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 °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° 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 °C. The device is now available for the user program of the HIPPO diffractometer at the LANSCE (Los Alamos Neutron Science Center) user facility.