Deformation-induced crystallographic-preferred orientation of hcp-iron: An experimental study using a deformation-DIA apparatus

Shear and uniaxial deformation experiments on hexagonal close-packed iron (hcp-Fe) was conducted using a deformation-DIA apparatus at a pressure of 13-17 GPa and a temperature of 723 K to determine its deformation-induced crystallographic-preferred orientation (CPO). Development of the CPO in the deforming sample is determined in-situ based on two-dimensional X-ray diffraction using monochromatic synchrotron X-rays. In the shear deformation geometry, the 〈0001〉 and 〈112¯0〉 axes gradually align to be sub-parallel to the shear plane normal and shear direction, respectively, from the initial random texture. In the uniaxial compression and tensile geometry, the 〈0001〉 and 〈112¯0〉 axes, respectively, gradually align along the direction of the uniaxial deformation axis. These results suggest that basal slip (0001)〈112¯0〉 is the dominant slip system in hcp-Fe under the studied deformation conditions. The P-wave anisotropy for a shear deformed sample was calculated using elastic constants at the inner core condition by recent ab-initio calculations. Strength of the calculated anisotropy was comparable to or higher than axisymmetric anisotropy in Earth's inner core.