Determination of the stress orientation distribution function using pulsed neutron sources

The stress orientation distribution function (SODF) was recently introduced as a mean-field representation to describe the grain-orientation dependence of intergranular stress. Pulsed neutron sources are ideally suited for the determination of the SODF since multiple reflections can be measured simultaneously with comparable precision. A method is developed for constructing the SODF from strain pole figures measured with a pulsed neutron source and demonstrated with cold-rolled interstitial-free steel. The experimental results are compared with those measured with a reactor-based constant-wavelength diffractometer. It is shown that access to a large number of reflections on a pulsed neutron source improves the precision of the experimental SODF and facilitates in situ studies of the evolution of the intergranular stress during deformation and annealing.