Determine the origin of the crack in high-temperature anorthite micropillars

Determine whether the approximately 500-nm-long crack observed in the central part of anorthite micropillars deformed at 800 °C was present before testing or formed during micropillar compression.

Background

Transmission-electron microscopy of an anorthite micropillar deformed at 800 °C revealed a crack approximately 500 nm long and inclined by about 60° relative to the compression direction. The available observations do not establish whether the defect was inherited from sample preparation or generated during mechanical testing.

Resolving the crack’s origin is relevant to interpreting the deformation mechanisms and assessing whether cracking contributed to the observed high-temperature plastic response.

References

It is unclear whether this crack was present initially or produced during the test.

— Quantification of plastic deformation in anorthite using micropillar compression  (2610.10081 - Incel et al., 7 Oct 2026) in Section 3.2, Nanostructural investigation