In situ TEM observations of reverse dislocation motion upon unloading of tensile-deformed UFG aluminium

Loading–unloading cycles have been performed on ultrafine-grained (UFG) aluminium inside a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The interaction of dislocations with grain boundaries, which is supposed to be at the origin of the inelastic behaviour of this class of materials, differs according to the main character of the dislocation segments involved in pile-ups. Pile-ups are formed by spiral sources and lead to the incorporation of dislocations into grain boundaries (GBs) during loading. Upon unloading, partial re-emission of dislocations from GBs can be observed. Stress and strain measurements performed during these in situ TEM loading–unloading experiments are in agreement with the rather large inelastic reverse strains observed during unloading in loading–unloading tests on bulk macroscopic UFG aluminium specimens.