In-Situ Electron Channeling Contrast Imaging under Tensile Loading: Residual Stress, Dislocation Motion, and Slip Line Formation

Elastoplastic phenomena, such as plastic deformation and failure, are multi-scale, deformation-path-dependent, and mechanical-field-sensitive problems associated with metals. Accordingly, visualization of the microstructural deformation path under a specific mechanical field is challenging for the elucidation of elastoplastic phenomena mechanisms. To overcome this problem, a dislocation-resolved in-situ technique for deformation under mechanically controllable conditions is required. Thus, we attempted to apply electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI) under tensile loading, which enabled the detection of lattice defect motions and the evolution of elastic strain fields in bulk specimens. Here, we presented the suitability of ECCI as an in-situ technique with dislocation-detectable spatial resolution. In particular, the following ECCI-visualized plasticity-related phenomena were observed: (1) pre-deformation-induced residual stress and its disappearance via subsequent reloading, (2) heterogeneous dislocation motion during plastic relaxation, and (3) planar surface relief formation via loading to a higher stress.