A furnace with rotating load frame for in situ high temperature deformation and creep experiments in a neutron diffraction beam line

A resistive furnace combined with a load frame was built that allows for in situ neutron diffraction studies of high temperature deformation, in particular, creep. A maximum force of 2700 N can be applied at temperatures up to 1000 degrees C. A load control mode permits studies of, e. g., creep or phase transformations under applied uni-axial stress. In position control, a range of high temperature deformation experiments can be achieved. The examined specimen can be rotated up to 80 degrees around the vertical compression axis allowing texture measurements in the neutron time-of-flight diffractometer HIPPO (High Pressure - Preferred Orientation). We present results from the successful commissioning, deforming a Zr-2.5 wt.% Nb cylinder at 975 degrees C. The device is now available for the user program of the HIPPO diffractometer at the LANSCE (Los Alamos Neutron Science Center) user facility. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4708619]