This report deals with reconstruction of strain fields within deformed materials. The method relies upon data generated from Bragg edge measurements, in which information is gained from neutron beams that are sent through the sample. The reconstruction has been made by modelling the strain field as a Gaussian process, assigned a covariance structure customized by incorporation of the so-called equilibrium constraints. By making use of an approximation scheme well suited for the problem, the complexity of the computations has been significantly reduced. The results from numerical simulations indicates a better performance as compared to previous work in this area.

A new technique based on the study of the transmitted neutron beam has been developed to study the low-temperature decomposition of austenite in a 0.4 wt.% C–3 wt.% Mn–2 wt.% Si steel. Experiments were conducted in which the neutron beam continuously passed through a specially designed layered sample, the temperature of which could be controlled to allow for a high-temperature austenization treatment followed by accelerated cooling to an isothermal transformation temperature in the range of 275–450 °C. It was possible to measure the volume fraction of the face-centred cubic (fcc) and body-centred cubic (bcc) phases and the carbon concentration of the fcc phase by characterizing the neutron Bragg edges in the transmitted beam. This provides a technique for in situ continuous measurements on the decomposition of austentite. The technique has been validated by comparing the data with other experimental techniques such as dilatometry, quantitative optical metallography and room temperature X-ray diffraction.