In Situ Neutron Diffraction Measurements During Annealing of Deformed Beryllium With Differing Initial Textures

Abstract

The recovery of deformed beryllium was studied with mechanical testing and in situ neutron diffraction measurements. The initial texture of the material and the deformation rate were manipulated to produce four distinct deformation microstructures. The dislocation density was determined from line profile analysis of the neutron diffraction data collected as a function of temperature during annealing to a maximum homologous temperature of 0.53 following deformation. Mechanical testing was completed after the in situ annealing to determine the extent of the recovery of the flow stress. Both the dislocation density and flow stress recovered significantly by a relatively low homologous temperature of 0.3. A comparison with model calculations using a dislocation-based hardening law indicates that it is forest-type dislocations that annihilate during the relatively low temperature anneal; the dislocation substructure was stable at these temperatures. Finally, the motion of the dislocations during annealing prevented the development of intergranular thermal stresses due to the crystallographically anisotropic thermal expansion of beryllium.