The manuscript presents a combined experimental/simulation study of the intrinsic strengthening of the material near twin boundaries. Polychromatic X-ray micro Laue diffraction together with electron backscattering diffraction show that dislocation slippage is suppressed near the twin boundaries. Indentation demonstrates increased hardness in the immediate vicinity of the twin boundary. Distinct slip bands are observed in the interior of the macroscopic ~500 nm thick twin. Fast oscillations of lattice rotations are found within each slip band. Crystal plasticity analysis using a spectral formulation finds a similar dependence of the plastic response of the matrix and the twin depending on their orientation and initial structural conditions.

Grain size data were taken from four three- and two-dimensional microstructures, including simulated grain growth, thin film and superalloy data sets. Probability plots revealed approximately log-normal distributions for experimental grain size data sets, but with systematic differences in the upper tails. A simulated grain size data set obtained from Potts model growth exhibited strong deviation from log-normality. A peaks-over-threshold analysis was applied to quantify the differences in the upper tails. Potts model simulation of normal grain growth shows the shortest tail, whereas the thin film data showed the longest tail (i.e. closest to log-normal), with an intermediate tail shape in the superalloy.