Abstract
A study of aging in cold-worked Al–Ag and Al–Zn alloys during the first stage of precipitation was made, by means of small-angle x-ray scattering. (a) The rate of growth of the Ag or Zn clusters was very little affected by cold-work. (b) Evidence was found that the amount of clustered solute is not altered by aging. (c) The clusters were deformed by cold-work, giving rise to an anisotropic small-angle scattering. This cannot be explained by large amounts of glide taking place in a limited number of slip planes, but rather speaks in favor of zones of homogeneous deformation. The deformation of precipitated particles by cold-work is a new and powerful means of investigating the mechanism of plastic deformation in the interior of a material.