Crack depth distribution in fatigued nickel monocrystals after annealing

Microcrack depth distribution curves of fatigued f.c.c, monocrystals can be influenced by an annealing procedure after the fatigue test. A fatigued monocrystalline nickel specimen was sectioned into two pieces, one of them was annealed after cutting and the other remained in the original state. A comparison between the crack depth distribution curves shows that the curve of the annealed piece is shifted to lower crack depths. Tentative explanations are offered.