In situ experimental techniques to study the mechanical behavior of materials using X-ray synchrotron tomography

In situ X-ray synchrotron tomography is an excellent technique for understanding deformation behavior of materials in 4D (the fourth dimension here is time). However, performing in situ experiments in synchrotron is challenging, particularly in regard to the design of the mechanical testing stage. Here, we report on several in situ testing methods developed by our group in collaboration with Advanced Photon source at Argonne National Laboratory used to study the mechanical behavior of materials. The issues associated with alignment during mechanical testing along with the improvements made to the in situ mechanical testing devices, over time, are described. In situ experiments involving corrosion-fatigue and stress corrosion cracking in various environments are presented and discussed. These include fatigue loading of metal matrix composites (MMCs), corrosion-fatigue, and stress corrosion cracking of Al 7075 alloys.