Investigation of slip system activity in iron at room temperature by SEM and AFM in-situ tensile and compression tests of iron single crystals

Iron single crystals of wide range of orientations are tested in-situ at room temperature in tension and compression using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and in tension using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The active slip systems are identified using several and complementary experimental observations and analyses. Firstly, we compare the orientation of slip lines with theoretical traces of the possible dense crystallographic planes (namely {110}{110} and {1 1 2}). Secondly, we compare the observed rotations of the sample axes with those resulting theoretically from different slip scenarios. Lastly we compare the shear stress–shear strain curves for the different observed active slip systems. Results confirm that slip is locally of a crystallographic nature and that {1 1 2} planes contribute per se to slip in iron. However, planar slip bands parallel to the {1 1 2} planes are short and their height is not uniform along the slip bands.