A study was made of the shear–bypassing transition of chemically-ordered Al3Zr nanoprecipitates. Observation of complex combinations of lattice translations, revealed by scanning transmission electron microscopy, was used as the signature of precipitate-shearing during cold deformation. A method was proposed for building up a three-dimensional atomic model of sheared particles from a set of three atomic-scale projections. An estimation of the antiphase boundary energy of the Al3Zr structure was achieved via a comparison of experimental results with a model of precipitation hardening. The resultant estimate of antiphase boundary energy derived was within the range of 0.45 to 0.50J/m2.

Tracking the Path of Dislocations across Ordered Al3Zr Nano-Precipitates in Three Dimensions. W.Lefebvre, N.Masquelier, J.Houard, R.Patte, H.Zapolsky: Scripta Materialia, 2014, 70, 43-6