Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 1992
The deformation transients associated with changes in stress and strain rate have been studied as a means of determining the controlling deformation mechanisms in NiAl. Stress change experiments in tension, and strain rate change tests in compression have been performed on single crystals of NiAl at temperatures between 850 and 1200°C. The orientation dependence of these transients was studied by testing in the hard [001] orientation and a soft [223] orientation. Strain rate change experiments suggest increased contribution from structure-controlled mechanisms in hard oriented crystals. Stress change experiments in samples tested along the hard orientation produce transients that are characteristic of the evolution of a stable dislocation substructure. In soft oriented crystals, however, stress change transients suggest that deformation is not significantly affected by the formation of a dislocation substructure. These results are consistent with observations of dislocation substructure formation and strain hardening in hard oriented crystals.