In-situ Dark Field X-Ray Microscopy Study of Dislocation-Grain Boundary Interaction in Metals

Most metals used in industrial applications are poly-crystalline, consisting of numerous individual crystals known as grains. The grain boundaries, which form the interfaces between adjacent grains, play a crucial role in determining the metal's mechanical properties by impeding plastic deformation, which involves the movement of linear crystalline defects called dislocations. Despite their significance, the interaction between grain boundary characteristics and dislocation motion remains poorly understood. After successfully using Dark-Field X-ray Microscopy for recording time resolved movies of deformation driven dislocation migration in mm-sized aluminium samples , we now propose to use DFXM to study the interaction between these two fundamental structures—dislocations and grain boundaries—in aluminium poly-crystalline samples.