Novel testing chamber for neutron scattering measurements of internal stresses in engineering materials at cryogenic temperatures

The ENGIN-X beamline is a dedicated engineering science facility at ISIS. It is optimized for the measurement of strain, and thus stress, deep within crystalline materials using the atomic lattice planes as an atomic 'strain gauge'. Internal stresses in materials have a considerable effect on material properties including fatigue resistance, fracture toughness and strength. The growing interest in properties of materials at low temperatures may be attributed to the dynamic development in cryogenic technology. This paper will describe a novel cryogenic testing chamber for neutron scattering measurements of internal stress in engineering materials under load at temperatures from 30 K to 300 K.