Introducing dislocations locally in Al-supersaturated α₂-Ti₃Al single crystal via nanoscale wedge indentation

We investigated the nanoscale anisotropic deformation behavior of Al-supersaturated α₂-Ti₃Al single crystals, using wedge indentation with the loading axis parallel to the (0001) α₂ basal plane. The deformability, plastic deformation mechanism, and introduced dislocation structures beneath the indentations were notably affected by the inclination angle between the indenter edge and basal plane. Notably, abnormal dislocation bands were introduced when the edge was parallel to the (0001) plane, which can potentially be utilized for manipulating the phase decomposition locally. The present study sheds light on the regulation of local plastic deformation and manipulation of nanoscale phase transformation in metals and alloys.