In situ neutron-diffraction study of tensile deformation of a bulk nanocrystalline alloy

In situ neutron-diffraction technique has been employed to study the uniaxial tensile deformation of a bulk nanocrystalline Ni–Fe alloy. In contrast to an increase in the full-width half-maximum (FWHM) of the neutron-diffraction patterns for the coarse-grained Ni, the FWHM for the nanocrystalline Ni–Fe alloy decreases with increasing the plastic strain, ɛP. The deformation with ɛP < 1.5% did not introduce a residual lattice strain and a texture in the nanocrystalline Ni–Fe alloy, which were otherwise developed in the coarse-grained Ni.