Abstract

Subgrain boundaries in thin sheets of octachloropropane deformed at 0.7–0.8 T_M on the stage of a microscope are seen to appear in the material in seven different ways. Type I boundaries show the classical evolution by polygonization of bent crystals. Type II are essentially kink boundaries, which migrate sideways during deformation to reach their present positions in the crystals. Type III develop at the sites of former grain boundaries, by reduction of misorientation of adjacent grains. Type IV and V originate by impingement of migrating grain boundaries or subgrain boundaries, respectively. Type VI propagate in their own planes behind migrating grain boundaries to which they are attached. Type VII develop statically from optically strain-free grains by a process probably otherwise similar to the Type I process. Two thirds of the boundaries are Types I or II. In view of the variety of subgrain boundary histories in OCP, interpretation of similar features in minerals ought to be undertaken cautiously. Criteria are needed for telling the different types of subgrain boundaries apart in situations where only a final view of the structure is available, as in optical and electron micrographs of rocks.