inner ferrite iron area. Line-like structures due to inclusions produced in the manufacturing process were also found in the blade. These results indicate that the manufacturing processes and raw materials of the Japanese swords are significantly different depending on the era and place of manufacture. Going forward, it is necessary to compare systematically the internal structure of more samples in order to clarify historical changes in Japanese sword making, and the non-destructive approach using neutron tomography is one of the powerful tools to elucidate them.
... Matsumoto, K. Watanabe et al. [1]) and Bragg-edge neutron transmission imaging. From viewpoints of both metallurgical characterization inside a bulk and valuable art/heritage preservation, we consider the best method is a neutron beam experiment like previous works performed by neutron diffraction [2], tomography [3] and Bragg-edge transmission imaging [4,5]. ...
Large-area real-space distribution of crystallographic microstructural information in a Japanese sword made by Noritsuna at Bizen in A.D. 1405 was non-destructively investigated by Bragg-edge neutron transmission imaging using the RADEN instrument at BL22 of MLF (Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility) in J-PARC and the data analysis software RITS (Rietveld Imaging of Transmission Spectra), as one of the series of a systematic research project. As a result, unique properties of the Noritsuna sword were revealed as follows. Hard martensite which d-spacing is close to that of a modern quenched steel exists at the cutting edge, but the area is smaller than that of a modern sword. Coarse grains exist near the notch at the back of the tang. Fine and coarse crystallite-size steels are separately distributed. The texture is not so strong, and the preferred orientation <210> is perpendicular to the normal direction of the sword plate except for the front region of the tang region. Introduction Japanese sword is one of the most interesting cultural-heritage artifacts. In fact, a sword typically consists of multiple-phase structures (e.g., ferrite, cementite and martensite), it was crafted in many steps (e.g., selective quenching (hardening) and iterative hammering etc.), and the manufacturing process varied depending on the era and the geographical location. However, being a tradition orally transmitted, there are many unknown information due to lack of written records, in particular, about ancient swords. Therefore, systematic metallurgical characterizations
... This analytical approach was possible in the past, but at the present time when Japanese vintage swords have become valuable, it is indispensable to establish non-destructive analysis methods to identify some peculiar characteristics related to the sword making procedure. Neutron experiments are a powerful tool to study metallic cultural heritage objects due to their high penetrating power and capability to give micro-structural properties [4,5]. Bragg-edge transmission (BET) imaging, in particular, gives real-space distributions of bulk information in the Japanese sword [6]. ...
Energy-resolved neutron imaging using a pulsed neutron source is capable of visualizing crystallographic information over a large area of a sample by analyzing position-dependent Bragg-edge transmission spectra. We applied this method to a Japanese sword, signed by Sukemasa, to elucidate position dependent crystallographic characteristics, including but not limited to: degree of hardening, crystallite size, degree of preferred orientation. By comparing the degree of hardening to that of a contemporary short Japanese sword (dagger), the Sukemasa showed relatively small changes in the position of Bragg-edge (110) and its broadening. No coarse grain was found within the detector resolution (ca. 1 mm), and the crystallite size of the blade area was analyzed to be almost uniform and less than 1 µm. We thus recognize in a comprehensive manner that the Sukemasa sword was manufactured with great care. Introduction Japanese swords are very attractive not only as a work of art but also from a metallurgical point of view. There were several famous traditional styles (Gokaden for instance) of Japanese sword-making in the Koto (old sword) age; A.D. 987-1596. Detailed manufacturing techniques, such as methods of obtaining raw materials [1], an iterative hammering process and the method for combining different steels [2] in the Koto age, are not clear, since they were handed down secretly within each school and have been lost over time. Various kinds of Japanese swords were sliced thickly and the cut surface were studied by conventional methods, such as microscopy and chemical analysis, EPMA, and so on [3]. This analytical approach was possible in the past, but at the present time when Japanese vintage swords have become valuable, it is indispensable to
... These structural details of materials can also be measured in situ during deformation [14,17] or thermo-mechanical process [16] . The applications of ND with TOF on studies of Japanese swords have been performed previously to determine other phases except of the main phases of ferrite and martensite including their phase fractions [18,19] and the distribution of residual strain [18] . The measurements to examine the distribution of phase fraction were however not performed in details along the cross section from the ridge side to the cutting-edge side, though the measurements of residual strains were performed with fine intervals. ...
... Tiny austenite may exist in between laths [17] and is difficult to be seen by microscopy. The presence of austenite was not also reported in the previous neutron diffraction studies [18,19] . The austenite peaks might be buried in the background data probably due to a low signal to noise ratio of diffractometer used in previous studies. ...
A mapping measurement using pulsed neutron diffraction with time-of-flight method is performed on a full-shape Japanese sword made in Keicho era (1596–1615) to elucidate the manufacturing process. The obtained diffraction patterns are analyzed by the Rietveld refinement and a line profile analysis. The constituent phases in the area closer to the back of the blade (ridge) are found to be ferrite and cementite, composing pearlite, while the area close to the edge is composed by martensite and austenite. The distributions of constituent phases are well explained with the distributions of dislocation density and crystallite size. The carbon contents in the area closer to the ridge side estimated from the phase fraction of cementite and in the area closer to the edge side considered from the phase fraction of austenite are similar, 0.9–1.0 mass%, expecting that the Japanese sword used in this study was created by the technique of maru, i.e., the use of a single type of high-carbon steel for the whole volume. The residual macroscopic stresses are estimated from the obtained lattice parameters of constituent phases. The distributions of residual macroscopic stresses in the width and thickness directions are small. The stress in the longitudinal direction is compressive at the ridge side, turns to quite large tensile at the middle part of width, then drastically decreases to be quite large compressive at the edge side of about −650 MPa.
... Archaeological materials characterization via ND can be used to help determine the bulk composition hidden by corrosion [3,4], for help with authentication, for reconstructing past technologies [5,6], and for developing conservation plans by identifying artifact instabilities, such as internal corrosion. Studies using multiple techniques have included metallography, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and modern reference samples with known thermomechanical histories that help researchers interpret ND analyses [1,[7][8][9]. ...
TOF-ND elastic scattering of thermal neutrons offers some important advantages over X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and metallography for the study of archaeological and numismatic problems. Traditional analytical methods are usually destructive and often probe only the surface. Neutrons deeply penetrate samples, simultaneously giving nondestructive bulk information about the crystal structure, composition, and texture (alignment of crystallites) from which thermomechanical manufacturing processes (e.g., cast, struck, or rolled) may be inferred. An analysis of the metal composition and minting processes used for making ancient Judaean bronze and leaded bronze coins from first century BCE and CE is used as a case study. One of the first ND analyses of the temperature used for striking bronze coins is also presented.
... These structural details of materials can also be measured in situ during deformation [14,17] or thermo-mechanical process [16] . The applications of ND with TOF on studies of Japanese swords have been performed previously to determine other phases except of the main phases of ferrite and martensite including their phase fractions [18,19] and the distribution of residual strain [18] . The measurements to examine the distribution of phase fraction were however not performed in details along the cross section from the ridge side to the cutting-edge side, though the measurements of residual strains were performed with fine intervals. ...
... Tiny austenite may exist in between laths [17] and is difficult to be seen by microscopy. The presence of austenite was not also reported in the previous neutron diffraction studies [18,19] . The austenite peaks might be buried in the background data probably due to a low signal to noise ratio of diffractometer used in previous studies. ...
A mapping measurement using pulsed neutron diffraction with time-of-flight method is performed on a full- shape Japanese sword made in Keicho era (1596–1615) to elucidate the manufacturing process. The obtained diffraction patterns are analyzed by the Rietveld refinement and a line profile analysis. The constituent phases in the area closer to the back of the blade (ridge) are found to be ferrite and cementite, composing pearlite, while the area close to the edge is composed by martensite and austenite. The distributions of constituent phases are well explained with the distributions of dislocation density and crystallite size. The carbon contents in the area closer to the ridge side estimated from the phase fraction of cementite and in the area closer to the edge side considered from the phase fraction of austenite are similar, 0.9–1.0 mass%, expecting that the Japanese sword used in this study was created by the technique of maru, i.e., the use of a single type of high-carbon steel for the whole volume. The residual macroscopic stresses are estimated from the obtained lattice parameters of constituent phases. The distributions of residual macroscopic stresses in the width and thickness directions are small. The stress in the longitudinal direction is compressive at the ridge side, turns to quite large tensile at the middle part of width, then drastically decreases to be quite large compressive at the edge side of about −650 MPa.
... As a matter of fact, sharp peaks are characteristic of homogeneous samples that have been subjected to slow annealing while, on the contrary, heavily hammered samples present different peak shapes and broadening due to the shi of slip planes. 11,12 Experimental set-up ...
Non-invasive experimental methods play an important role in the field of cultural heritage. Benefiting from the technical progress in recent years, neutron imaging has been demonstrated to complement effectively studies based on surface analysis, allowing for a non-invasive characterization of the whole three-dimensional volume. This study focuses on a kris and a kanjar, two weapons from ancient Asia, to show the potential of the combined use of X-ray and neutron imaging techniques for the characterisation of the manufacturing methods and the authentication of objects of cultural and historical interest. © 2017, Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
... Neutron diffraction (ND) therefore represents one of the most suitable techniques to characterise, in a non-invasive way, the bulk of metallic artefacts. From a diffraction pattern it might be possible to retrieve the history of the object: retrieving information on the smelting process, on the likely thermal treatments and working techniques applied, and, last but not least, the current conservation status of the artefact as a whole (Fedrigo et al., 2013;Grazzi et al., 2011). ...
Vikings (800–1050 CE) are famous for being fearsome seafarers and their weapons represented an indispensable tool in their plundering raids. Sword from the Viking age often showed pattern-welding, made by welding together thin strips of iron and steel that were twisted and forged in various ways, producing a decorative pattern on the surface. In this work we present a neutron diffraction study of three swords from the Viking age belonging to the National Museum of Denmark. This non-invasive approach was used to allow us to characterise the blades in terms of composition and manufacturing processes involved. The study shows how the effects of past conservation treatments can either help or obstruct the extraction of archaeological information.
... Until recently, the history of technology evolution has been founded mainly on standard invasive analytical techniques like, for example, metallography and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) [1][2][3]. However, recent methods, based on a non-invasive experimental approach, can effectively complement standard studies based on surface analysis, allowing a characterization of the whole complemented volume of metal artefacts [4][5][6][7]. In particular, the potential of nuclear methods making use of neutrons has barely been tapped. ...
In the present work, we have studied two European rapier blades, dating back to the period ranging from the Late Renaissance to the Early Modern Age (about 17th to 18th century). In order to determine variation in quality and differences in technology, a study was undertaken with the purpose to observe variations in the blade microstructure (and consequently in the construction processes). The samples, which in the present case were expendable, have been investigated, preliminarily, through standard metallography and then by means of white beam and energy-selective neutron imaging. The comparison of the results, using the two techniques, turned out to be satisfactory, with a substantial quantitative agreement of the results obtained with the two techniques, and show the complementarity of the two methods. Metallography has been considered up to now the method of choice for metal material characterization. The correspondence between the two methods, as well as the non-invasive character of the neutron-based techniques and its possibility to obtain 3D reconstruction, candidate neutron imaging as an important and quantitatively reliable technique for metal characterization.
