Structure, Metal

the arrangement and interrelation of the constituents of a metal or alloy. The structure can be observed with the unaided eye or at low magnification well enough to establish the presence and distribution of macrodefects, pores, and nonmetallic inclusions, as well as the distribution and shape of the larger grains.-Light and electron microscopes can be used to study a metal’s microstructure, which is characterized by the dimensions, shape, relative position, and relative number of the crystals (grains) of various phases. Electron and X-ray diffraction can be used to study the finer details of structure, which are a function of the arrangement of dislocations and accumulations of dislocations and of the arrangement of subboundaries within the grains. Metal structure is sometimes understood to mean the structure of the crystal lattice of a metal or alloy phase.