X-ray topography is the general term for a family of x-ray diffraction imaging techniques capable of providing information on the nature and distribution of imperfections. This article provides a detailed account of x-ray topography techniques, providing information on the historical background and development trends in x-ray diffraction topography. The discussion covers the general principles, components of systems, and applications of x-ray topography techniques, namely conventional X-ray topographic techniques and synchrotron x-ray topographic techniques.

This article defines crystallographic terms and concepts, including crystal structure, unit cell, structure symbols, lattice, space-group notation, and atom position. It schematically illustrates the atom positions, prototypes, structure symbols, space-group notations, and lattice parameters for some of the simple metallic crystals. A table that lists the crystal structures of various metal elements is presented. The crystal structures are described by the Pearson symbols for crystal system, space lattice, total number of atoms per unit cell, and prototype structure. The article tabulates the assorted structure types of metallurgical interest arranged according to Pearson symbol. It also provides information on crystal defects, explaining some significant ones, such as point defects, line defects, stacking faults, and twins.

A computational tool would require the contribution of the strengthening mechanisms of metallic material to be predicted and then summed in an appropriate way to derive an estimate of the tensile properties. This article focuses on the modeling of deformation mechanisms pertinent to structural materials, namely, solid-solution strengthening, age/precipitation hardening, dispersion strengthening, grain size reduction, strengthening from cold work, and strengthening from interfaces. It explains the application of predictive models in the atomistic modeling of dislocation structures and cast aluminum property prediction. The article concludes with information on the use of rules-based approaches and data-mining techniques for quantitative predictions of tensile properties.

This article examines how cellular automaton (CA) can be applied to the simulation of static and dynamic recrystallization. It describes the steps involved in the CA simulation of recrystallization. These include defining the CA framework, generating the initial microstructure, distributing nuclei of recrystallized grains, growing the recrystallized grains, and updating the dislocation density. The article concludes with information on the developments in CA simulations.

This article presents a mechanical description of superplasticity and discusses constitutive equations that are essential for simulating superplastic forming processes, applicable to structural superplasticity. It presents the phenomenological constitutive equations of superplasticity and classical physical constitutive equations. The article also reviews the accommodation mechanisms that are divided into two major groups, namely, diffusional accommodation and accommodation by dislocations.

Superlattice is an ordered array of atoms that occur during their rearrangement from random site locations in the disordered solution to specific lattice sites in the ordered structure during phase transformation. This article provides a description of antiphase boundaries, their dislocations and degrees of ordering (long and short order). It focuses on the common superlattice structures and ordered phases observed in copper-gold and iron-aluminum alloy systems. These superlattice types can be referred to by Strukturbericht symbols and the prototype phase.

Microstructure and crystallographic texture are the key material features used in the continuous endeavor to relate the processing of a metal with its final properties. This article emphasizes several aspects of deformation microstructures, namely, microstructural evolution, dislocation boundaries, and macroscopic properties. It discusses three different microstructural types: cell blocks, TL blocks, and equiaxed subgrains. The article also emphasizes the behavior of metals and single-phase alloys processed under plastic deformation (dislocation slip) conditions. It provides information on the microstructural parameters, measurement techniques, and microstructural relationships, which assist in predicting the mechanical properties and recrystallization behavior of materials. The article concludes with an analysis of the general relationship between the microstructural parameters and properties.

This article describes crystallographic terms and concepts and illustrates various crystal structures. The crystallographic terms described include crystal structure, unit cell, crystal system, lattice, structure symbols, space-group notation, structure prototype, atom positions, point groups, and equivalent positions. The article presents a table of assorted structure types of metallurgical interest arranged according to the Pearson symbol. It also schematically illustrates atom positions, prototypes, structure symbols, space-group notations, and lattice parameters for some of the simple metallic crystals. The article concludes with a description of some of the most significant crystal defects such as point defects, line defects, and stacking faults.

This article describes the Schottky defect and the Frenkel defect in oxides. It provides information on the p-type metal-deficit oxides and n-type semiconductor oxides. The article discusses diffusion mechanisms and laws of diffusion proposed by Fick. It explains the oxide texture of amorphous and epitaxy oxide layers and presents equations for various oxidation reaction rates. The article reviews different theories to describe the oxidation mechanism. These include the Cabrera-Mott, Hauffe-IIschner, Grimley-Trapnell, Uhlig, and Wagner theories.

This article presents an overview of fatigue crack nucleation from the point of view of the material microstructure and its evolution during cycling. It describes the sites of microcrack nucleation at the free surfaces. The article discusses the relation of dislocation structures and surface relief and reviews the mechanisms of crack nucleation. The damage of material due to crack nucleation, the extent (in terms of the number of cycles) of the nucleation stage, and the factors influencing crack nucleation are discussed.

This article discusses the microstructural processes that take place during plastic deformation and presents a plain phenomenological and general description of the cyclic stress-strain (CSS) response. It emphasizes the microstructural aspects of cyclic loading on single-phase materials tested in initially soft, dislocation-poor conditions resulting from a prior heat treatment. The article discusses deformation-induced phase transformations in austenitic stainless steels and commercial age-hardened aluminum alloys. It describes the interaction of dislocations and the strengthening of second-phase particles. The article also provides a description of the framework used to model the CSS response on a physical basis.

Analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM) is unique among materials characterization techniques as it enables essentially the simultaneous examination of microstructural features through high-resolution imaging and the acquisition of chemical and crystallographic information from small regions of the specimen. This article illustrates the effectiveness of the technique in solving materials problems. The first section of the article provides information on analytical electron microscope (AEM) and its basic operational characteristics as well as on electron optics, electron beam/specimen interactions and the generation of a signal, signal detectors, electron diffraction, imaging, x-ray microanalysis, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and sample preparation. The second section consists of 12 examples, each illustrating a specific type of materials problem that can be solved, at least in part, with AEM.